The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced that a Columbus, Ohio seed company has paid USDA $1,375 to settle alleged violations of the Federal Seed Act. 

The company, Livingston Seed, Inc., settled the case in agreement with officials from USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service.  The company neither admitted nor denied the charges.

The case resolved by the settlement involved five shipments of lettuce seed made to Indiana. 

The alleged violations, while not the same for all shipments, were:

• failure to keep and/or supply a complete record of the seed; and

• false labeling in regard to germination.

AMS administers the act with the help of state seed officials.  Seed regulatory officials in Indiana cooperated with AMS in making the investigations.  The Federal Seed Act is a truth-in-labeling law designed to protect farmers and consumers who buy seed.