The Montana Seed Trade Association is an organization of professional seedsmen who have assembled to facilitate business relations between its members and promote legitimate interests of its members within the state.

Listed below are a few of the seed laws followed by individual seed companies in Montana, and others doing business in the state.

Montana Seed Laws:

Found in The Montana Agricultural Seed and Patented Plant Material and Administrative Rules:

https://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/title_0800/chapter_0050/parts_index.html

Important individual laws pertaining to seed within the above document. Which ones apply to you and your business?

80-5-120 Definitions:
https://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/title_0800/chapter_0050/part_0010/section_0200/0800-0050-0010-0200.html

80-5-123 Label requirements for agricultural, vegetable, flower, and indigenous seeds.
https://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/title_0800/chapter_0050/part_0010/section_0230/0800-0050-0010-0230.html

80-5-130 Licensing- application – fee.
https://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/title_0800/chapter_0050/part_0010/section_0300/0800-0050-0010-0300.html

80-5-131 Assessments on Sales into Montana
https://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/title_0800/chapter_0050/part_0010/section_0310/0800-0050-0010-0310.html

80-5-133 Inspections
https://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/title_0800/chapter_0050/part_0010/section_0330/0800-0050-0010-0330.html

80-5-134 Prohibitions.
https://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/title_0800/chapter_0050/part_0010/section_0340/0800-0050-0010-0340.html

80-5-135 Screenings – Restrictions on movements.
https://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/title_0800/chapter_0050/part_0010/section_0350/0800-0050-0010-0350.html

80-5-136 Administration – stop sale- violation -cancellation of license – enforcement.
https://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/title_0800/chapter_0050/part_0010/section_0360/0800-0050-0010-0360.html

80-5-137- 80-5-144 Cooperation and agreements through certification:
The Montana Seed Growers Association is the entity responsible for seed certification, and MSU for seed potatoes. The authority trickles down from the federal seed act into State Law. Look into these rules to learn more.

Montana Administrative Rules:

The Montana Seed Laws above direct the actual law making, but the administrative rules help determine how that law is administered/applied. This is available at https://rules.mt.gov/ and the ones that pertains specifically to seed are in Chapter 4.12 Agricultural Sciences Division.

Here are a few important ones for seed movement and the MSTA:

(The MSTA played a pivotal role in the implementation of the new custom cleaning grower declaration in 2023, in this link: Genuine Grower Declaration Form (mt.gov) )

Federal Seed Act:

The Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) provides regulatory oversight and enforcement of the Federal Seed Act (FSA). The FSA is a truth-in-labeling-law that regulates agricultural and vegetable seed shipped in interstate commerce. It requires that seed shipments between States are labeled with certain quality information necessary for seed buyers to make informed choices.

How the FSA Works:

The Federal Seed Act holds cooperative agreements with each state that create a national regulatory network that facilitates inspection work conducted anywhere seed is sold in the United States.

The FSA holds a Memorandum of Understanding with The Association of Official Seed Certifying

Agencies (AOSCA) to ensure seed buyers that the varieties they purchase meet genetic purity standards. This MOU is ongoing monitoring of State approved seed certifying agencies to ensure they follow the minimum requirements of the FSA when conducting certification.

Seed Company Records and the Federal Seed Act: You are required to maintain a standard of records when processing, labelling, and marketing seed.

SeedCompanyRecordsandtheFederalSeedAct.pdf (usda.gov)

Handling of Brand Names:

USDA AMS Clarifies Varietal Labeling Requirements of the Federal Seed Act to Enhance Transparency for Growers | Agricultural Marketing Service

Plant Variety Protection Act:

The Plant Variety Protection Act provides legal intellectual property rights protection to breeders of new varieties of plants which are sexually reproduced (by seed) or tuber-propagated. The Plant Variety Protection Office administers the Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA), by issuing Certificates of Protection. Certificate violations are enforced either by the variety owner, or by the FSA if the Title V provision is utilized. In Montana violations are enforced by the Montana Department of Agriculture.

In the U.S. there are 3 types of intellectual property protection that breeders can obtain for new plant varieties:

• Plant Variety Protection – seeds, tubers, and asexually reproduced plants (issued by PVPO)

• Plant Patents – asexually reproduced plants (issued by the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO)

• Utility Patents – for genes, traits, methods, plant parts, or varieties (issued by the PTO)

Plant Variety Protection Act: Below are the terms of the PVPA under the Agricultural Marketing Service and the database of varieties protected by the PVPA.

Plant Variety Database | Agricultural Marketing Service (usda.gov)

Plant Variety Protection Act | Agricultural Marketing Service (usda.gov)