The New York Seed Improvement Project’s (NYSIP) mission is to increase access to improved, high-performing seed to NY State farmers through our Foundation Seed Program and as the Seed Certifying agency for New York State. NYSIP is commissioned by NY Dept. of Agriculture & Markets to certify seed grown in the state and is a member agency of the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA). NYSIP operates as an extension project within the Plant Breeding & Genetics section of Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS).
Seed Certification Program
Certified seed is recognized at the national and state level as seed meeting high standards for genetic purity and quality.Validating identity, health and consistency of seed is important and enables seed growers and seed companies to market, promote and sell high quality seed that is verified by a third-party as clean and genetically pure. NYSIP currently focuses primarily on small grains and potato seed certification but has also inspected soybean, bean, forage crops, vegetable crops, hemp, turf grass and vegetatively propagated grasses.
Trained inspectors from the project inspect seed production fields to ensure they free are of noxious weeds, off-types, signs of disease. Harvested seed lots must be properly cleaned of inert materials and samples are submitted to approved labs for germination and purity testing. Certified seed, labeled with its distinctive blue tag, provides an assurance to buyers that the seed meets stringent standards and can contribute to the likelihood of a healthy crop and a consistent harvest. For the certified seed seller, producing premium seed of a popular variety can command a good price.
Certified small grain and potato seed can be sourced directly from participating NY Certified growers who can be found in our Certified Seed Directories.
Foundation Seed Program
The goal of our Foundation Seed division is to amplify and disseminate foundation seed stocks developed by plant breeders at Cornell to growers in New York. The program takes newly released breeder seed and manages the increase of the variety, following all certification requirements, facilitating the production of the seed at a scale required for entry into commercial certified seed production. NYSIP’s Foundation Seed Program currently primarily works with The Cornell Small Grains Project (CSGP) on amplification of new oat, wheat, and barley varieties. We also occasionally bring in promising varieties from other Foundation seed programs in other states to fill in gaps in our offerings.
In 2022 we added “Excelsior Gold”(CU31) malting barley to our Foundation seed program, and in 2023 “HudsonNY”(CU198) malting barley was released and brought into the program. These varieties hold great potential for farmers, malt houses and brewers looking to source malting barley developed for and adapted to New York State, especially producers participating in the Farm Brewery licensing program.
More information about our Foundation Seed program
Certified Seed Crop Directories
NYSIP annually compiles and publishes two grower directories that list all growers who successfully participated in our Certification program and sell certified small grain and potato seed in New York State. The directories list information about varieties grown, classification & field year, and contact info of seed producers offering certified seed. We distribute printed directories to our mailing lists and by request and also make the information available electronically on our Grower Directories page.