If you grow certified seed, you should be aware of changes to New Zealand’s seed certification processes, and that you need to consent to your grower details being transferred to a new system...NOW!
The New Zealand Seeds Authority Incorporated (NZSA) is establishing a new IT seed certification system to replace the existing eSeed cert application which is managed by AsureQuality on behalf of NZSA. In the future (2022 planting/2023 harvest) the new Seed Certification Information System (SCIS) will handle information on all officially certified seed crops, their resulting seed lots and test results.
Setting up the new system requires access to all grower details, which, although held within the current system, cannot be transferred to the new one without your permission. The details required include the grower’s legal name, contact details, addresses, region of production (ROP), and the paddock (production site) letters that belong to each ROP.
NZSA are also hoping to obtain digital maps of growers’ paddocks. You may have these in ProductionWise® or if you are a supplier to PGG Wrightson Seeds who use Trimble, they may have mapped your paddocks via their own in-house crop monitoring applications. You will be asked to identify which of these organisations you would be happy to nominate as a provider of digital maps.
What you need to do
The most efficient way to get your grower data into the new SCIS system will be to consent to NZSA to access data from your seed merchant. For this to occur, you must nominate the company you deal with and consent to them providing your data, including digital paddock maps.
It is very important that NZSA gains your consent as soon as possible, so they can upload and register your farm details and progress with the development of SCIS. If you do not provide your consent, you will be required to enter the same information yourself when you first use SCIS to enter a seed crop for certification.
You can confirm your consent to NZSA creating, maintaining, and using such information in the SCIS system and to NZSA acquiring your grower data from any seed merchant who holds information about you as a grower by signing the form below.
Download the consent form here.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact one of the following NZSA growers reps.
- Hamish Marr, 027 532 9556
- John McCaw, 027 414 0157
- David Birkett, 027 313 2768
- Brent Stirling, NZSA Chairperson, 027 432 7865