Opportunities in the Seed Industry - Seed Analysis

Almost no one entering the job market thinks about having a career as a Registered Seed Technologist (RST) or Certified Seed Analyst (CSA). Yet, it is a small but important industry throughout the United States with positions in industry and government. There are between 300 and 500 seed analysts working in company, private and official state seed laboratories in all parts of the country.

What do seed analysts do? They perform germination and purity tests on all kinds of seed including flowers, vegetables, grasses, agricultural crops (like wheat, rice, soybeans, and corn) trees and shrubs…any crop that is grown from seed.

A germination test is done in a controlled environment to determine what percentage of seed from a give crop will actually grow and produce a healthy plant. Usually 100 to 400 seeds are planted under various controlled laboratory conditions of temperature, light and moisture.

The seedlings are then evaluated after a period of days or weeks to see if they germinate and grow normally. Germination tests are often repeated every 6 or 8 months to determine if the viability has decreased over time as long as a lot exists.

A purity test is a visual inspection of the seed to determine what other material may be present in a given lot of seed including other crop seed, weed seed, chaff or dirt. Each component is carefully weighed, identified and recorded to determine the quality of the lot. The seed is also inspected for any mechanical damage it may have encountered in the harvesting or cleaning processes.

Being a seed analyst can be a fascinating, satisfying, well paid career for people who have an interest in the biological sciences, great attention to detail and like watching things grow. One of the best things about choosing a career as a seed analyst is that it does not require a college degree.

Although a B.S. can be helpful, this is a vocation that can provide a paying job after just a year or two of training. Part of the training can be done via the internet and the balance in a university or certified commercial laboratory.

Some seed analysts work with large seeds like corn, wheat and beans, and others work with very small seeds typical of grasses and flowers. Whatever kind of seeds they test, they play a very important role in assuring that the quality of seed that gets planted by farmers, homeowners, bedding plant growers, highway departments, parks, revegetation and reclamation projects will grow and perform as expected.

They also make sure that the seed supplied is free of noxious weeds and invasive species. Seed analysts play an invaluable role for the seed growers, distributors and end users to make sure only quality seed enters the market place.

Anyone having interest the unique and rewarding career of a seed analyst, regardless of where you live should contact the Soil and Crop Science Dept. at Colorado State University or visit the website: careers in seed analysis to learn about courses in seed analysis if you are thinking of this as a career opportunity.