Seeds falling into a hessian sach
Photo by Adrian Gomez

Food Sectors

Seed production

Seed producers grow plants to both supply seed to farmers and crofters, and develop new varieties.

Updated 9 May 2024

Starting out as a seed producer

You can start an agricultural business only to produce seeds or grow them alongside food crops. Combining these two types of cultivation may lower costs when resources is shared across them and surplus produce from seed crops may be sold as food. However, you will need to plan your field layout carefully so seed is not contaminated (see ’Crop isolation’).

Seeds from most agricultural varieties must be certified before they can be sold on the market, which is a lengthy process. When planning your seed production system, you should first familiarise yourself thoroughly with the certification process so you know what is legally required for each crop (see ’Seed certification’). 

Choosing your varieties

Each type of seed you produce is a variety within a species (e.g., a ‘Gardener’s Delight’ tomato or a ‘Skyway’ barley). You can grow more than one variety, but you should consider available space and seed yield per land area — and whether other farmers in the area are growing the same species (see ’Isolation distances’). 

When choosing your seed varieties, consider what farming system you want to use and if you want to be certified organic. Varieties can be optimised for specific systems and may only grow well with high synthetic inputs. 

You should also think about whether you want to set up your own seed business or grow on contract for a seed company.

Types of seed

There are two main methods of producing seed, which you should consider when planning your farming method and farm layout.

  • Open-pollinated varieties (OP) produce seed after being pollinated ‘naturally’ (e.g., by insects). This seed retains the characteristics of its parent plant, and OP varieties are genetically diverse which allows them to adapt to local conditions and farmers to pick the best plants to save seed from. Heirloom varieties are open-pollinated.
  • F1 hybrids are seeds produced from crossing two different varieties. Seed saved from an F1 plant will not retain its characteristics, so you will need to maintain the two parent varieties and keep crossing them to produce F1 seeds. They require specific pollination techniques, and F1s are more vigorous and uniform than OPs.

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Variety licensing 

Plant breeders are given legal ownership for the new varieties they develop, known as plant breeders’ rights (PBR). PBR are valid for 25-30 years, and you must apply for a licence from the breeder to grow seed from these varieties during that time. You will need permission in writing to get seeds certified.

Check the special edition of the Seed Gazette (published monthly) for lists of registered varieties and the details of their PBR holders. If your variety is not on this list, you may need to apply to have it added (see, ’Seed certification’).

If you are refused a licence, you can apply for a compulsory licence under specific circumstances. Read about compulsory licences

Landraces

Landraces are highly locally adapted varieties from a specific area (e.g., Shetland Kale). You need a special permission to sell landrace see commercially, and there may be a geographical restriction on where you can grow and sell certain landrace seeds (see ’Landrace certification’). 

Sourcing your varieties

Seed libraries

https://www.cca-glasgow.com/projects/glasgow-seed-library

Choosing a field site

When choosing the field site for seed crops, you must consider if previous cropping in that area can affect the quality of seed. For example, an excessive weed seed bank in the soil or build-up of pathogens from poor rotation of different crops can cause issues in seed production. You must also ensure that fields are sufficiently free from volunteer plants from previous crops.

During the crop certification process, SASA may request details of the field’s cropping history and for cereals, you need to provide details of cropping for the two previous years.