Association of Official Seed Analysts (AOSA)
The Association of Official Seed Analysts (AOSA) is an organization of member laboratories. Members include official state, federal, and university seed laboratories across the United States and Canada.
Membership is extended to allied laboratories (those of government agencies and institutions outside the United States and Canada), affiliate members (those individuals employed in member laboratories), associate members (individuals not assigned to a member laboratory but contribute in a supportive role), and honorary members (those who have distinguished themselves in contributions to the Association and /or industry).
AOSA was formed in 1908 in response to initial attempts by individual states to develop seed laws. This was the beginning of regulated seed commerce in the United States. Initial priorities included, as was defined in the constitution, an attempt to seek uniformity and accuracy in methods, results, and reports. It set as its objective an effort to perfect and make publicly known, through publication, uniform rules for seed testing.
To assure a high standard of quality, many individuals within the AOSA member laboratories have acquired AOSA Certified Seed Analyst status through extensive training followed by a mandatory certification testing process.
Primary Functions:
- Establish the AOSA Rules for Testing Seeds which are generally adopted by most states as the rules for testing seeds in their respective states
- Contribute to the refinement and modification of the rules and procedures for seed testing
- Ensure that testing procedures are standardized between analysts and between laboratories
- Influence and assist in enforcement of appropriate seed legislation at state and federal levels