Multiplication, certificationand marketing.
You multiply, certify and market seed, and for every lot you have to be able to evidence the variety, multiplication generation, certification status and germination capacity. As long as those details sit separately in field records, laboratory results and sales papers, every query costs half a day. fabular brings multiplication planning, certification procedures and batch-accurate marketing together in one lot file – whatever varies further by crop or certification authority, you describe to fabAI rather than commission.
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- Digital certification
- Varietal purity evidenced
- Traceability down to the lot
- 100 %
- traceability
- 25+
- years of experience
- 1
- file per seed lot
- B2B+B2C
- managed in parallel
Three hurdles in seed production
Certification procedures run on paper
Procedures laid down in law are handled on paper. Applications, records and correspondence with the authorities cost weeks and tie up specialist staff.
The procedures handled digitally, with prepared applications and records.
Traceability across the life cycle is missing
Seed lots cannot be traced without gaps from the field to the end customer. When queries come in, the evidence of the multiplication generation is missing.
Every lot kept uniquely with variety, generation and certification status.
Channels need different prices
B2B and B2C, different crops and varieties each require their own prices and ranges. That is barely manageable by hand.
Control by channel, variety and crop type with their own pricing logic.
This page is written for seed businesses, multiplication organisations and processors that have to evidence the multiplication generation, certification, germination capacity and seed treatment for every lot and today keep several separate sets of records for it.
What is genuinely difficult in seed production
Seed is a regulated product with a long lead time. The difficulty lies less in the individual tasks than in the chain: every stage creates new numbers that have to match the previous one.
- A lot has several identities: variety, multiplication generation, harvest year, processing sub-lot and sales packaging. Every processing stage creates a new number that has to point back to the previous one.
- Certification runs alongside operations. Field inspection, sampling and seed testing take their time while processing, filling and advance sales are already under way.
- Germination capacity is not a master data field but a measured value with a date. A retest changes the marketability of a lot that has long been sitting labelled in the warehouse.
- Seed treatment splits a lot into variants with their own marking, which still have to point back to the same certified base lot.
- Cleaning, grading and blending change quantities and create losses. Yield and shrinkage can only be assessed if they are assigned to the individual lot.
- The business is seasonal and runs on two tracks. Cooperatives, farms and end customers need different packaging, prices and papers out of the same stock.
Label and lot drift apart
The certification number, processing sub-lot and label number are often kept in separate lists. When a query comes in, the multiplication area has to be reconstructable from a bag tag.
Values with an expiry date
Germination results age. Without deadline monitoring in the system, it is only noticed at the order that a retest should have been due.
Changing generation without a break
From pre-basic through basic seed to certified seed the designation changes, not the parentage. Where that knowledge sits only with individual specialists, it is lost when staff change.
How fabular handles this
Multiplication & field
- 1.Multiplication planning with areas and growers.
- 2.Field status and inspection dates in view.
- 3.Multiplication generations as part of the lot file.
- 4.Yields and processing captured per lot.
Certification & records
- 1.Applications and records prepared digitally.
- 2.Certification status visible per lot.
- 3.Correspondence with the authorities documented.
- 4.Test reports archived audit-proof.
The certification status controls what may be sold – in the system, not in someone's head.
Marketing
- 1.Prices per channel, variety and crop type.
- 2.B2B portal and end customer business in parallel.
- 3.Batch-accurate dispatch with records.
- 4.Ranges managed per customer group.
From the multiplication area to the bag
More than twelve months lie between growing plan and sale. The process shows where the data is created that later carries the evidence.
- Step 01
Multiplication planning
before sowing
Variety, multiplication generation, area and multiplication grower are brought together. The expected sales produce the planned growing area per variety, including the pre-basic or basic seed that has to be available for it.
- Step 02
Field crop and field inspection
growing season
Crop declaration, areas, previous crop and inspection dates are kept per multiplication area. The results of the field inspection are attached to the same file as the harvest and processing later on.
- Step 03
Harvest, intake and processing
harvest to processing
The raw lot is taken in, cleaned, graded and treated where required. Yield, losses and the sub-lots created remain traceable back to the original area.
- Step 04
Certification and seed testing
sampling and official testing
Samples, laboratory results on germination capacity and purity, and the certification status are kept per lot. As long as a lot is not certified, that status controls what may happen to it.
- Step 05
Labelling and marketing
selling season
Packaging, label numbers and delivery papers are created from the lot. Cooperatives, farms and end customers are served from the same stock with their own prices and ranges.
Seed production in fabular
Does fabular cover the multiplication generations completely?
Yes. Pre-basic, basic and certified seed are kept as a property of the lot, together with variety, harvest year and origin. When a lot moves into the next generation, the link to the original lot is retained. The parentage of a sales lot can therefore be traced back without anyone laying out old field lists and processing records side by side.
How do lot, certification number and label fit together?
The lot is the leading record. Certification status, test results, processing sub-lots and the label numbers issued are attached to it. From a label number the multiplication area can therefore be determined, and the other way round. That path is exactly why separate lists for field, laboratory and sales drift apart sooner or later.
What happens to a lot when germination capacity is retested?
Germination capacity is kept as a test with a date at the lot, not as a fixed master value. A new result is added as a further test, and the value valid at the time controls whether the lot is offered for sale. Deadlines for retests coming up can be monitored so that they are not noticed only at the order.
Can treated and untreated variants be kept separate?
Yes. During processing, a certified base lot produces sub-lots of its own, for example per seed treatment product or packaging size. These sub-lots carry their own marking and still point back to the base lot. Quantity management, traceability and the different details on the papers therefore stay separate without the parentage being lost.
Can wholesale and end customer business be served from one stock?
Yes. Prices, ranges and terms are managed per channel, variety and crop type, while the stock stays a single one. Cooperatives and farms order through the B2B portal, and the end customer business runs through the online shop. Both draw on the same stock, so a lot is not sold twice.
Does fabular replace communication with the certification authority?
No. The official procedures remain what they are. fabular prepares the details needed for them, keeps applications, records and results per lot and documents the correspondence in one place instead of in several mailboxes. Which notifications can be submitted electronically in your case is something we look at per project.
Companies that work with fab4minds
A selection from our customer base – businesses with comparable requirements for traceability, batch management and reporting obligations.
- NÖ Saatbaugenossenschaft
- Waldland
- RWA
- Donau Soja
Check the chain first, then talk about software
A consulting engagement that records the path of a lot from the multiplication area to the label – open-ended and independent of which system comes out of it in the end.
Digitalisation consulting for seed businesses
For businesses where certification, processing and marketing run in separate sets of records and every query turns into a search.
- Record the path of a lot from the multiplication area through processing to the label
- Review where field records, laboratory results and sales papers drift apart
- Assess the certification and evidence procedures for steps that can be prepared and digitalised
- Prioritised measures with an effort estimate, whether or not you use fabular
Let us talk about your certification
Take a procedure that takes weeks today. We use it to show which steps can be prepared in advance. One rule applies to all our consulting engagements. If the result does not help you, we refund the fee.