Is this legal?

[dipper]

I'm gonna dare to compare!!! I don't really care because i have my own system to drastically reduce my native seed cost, but is this legal? Isn't there laws about labeling seed? I know he's probably put a lot of work and $ into determining this variety, but this is shady business. His price is pretty consistent with other switch seed, so that's not it. This stuff is another of many examples of why u can't trust the deer industry, they are worse than used car salesman.
I just gotta chuckle

 

[JERRED GRACEY]

i bet it just got ripped off on acciedent, every bob seed iv seen has had a tag with whats in it.

 

[dipper]

Haha I'm watching the video included and they are making a huge deal about seed tags!
U guys think I'm bad u should listen to my wife right now. She told me I'm to big of a puzzy and, she's gonna call them up. Haha

 

[wiscwhip]

I have personally called Higgins out on this on the QDMA site numerous times with not only his switch seed, but his soybeans as well. He claimed that the State of IL did not require him to divulge the actual variety of the seed, only the species, i.e., it doesn't have to say Cave-In-Rock Switchgrass, only Switchgrass. I did a little investigating and the State of IL does not have as strict a requirement as WI or most other States. :rolleyes: Imagine that! :rolleyes: It seems like he has a loophole, because when I told him he would not get away with that in WI, he said as long as the sales originate in IL, the IL law takes precedence, and he is correct. I still think with enough inquiries with the right people, a guy could find out the exact varieties from the Lot #'s and any other identifying numbers that might be on the tag. Maybe you found some noxious weeds in your field where none were before and you are inquiring with the USDA as to what seed varieties were supposed to be in that bag with Lot # XYZABC? I would think someone would be able to obtain that information, or it truly is VNS and everyone who is buying it is paying the same for uncertified seed as they are for Certified varieties like C-I-R or Kanlow? I would still like to try some of the Switch varieties from Ceres/Blade that have been developed for biofuels. I have no place to do such trials or I would do them myself. These blow the doors off anything else for overall height, I don't know about stem diameter, so the standabilty with snow cover might not be as good. That is where the trials would tell the tale. Their Sorghum is pretty amazing as well.



No, I don't work for them or know anyone who does, they just have some awesome stuff, although $$$.

 

[wiscwhip]

Can we get a closeup of that tag? Sure looks like it was purposely torn off to remove some info?

 

[dipper]

 

[wiscwhip]

Sketchy..............

 

[Jameson]

Looks purposely torn to leave the germination rate and the company name. Add in that other orange tag and it probably meets all laws.

Reminds me of someones famous saying. You can make your first million through hard work, but to make your second million you are going to have to screw some people over.

 

[Bill]

Ha!
He knew who he was sending it to. :D

I'm actually going to be ordering some for a spring plant. We'll see what my tag looks like.

Wisc,
That stuff looks crazy. Couldn't find pricing on the website but I may have to call and try both the sorghum and switch.

 

[wiscwhip]

I know you can order it direct from Blade, and they may have minimum amounts, not sure on that. There is no restriction on planting it for deer "plots" though, I inquired about that thinking it might be similar to the RR sugar beets or alfalfa in that regard and they said that was not the case, although they did say the biofuel producers got first dibs.

 

[wiscwhip]

I have a sneaking suspicion that the barcode on the upper left of the pic should have been left intact. I would think that at least that barcode would have to be readable, if anyone were to need to check the origin of that bag of seed.

 

[Catscratch]

Can't ya just call and say the tag is ripped, and that you don't plant unknown seed so you want a new tag sent to you?

 

[dipper]

I've communicated with don about this issue before. Like I said, I don't really care what variety of switch this is, as long as it isn't CIR, and as long as it grows as it is marketed. I already have CIR, big blue, and Indian. My current grass gets plenty high for deer, so I don't need this seed. I just want to try it. If it really is better than CIR, I'll plant more.
Ripping the tag off is just shady, especially since don devotes a long segment on seed tags in his video. I've got cards to play myself, it's all good. I just laugh.
That stalk don does in his grass, by that shed is some sweet action, and exactly why I'm planting the stuff myself!

 

[bigeight]

I've only done about 3 acres of it, compared to a LOT of strips of CIR. Though not a side by side comparison on the same exact soil the RW switch was noticeably better. Not really close IMO.

You'll be happy you tried it Dipper. Even if you don't ever find out "exactly " what IT is :)

 

[wiscwhip]

I have often wondered if the type Don uses aren't the varieties from Ceres/Blade in a repackaged form? I have also found some lesser known varieties on the GRIN website that I have compiled into a spreadsheet that I'm betting would compete with CIR or RW switch in the right conditions/areas. But again, I don't have the land to do any trials on, and the fact that GRIN only sends you like 200 seeds of each variety, so the "test plots" would be very small(like 3'x3') and may not be a good representation of what it would do in a large field type planting?

 

[shawnv]

I'm just going to guess that whoever loaded the bag grabbed it by the tag and it tore. I've had that happen to bags I've bought from the feed mill where I was the one who did that. Aside from that I really don't think he'd try any funny business especially with interstate commerce involved. You may not like seed dealers for their markups and overall marketing spin but I do have friends using his stuff and they have had good good luck with it so that really all that matters in the end.