SOCR 412 - Seed Processes: Separation and Conditioning

Prerequisite

BZ 104 (Basic Concepts of Plant Life) or BZ 105 (Basic Concepts of Plant Life Laboratory) or BZ 120 (Principles of Plant Biology).

Description

Seed conditioning is a process that removes unwanted weed seeds, crop seeds and other unwanted particles from the seed lot so that the final seed lot will produce a high quality crop in the field.

The purpose of this course is to help students understand the physical processes involved so equipment can be set to perform efficient separations with minimal loss of good seed. In addition, this course will help to illustrate how to set up the seed conditioning facility so that it can be operated in an effective manner.

This course was developed for individuals who have had some very basic experience in seed conditioning. Anyone without that background may have to work a bit harder to grasp some of the ideas, and some increased communication with the instructor may be needed to understand the intricacies of the final project.

This course has online exams that require a proctor. A Proctor Agreement Form will be required. ProctorU is not available for this course.

This course can be applied towards:

• Seed Technology Education Certificate

Textbooks and Materials

All course materials are included online.

This online course must be completed within six months. No time extension is allowed.

Instructors

Jim Stanelle
seedguyjim@itol.com

Jim Stanelle graduated with a B.S. degree in Technical Agriculture from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in 1972. For eleven years he managed a branch of a farm supply Cooperative in Wisconsin that included the operation of the company-owned seed conditioning facility. In 1984 he began attending Kansas State University to pursue a M.S. degree in Agronomy with a seed technology emphasis. The course of study also included a semester of course work at the Mississippi State University Pace Seed Technology Center.

After graduation he was employed by a major seed equipment manufacturer working in technical sales, equipment recommendations, plant set-up and start-up, and trouble-shooting. Later Jim was named as the manager of the Colorado Seed Growers Association (CSGA). That position made him the 'point-person' for seed in Colorado, in charge of seed certification, as well as having oversight over the state seed testing laboratory, the foundation seed program, the state seed dealers association as well as duties as the Colorado State University Seed Extension Specialist.