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The implementation of a computerized certification system to manage information by the Mississippi Seed Laboratory to validate the quality and purity of seed  
MISSISSIPPI STATE SEEDING TESTING LABORATORY
INCREASES PRODUCTIVITY WITH NEW
COMPUTERIZED CERTIFICATION SYSTEM
June 1, 2001
 
Every piece of information used by the Mississippi State Seed Testing Laboratory to validate the quality and purity of seed was gathered, calculated, recorded, stored and retrieved by hand prior to February 1, 2001.
Managing data by hand was relegated to the past by the seed lab on that date with implementation of a computerized certification system that automates data recording and testing procedures. The new system has greatly reduced the amount of paperwork involved in recording and tracking performance of seed.
"We previously had to enter data generated from a seed sample by hand or by typing the information on numerous index cards and analysis sheets," said Lee Daughtry, director of the Mississippi State Seed Testing Laboratory. "The index cards traveled by hand throughout the lab as we performed the various analyses required for the client. Then we had to re-enter the data on a second set of cards and sheets. With the new computerized system, we enter the data only once. That’s progress."
Obtaining a computerized system for information management has been one of Daughtry’s main objectives since he first became employed by the seed lab in 1986. The election of Lester Spell as Agriculture Commissioner secured much needed support in transforming the lab into a modern facility.
"After Dr. Spell saw how we had to calculate and record all of our data by hand, he vowed to get us out of the Dark Ages and into the Computer Age," Daughtry said.
The new system in use by the seed lab is called Pure Harvestâ . Daughtry was told by representatives with the Minnesota Crop Improvement Association that the software increased productivity by automating many tasks and calculations.
Once Pure Harvest was assessed to be compatible with the computer network of the state agriculture department and able to serve the needs of the lab, a decision was made to implement the new system.
The computerized system has created new possibilities for efficiency, accuracy and timeliness in delivering information to clients. Information captured by the lab will soon be made available to clients on the Pure Harvest web site. Reports listing the results of analyses will be placed into a "user-friendly" format and emailed to clients.
"We can query for information using key words for lot numbers, lab numbers and companies," Daughtry said. "The time that we once spent retrieving information has literally been cut in half since we implemented the new system. "