The North Dakota Weed Seed Free Forage Program is a voluntary program in which producers may choose to have forage acreage inspected in order to use or sell forage as certified weed seed free forage or mulch. The forage acreage must be inspected no more than 10 days before harvest and meet standards set forth by the North American Weed Management Association (NAWMA). Noxious weeds actively producing viable seed cannot be present in certified forage. The goal of this program is to mitigate the risk of spreading NAWMA and North Dakota noxious weeds by recreationalists and other land users.

Currently, North Dakota’s State Parks, National Parks, as well as U.S. Forest Service lands, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Military Reservations, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife lands all require the use of certified forage. In addition, certified mulch may be required in bid contracts for projects such as road building and maintenance, erosion control, wind tower construction sites and pipeline projects.

For more information please contact Lane Kozel at (701) 328-2250 or by e-mail at ldkozel@nd.gov.