The Seed Science Center at Iowa State University is a center of excellence nationally and internationally in seed research, education, technology transfer, and international seed programs. It provides a focus for teaching, research, and extension programs on seed in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and it is a global leader in introducing science into policy to benefit world seed trade.

The Seed Science Center is home to the largest public seed testing laboratory in the world. For more than 100 years, the lab has provided accurate and professional seed-testing services for members of the seed industry.

Seed Science Center faculty members are committed to providing quality research and education to produce the next generation of leaders in the seed industry. Faculty specializing in seed physiology, seed pathology, risk management, and seed conditioning conduct cutting-edge research projects in sustainable agriculture, biotechnology, crop utilization, computer technologies, microbiology, toxicology, and molecular biology.

Working to provide access to quality seed, facilitating seed trade, and promoting the growth and development of the seed industry are important missions of the Center's Global Programs. In the past 20 years, center scientists have designed and conducted programs in more than 80 countries around the world to achieve these goals.