Any variety to be marketed (or given away) in the American Crystal Sugar Company growing area shall be entered in the official trials with all costs and expenses connected with testing to be borne by the seed supplier. Varieties will not be accepted into official trials unless previous years' testing fees have been paid. Bold text indicates changes in policy.

Definitions:

A. Benchmark varieties: Variety approval calculations will be based upon comparison to the set of Benchmark varieties. The set of Benchmark varieties will be changed periodically to reflect varieties that are currently being sold. In 2008, the Benchmark varieties will be Beta 1305R, Crystal R434, Hilleshög 2417Rz, Seedex Rezult and SESVanderhave H46519. A set of biotech benchmark varieties will be established following the 2008 official trial harvest.

B. 97/202 Rule: The 97/202 rule allows an alternate approval criterion for varieties that are somewhat lower in sugar but have the ability to produce high revenue per acre. This means that a variety could be as low as 97.0% of the mean of the Benchmark varieties for recoverable sugar per ton, assuming the combination of recoverable sugar per ton plus revenue per acre is at least 202.0%. A variety at 99% of the mean for recoverable sugar per ton would need to be at least 103% of the mean for revenue per acre, 98% for recoverable sugar per ton would require 104% for revenue per acre and 97% for recoverable sugar per ton would require 105% for revenue per acre.

C. Official Variety Trials: Yield trials run on a coded basis that may be conducted under rhizomania and non-rhizomania conditions. Seeding similar to growers', without thinning, is used for these trials.

All varieties are required to have Rhizomania (see rule 5 exception) and Cercospora tolerance. Aphanomyces tolerance is recommended and Fusarium and Rhizoctonia may be beneficial.

Approval consideration will be based upon the most current information available.

1. To be considered for full market approval in November, 2007 and beyond (varieties entered for the first time in 2006):

1. Varieties must be tested in official variety trials and Aphanomyces and Cercospora nurseries for two consecutive years.
2. Varieties must be equal to or exceed 100.0 percent of the mean of the set of Benchmark varieties for recoverable sugar per ton (RST) across all trial sites.
3. If a variety fails to meet the RST requirement, it will be considered for the 97/202 rule. The 97/202 rule allows a variety with 97.0% to 99.9% of the RST to be approved if the combined total of RST and revenue per acre (relative to the Benchmark varieties) totals 202.0 or greater. See definition B above.
4. The Cercospora leaf spot rating must be 5.20 or less (smaller number) for the two year mean of data.
5. No limit is placed upon seed sales volume.
6. Seed supplier must disclose if variety is 50% or greater Rzm parentage.

2. To maintain full market approval:

1. Varieties must be tested for three consecutive years in official variety trials and Aphanomyces and Cercospora nurseries.
2. The Cercospora leaf spot rating must be 5.40 or less (smaller number) based upon the three-year mean. This is subject to change based upon LSD monitoring.
3. No limit is placed upon seed sales volume.
4. If a variety is disapproved due to Cercospora criteria, it may be sold for a maximum of two years if official testing is continued. Once testing is discontinued, the variety may be sold for one additional year beyond the last year of testing.
5. Seed supplier must disclose if variety is 50% or greater Rzm parentage.

3. To be considered for specialty Aphanomyces or Rhizoctonia market approval:

1. Aphanomyces varieties must be tested in the official variety trials, Aphanomyces and Cercospora nurseries and the Aphanomyces specialty trials for two consecutive years. The Aphanomyces root disease rating (from the Aphanomyces nursery) must be 4.90 or less (smaller number) during those same two years. Root ratings are adjusted similar to the CR ratings to minimize year to year fluctuation in the ratings. Aph tolerance ratings will be monitored to determine if the approval level is adequate for the growers' needs.
2. Rhizoctonia varieties must be tested in the official variety trials, Aphanomyces and Cercospora nurseries as well as the Rhizoctonia nursery for two consecutive years. Rhizoctonia ratings must be superior to (smaller number) the susceptible check in the nursery. (This criterion is being reviewed to determine if this is adequate.)
3. The Cercospora rating must be 5.20 or less (smaller number) for Aphanomyces and Rhizoctonia Specialty approval.
4. Rhizoctonia varieties must be evaluated for Aphanomyces tolerance. No minimum tolerance levels have been established for Aphanomyces, but may be considered in the future.
5. Tolerance to diseases other than Aphanomyces and Rhizoctonia currently is NOT considered to be a criterion for specialty market approval.

4. To be considered for continued Aphanomyces & Rhizoctonia market approval:

1. Three consecutive years of official trial data are required.
2. Varieties must be tested in the official variety trials for three consecutive years.
3. Aphanomyces specialty varieties must continue to be tested in the Aphanomyces specialty trials.
4. An established specialty variety is disapproved when it fails to meet the disease criteria.
5. To maintain approval, Aphanomyces root ratings must be equal to or better (lower) than 5.20 (approval level plus LSD 0.05). This is subject to change based upon LSD monitoring.
6. The Cercospora rating must be 5.40 or less (smaller number), same as for full market varieties.
7. Rhizoctonia specialty varieties must maintain a 3-year average rating superior to (smaller number) the susceptible check in the nursery.
8. Specialty varieties may be sold a maximum of two years beyond the year of disapproval.

6. The mean of Benchmark varieties is calculated according to the guidelines from Nov 2006 (this applies to all approvals involving the mean of Benchmark varieties):

1. If the set of Benchmark varieties is changed, the data for a specific year will be compared to the set of Benchmark varieties that was in place during that year.

7. The American Crystal Seed Committee reserves the right to approve or disapprove varieties outside the normal approval system rules, if and when unique situations arise.

Cercospora and Aphanomyces approval will be based upon adjusted ratings to account for fluctuations in infection levels from year to year.

American Crystal reserves the right to limit the number of entries accepted for each official trial.

Name changes for varieties must be submitted in writing to American Crystal by July 1 of each year.

Seed suppliers are allowed to sell seed for one crop year following the latest year of testing.

All seed offered for sale to American Crystal Sugar Company growers or given to growers must have been produced in North America.