MBS Seed, Ltd.
Denton, Texas
(940) 387-2701
(800) 627-2939
Several large seed companies have stepped up their pursuit of litigation against those who are illegally selling their protected varieties. There have already been several incidents where cases have been filed. As we have received many calls from our customers about this, we would like to give you some basic information about plant variety protection.
What is PVP? PVP stands for Plant Variety Protection and refers to a variety that has been granted protection status by the Federal Government under the Plant Variety Protection Act. The PVPA has several main mandates that apply to seed:
• It prohibits the sale of farmer-saved seed without permission from the owner.
• It mandates that seed must be sold by variety name.
• It allows farmers to save enough seed for personal use, which cannot exceed the amount needed to plant his land holdings.
Can a farmer save seed from a protected variety? YES, as long as he saves only enough to plant his land holdings (owned or leased).
Can a farmer sell seed of a protected variety to his neighbor? NO.
Can a seed processor condition seed of a protected variety for a farmer? YES, as long as it is for planting the farmer’s land holdings.
Can a seed conditioner store seed of a protected variety for a farmer? YES, as long as it is for planting the farmer’s land holdings.
Can a seed conditioner clean and stock seed of a protected variety as a step in marketing? NO
Can a seed conditioner deliver or load seed of a protected variety to a third party? NO
Can a seed conditioner advertise farmer-saved seed of a protected variety? NO
Can a seed conditioner sell or act as broker for farmer-saved seed of a protected variety? NO
What is Title V? Title V is an additional level of protection under the Plant Variety Protection Act. The owner of the variety has the option to also put the variety under Title V at the same time that he registers under PVP. In addition to the other PVPA requirements, a variety under Title V must be sold as a certified class of seed, by meeting the standards of an official seed certifying agency.
So, where does this put VNS (Variety Not Stated)? Public seed can still be saved and sold as variety not stated. But it’s difficult to know for sure what is in that bag tagged as VNS. Can you say for sure that it is a pure public or unprotected variety, or does it contain some percentage of a PVP variety? Even mixed seed containing a protected variety is illegal.
What happens if you are caught illegally selling protected varieties? The owner of the variety is subject to be compensated for lost profits, expected profits, attorney fees and all other costs associated with the action. Damages will be paid on all seed, sold or not. The variety owner also has the right to injunction, which would shut down the whole warehouse. Farmers who buy the illegally sold seed are subject to litigation.
What is MBS Seed’s position on Variety Not Stated? At this point, we will not be selling any Variety Not Stated wheat. We are not able to guarantee with 100% confidence at this time that any VNS we would handle is free of PVP varieties. Therefore, we will not put our business or you, our customers, in jeopardy with a questionable product. We know that most of you usually purchase VNS Wheat for your ranching customers who need an economical grazing wheat. We are offering several alternatives to VNS Wheat, including Ranger Brand Wheat.
Thanks to Jeff Ball of Noble Foundation for permission to use parts of his article “What You Need to Know About Plant Variety Protection,” from the June 2003 edition of NF Ag News & Views. Read the entire article by clicking here.
Also, read Jim Johnson's article "Plant Variety Protection Law Enforcement Stepped Up: What Can You Do?" from the May 2004 edition of NF Ag News & Views. Read the entire article by clicking here.
For more information on protected varieties, contact
USDA Plant Variety Protection Office or Texas Foundation Seed Service or Oklahoma Foundation Seed Stocks