Illinois Farmers Want to Save Patented Seeds & Pay a Reduced Royalty to Monsanto

Illinois farmers want to be able to keep some patented seeds
By Repps Hudson
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 7 December 2005
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/0/AB9832AF40F9776D862570D0001332A2?OpenDocument

The Illinois Farm Bureau is urging a fresh look at federal laws that bar
farmers from keeping patented plants' seeds from one year to the next.

The immediate target appears to be Monsanto Co.'s patented Roundup Ready
soybeans, which comprise more than 80 percent of U.S. soybean production.

Illinois farmers produce one-fifth of the nation's soybeans. This year's
harvest is estimated to be 3.04 billion bushels.

A resolution, approved Monday night, reflects the financial pressures on
many farmers, who chafe at paying a premium for patented seeds. It also
encouraged more research on seed technology by the private and public
sectors.

The Illinois Farm Bureau's position, reached a decade after Monsanto began
selling its patented seeds, is believed to be the first from a large
soybean-producing state that challenges the seed giant's patent rights. The
patented soybeans resist Roundup herbicide, which Monsanto also sells.

Farmers, struggling with higher fuel and fertilizer costs, want to save
money by keeping Roundup Ready soybeans for their own use and planting them
in later years. Monsanto has fought this practice in the courts.

Tamara A. White, the Farm Bureau's director of commodities, said four
lawsuits involving brown-bagging are pending in Southern Illinois.

Brown-bagging is the centuries-old practice of saving the seed from a crop
to be used in later years. Monsanto's Roundup soybean-use agreement
specifically prohibits the practice. If farmers were allowed to brown bag
seeds, experts say the resulting reduced sales would cut into the amount of
money available for further research into genetically modified crops.

Lyle Roberts, executive director of the Illinois Soybean Association, said
it's in farmers' long-term interest to ensure that companies doing research
and development on GM seeds receive an attractive return on their
investments.

"We believe you should let the marketplace decide. Farmers who plant these
seeds make more money," said Roberts. "We think everyone should be working
harder to get these products accepted in world markets."

"As far as this affects our business, it's not law," said Tami Craig
Schilling, a spokeswoman for Monsanto. "We believe the farmer who loses
access to technology in the long term is at risk. Patents protect invention
and secure investment and innovation."

The American Farm Bureau Federation in Washington passed a similar
resolution several years ago, said Michelle Gorman, a spokeswoman on
biotechnology issues.

"Is there a way that farmers could save their seed and pay the tech fee?"
Gorman said. "Farmers here see farmers around the world paying less for
seeds, and they think that's unfair. You see 'brown-bagging' in Brazil. You
see 'brown-bagging' in Argentina."

The Illinois Farm Bureau's resolution said if Congress were to amend the
Plant Variety Protection Act, it should consider allowing farmers to keep
the seeds from plants grown from patented seeds and to pay a reduced
royalty. Farmers could use those seeds only on their own farms and would not
be allowed to sell them.

Gorman said Monsanto's patents on genetically modified organisms are
protected under a federal utility patent. The Supreme Court has ruled that a
utility patent for seeds supersedes the Plant Variety Protection Act, she
said.

"We think (the resolution is) fair," said Henry Kallal, a delegate who
represents farmers in six counties in or near the Metro East. "The farmers I
represent say it's virtually impossible to find non-GMO seeds now."

The 357 delegates, representing countries and districts throughout Illinois,
approved the resolution after 35 minutes of debate, said White, and reducing
subsidies to farmers, the delegates on Tuesday adopted language that urges
the U.S. government to get countries - particularly Japan, South Korea and
those in the European Union - to lower agricultural tariffs and subsidies,
said Kallal, who chaired the farm-policy task force.

In addition, delegates supported some form of "income assurance" that would
protect U.S. farmers when crops fail or market prices are low. They also
want to see more government support for "green payments"; for practicing
land and habitat conservation.