Be Aware of Wheat Seed Laws

As wheat harvest is being completed and we begin making marketing and future cropping plans it is important to understand seed laws pertaining to wheat. Many private and public wheat varieties are protected from unauthorized replanting by the Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA) and/or United States Patent. Various individuals or entities may be potentially responsible for potential violations, including those selling seed, seed cleaners, and even consumers buying seed.

Plant Variety Protection (PVP) and Patent are two distinct categories that offer seed protection for a seed company or public institution who obtains either or both for their specific variety. The primary elements of this protection are summarized as follows:

• Seed produced from a PVP variety cannot be sold, advertised, offered, delivered, consigned, exchanged, or exposed for sale without permission from the proprietary seed owner. In addition, no one can try to buy, transfer, or possess the variety in any way. It also is illegal to clean or condition such seed to sell for planting purposes.
  • A Crop Exemption (section 113) in the 1994 amended PVPA allows growers to collect and save seed produced from any legally purchased PVP-protected variety. Growers can use this seed for their own future planting, but they cannot sell, trade, or transfer it to others for planting purposes. This also allows seed to be cleaned and conditioned for the activities permitted by the Crop Exemption.
• Seed produced from a Patented variety cannot be planted by anyone for any reason.

For further information feel free to contact myself or any of the following contacts for more information:

Mississippi Seedmen’s Association: Richard Taylor (662-686-4621)

Mississippi Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry, Seed Division: Fabian Watts (662-325-3392)

Additional references are:

Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA) and Patent Facts For Wheat Seed Growers, Dealers, and Consumers

Plant Variety Protection Act and Regulations and Rules of Practice

Plant Variety Protection Database of Varieties

United States Patent Office and Databases