August, 2003

Overview

Plant breeding activity has significantly changed since the 1970s. In the U.S. and elsewhere, laws have been written and refined to protect through patenting intellectual property embodied in biological material. Patent protection has led to more formal protocols for interactions among plant breeders employed in both the public and private sectors. Research in molecular biology has resulted in biotechnology techniques that expand the array of genes available in plant breeding programs and make plant breeding a more precise science.

These factors have resulted in a vast increase in plant breeding by private companies. According to a 1994 national survey, 2,241 scientist years (SYs) were devoted to plant breeding research and development in U.S. public and private sectors that year—1,499 SYs in private companies, 529 in state and territorial agricultural experiment stations (SAES), and 213 associated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. During 1990-94, SAES experienced a net loss of 12.5 plant breeding SYs, while private industry showed a net growth of 160 SYs.

Feature
National Plant Breeding Study (PDF file)
This study of U.S. plant breeders conducted by Dr. Ken Frey of Iowa State University provides a comprehensive accounting of national plant breeding research efforts and also provides the only national benchmark to compare current efforts and future developments in this critically important area of research.

Data files

The data presented here are from a national plant breeding survey published in 1996 by Dr. Kenneth J. Frey, National Plant Breeding Study-I: Human and Financial Resources Devoted to Plant Breeding Research and Development in the United States in 1994, Special Report 98, Iowa Agricultural and Home Economics Experiment Station. Tables in the original publication were reformatted by ERS to make a more useful database.

Get the spreadsheet containing all the data files. Note: data in 16 tables in the original publication were collapsed into 4 tables that cover:

• Table 1—Numbers of scientist-years (SYs) devoted to plant breeding, arranged by employer and crop.
  
  
• Table 2—Numbers of plant breeding SYs employed in the Plant Materials Centers/USDA.
  
  
• Table 3—Number of SYs employed by crop, cultivar type, and agency or industry.
  
  
• Table 4—Cost per SY, number of companies, total SYs, and dollar input into plant breeding R&D by private industry and the public sector.

Data in 3 appendices were collapsed into a single table:

• Table A—SYs devoted to plant breeding research (PBR), germplasm enhancement (GE), and cultivar development (CD) activities, and total SYs and projects for breeding of crops by research institution.

Updates
A new study of plant breeding research is currently underway and being conducted by researchers at Auburn University. The new study will update information presented in the Iowa State University study and obtain new information regarding plant biotechnology research.

Methods
The original data were collected by Dr. Kenneth J. Frey at Iowa State University. A questionnaire was developed in cooperation with the Survey Unit of the Iowa State Statistical Laboratory. Data requested included numbers of scientist-years (SYs) devoted to plant breeding research (PBR), germplasm enhancement (GE), and cultivar development (CD) activities by crop from each employer. An original mailing list of more than 1,000 seed companies was edited down to 690 companies. Data on USDA's Agricultural Research Service efforts were obtained from the ARS National Program Staff. The questionnaire was also sent to 28 USDA Plant Materials Centers (PMCs), 50 State Agricultural Experiment Stations (SAES), 2 other universities, 6 experiment stations (AES) in territories administered by the U.S. Government, and 17 1890 colleges. Returns are indicated below:

Glossary
See the glossary for the explanations of the economic and scientific terms.

Recommended readings
Public Sector Plant Breeding in a Privatizing World—Intellectual property protection, globalization, and pressure on public budgets in many industrialized countries have shifted the balance of plant breeding activity from the public to the private sector. Several economic factors influence the relative shares of public versus private sector plant breeding activity, with varying results over time, country, and crop. Public sector involvement in plant breeding may have benefits to society that the private sector's activities may not, fostering greater sharing of information and more work on traits of plant varieties that may be under-researched by private breeding programs. AIB-772 (8/01).

Concentration and Technology in Agricultural Input Industries—Consolidation in the agricultural biotechnology industry can both enhance and dampen market competition. This report examines the causes and consequences of industry consolidation and its effect on market efficiency. The protection of intellectual property rights is integral to the agricultural biotechnology marketplace, stimulating research and development, investment, and the development of substitute markets. However, excessively broad intellectual property rights can hinder the market for innovation. Recent data on mergers, acquisitions, and strategic collaborations in the agricultural biotechnology industry, as well as the emergence of life science conglomerates, indicate some level of consolidation. AIB-763 (3/01).

Related briefing rooms

•    Agricultural Research and Productivity   
•    Agricultural Biotechnology
•    Ag Chemicals and Production Technology