Growers are being reminded to check the status of seed
trading restrictions on
Western Australia Department of Agriculture crop varieties
protected under the Plant Breeders Rights Act.
Department of Agriculture commercialisation officer Tresslyn
Walmsley said protection of varieties by Plant Breeders Rights
did not mean that farmer to farmer seed trading was restricted,
although growers should check.
"The decision on whether to permit farmer to farmer trading
is made on a case by case basis when the marketing licence is
granted to the licensee. Restricted trading is generally granted
for a period of four years," she said.
Ms Walmsley said varieties were generally subject to a seed
royalty or Crop Improvement Royalty.
"A seed royalty is paid at the point of seed purchase. A Crop
Improvement Royalty, which is an end point royalty, is levied on
the sale of each tonne of grain harvested and is deducted at the
point of delivery, regardless of how the grower accessed the
seed," she explained.
"The Crop Improvement Royalty (CIR) is levied on a variety
during the period covered by Plant Breeders Rights, which for a
grain variety is a maximum of 20 years."
Ms Walmsley said a table detailing the trading and royalty
status of Department of Agriculture varieties was available to
help resolve grower confusion on this issue.
"The table clearly lists all crop varieties released by the
Department and protected by Plant Breeders Rights, and states
whether they are subject to a seed royalty or CIR," she said.
"The table also details the amount of royalty to be paid and
assigns varieties to groups where farmer to farmer trading is
either prohibited or allowed. For restricted varieties, the
table provides the appropriate licensee’s name."
The table is available from the Department’s website at
www.agric.wa.gov.au/programs/plantresearch/index.htm.
Ms Walmsley said the table only dealt with Department of
Agriculture varieties.
"If growers want to trade in other varieties, particularly
from the eastern states, they need to contact either the Plant
Breeders Rights owner or the licensee for that variety."