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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Fwd: [sno-valley-tilth] OrganicVeg Farmers whouse Semin

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  • From: Road's End Farm <organic87 AT frontiernet.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Fwd: [sno-valley-tilth] OrganicVeg Farmers whouse Semin
  • Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:17:11 -0400


On Mar 19, 2010, at 7:01 AM, rosnide3 AT vt.edu wrote:

Actually no that is NOT what I was looking for. Perhaps I misunderstood the
whole dicussion but I thought there were claims about non GMO varieties made on
here. I knew about the GMO stuff. I apologize if I have misunderstood.


Whether the varieties are GMO or non-GMO has nothing to do with whether they may be under a non-propagation agreement, or what the terms of such agreement might be. I have certainly seen non- propagation agreements for non-GMO seed, including for both hybrid and open-pollinated seed; though such contracts don't necessarily include language allowing the owner of the seed to come on the grower's land to check for enforcement -- they are mostly meant to prevent sales of the seed to other parties, so enforcement in those cases would be done, I presume, by watching for such sales.

The question is whether Monsanto has applied such contracts to recent sales of Seminis seed, and if so a) what the terms are and b) whether they might try to enforce them on people who have been working for some time with the Seminis varieties to breed their own strains from them and/or to save their own seed for the variety. Many of the Seminis varieties were not previously patented or otherwise restricted, or were restricted only under the old plant variety laws that allowed such use by farmers; and growers may well be in possession of such seed and/or of plants descended from such seed that they are breeding from; under the original terms of sale this is entirely legal.


-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale







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