Why Pay Royalties on Farm Saved Seed

• Cereal varieties have a limited life cycle. Of the 14 varieties of spring barley and winter wheat recommended for growing during the 2012 harvest only 3 were recommended in 2006.
• In the Irish climate, most varieties break down to disease in their short life cycle, making it imperative that research continuously introduces new replacement varieties that make commercial growing viable in this difficult climate.
• A UK survey in 2009 states that 90% of yield increase over the past 25 years can be attributed to innovation in plant breeding.
• Royalties on seed production go to the breeders of these new varieties. It is their payment to finance the research and development, and is similar to royalties paid on the production of CD’s, DVD’s or computer software. Without royalties there is no research and no new varieties.
• There is a legal obligation on all multipliers of seed to pay royalties be they a merchant producing certified seed or a farmer saving his/her own seed.
• Farmers however, currently only pay 50% of the royalty paid by merchants. Which equates to approx €1 per tonne of grain produced.
• So for a small contribution in royalties farmers are securing their future with the supply of varieties suitable to Irish conditions. Without this royalty there is simply no future in Irish grain production.
• ROYALTY EVASION IS ILLEGAL !!
• … and when you do pay your royalties thank you for your contribution to the future of Irish grain growing !!

IMAGINE IF YOU STILL HAD TO USE 10 YEAR OLD VARIETIES !!

If in doubt about your legal obligations when using farm saved seed, please contact the Plant Variety Development Office CLG.

For more information on certified seed, please visit the Irish Seed Trade Association web site.