52 



Mr. CLEMONS. OK. There is — and I won't use names. There is a 

 company who has contracted in the State of Washington, who did 

 contract in the State of Washington for 1,000 acres of alfalfa seed. 

 They contracted over 1,200 acres in Idaho, and I do not know the 

 acres in Canada. Those varieties were harvested 3 years ago, 2 

 years ago, and in 1993. That seed is still sitting there. The breeder 

 will not allow it to be sold by variety. 



Mr. Volkmer. He will not allow it to be sold by variety, and he 

 will not pay the growers for producing and taking it? 



Mr. Clemons. That is correct. And that amounts to some 



Mr. Volkmer. So they are basically stuck with all that? 



Mr. Clemons. It is darn poor breakfast food. 



Mr. Volkmer. So their only option right now is to use it to 

 produce more alfalfa on their own farms — basically, that is within 

 the law — and save seed. They could basically consider it that, but 

 they have a lot more seed probably to last them for years and 

 years? 



Mr. Clemons. I guess so. Right. There is over 3 million dollars' 

 worth of seed sitting out there. 



Mr. Volkmer. I think it is a little bit of a problem, Mr. Chair- 

 man. 



Mr. Stenholm. I think when we get into the markup this is a 

 subject that needs to be looked at carefully, and we will appreciate 

 you all's input and help in that process further. 



Thank you very much for your testimony and your answering the 

 questions today. We appreciate it very much. 



Mr. Strouts. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



Mr. Clemons. Thank you. 



Mr. Stenholm. Call panel 3. 



The first witness, Mr. Fred Flieler, director of potato purchasing, 

 Frito-Lay. 



STATEMENT OF FRED FLIELER, DIRECTOR, POTATO 

 PURCHASING, FRITO-LAY, INC. 



Mr. Flieler. Good afternoon. I am Fred Flieler, the director of 

 potato purchasing for Frito-Lay, the Nation's leading snack food 

 company with 26,000 employees nationwide. 



Thank you for this opportunity to comment on the proposed 

 amendment to the Plant Variety Protection Act that will extend 

 coverage to potatoes. 



Two of our most successful products are Lay's and Ruffles brand 

 potato chips. These brands utilize approximately 2.5 billion pounds 

 of potatoes on an annual basis. We purchase directly from our 

 growers in 35 States across the country to meet the needs of our 

 consumers. 



Since 1958, Frito-Lay has maintained a research program, and it 

 has been dedicated to the development of new varieties suitable for 

 the manufacture of potato chips. The development of new varieties 

 requires significant monetary investment, and we believe that pro- 

 tection should be afforded under the Plant Variety Protection Act 

 to protect and encourage investment. 



Virtually all plants grown in the United States are protected if 

 a new variety is developed. Sexually produced plants are subject to 

 breeder's rights under the PVPA, and asexually produced plants, 



