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STATEMENT OF THE AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION 



TO THE HOUSE AGRICULTURE SUBCOMMITTEE ON 



DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS AND NUTRITION 



REGARDING H.R. 2927, THE PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION ACT 



AMENDMENTS 



Presented by 



John Keeling 

 Director, Governmental Relations 



May 24, 1994 



Mr. Chairman, members of the subcommittee, I am honored to appear 

 before you today to discuss the American Farm Bureau Federation's position on 

 proposed changes to the Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA). My name is John 

 Keeling. I am a Director of Governmental Relations with the American Farm 

 Bureau Federation (AFBF). We look forward to working with the members of th< 

 subcommittee and staff to strengthen the protection of the rights of breeders and 

 to guarantee farmers access to superior seed varieties. 



Farm Bureau has spent considerable time developing a position on the 

 proposed changes to the PVPA. As is often the case in the policy arena, this 

 involved balancing competing interests. Farm Bureau policy reflects our membei 

 commitment to protecting private property rights, including intellectual property 

 rights. That protection had to be balanced with the need to retain a workable 

 system whereby farmers who wish to save, condition and utilize otherwise 

 protected seed on their own holdings could do so with a minimum of disruption t< 

 normal operating practices. 



Each of you have a copy of our statement which includes the following texl 

 of AFBF policy on the PVPA: 



"In order to strengthen the rights of plant breeders and maintain 

 farmers's ability to save seed for the land he or she farms and dispose 

 of incidental amounts of seed, we will: 



"(1) Support strong intellectual property rights protection to allow 

 seed developers the ability to recover the costs of research and 

 development of seeds; 



"(2) Support restricting the sales of protected varieties, except for 

 incidental sales, without the permission of the owner, 



