81 



Statement 



by 

 Lawrence Strouts 

 Strouts Seeds, Inc. 



Good afternoon. My name is Lawrence Strouts. I am from Wilsey, Kansas, and I am 

 pleased to be here today to discuss H.R. 2927, the Plant Variety Protection Act Amendments of 

 1993. I'd like to thank Congressman Roberts for inviting me here to Washington to talk about 

 these important changes to the PVP Act. I appreciate his hard work, and I am glad that I have 

 a chance to talk directly to you and to the subcommittee about my concern as a farmer and a 

 seedsman. 



I am very concerned about the content and enforcement of some parts of the Plant Variety 

 Protection Act. 



I wear two hats: one is that of a seedsman who observes that many farmers grow and sell 

 PVPA seeds with little or no regard to the consequences. 



The other hat is that of a fanner who sees fewer new varieties and less research being 

 conducted towards producing new varieties that will ward off diseases and insects that attack our 

 wheat crops. The results are lower yields and reduced profits. 



As a seedsman, I grow registered and certified wheat seed as it is released from Kansas 

 State University. Generally, these releases are to category I seedsmen on a county basis. I feel 

 it is my responsibility to propagate wheat by PVPA rules and provide my farmer customers with 

 the best available seed. 



I am also an AgriPro Associate and follow a similar procedure, but pay a royalty on each 

 bushel sold to AgriPro which goes back into research programs. I understand that it takes about 

 10 years and a million dollars to release each new cultivar 



On the surface, the PVPA system looks good. It is not working, though, because of 

 widespread disregard for the rules and regulations. 



For instance: 



Pioneer built a good reputation in grain sorghum and corn, then decided to enter the 

 wheat seed business. They built a state-of-the-art research facility at Hutchinson, Kansas. From 

 there, they started marketing wheat seed through their dealers, hoping for a good return on their 

 investment. 



They released some excellent varieties, but it didn't work out because farmers would buy 

 a few bushels, raise a crop, and then sell seed illegally to their neighbors. Even some of their 

 trusted dealers got into the act. Pioneer finally realized what was happening and closed their 

 research facility at a considerable loss to everyone involved 



AgriPro observes that about 30 percent of Kansas wheat is planted to their varieties, yet 

 they only collect royalties on about S percent. Think of what they could do with a six fold 

 increase in research money! 



