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Legislation introduced at the Ohio Statehouse could create an avenue for farmers to save patented seed from one season to the next, but it could cause problems for those farmers with federal patent laws.

Ohio House Bill 513, introduced by Rep. L. George Distel, D-Conneaut and its companion Senate Bill 252, introduced by Sen. Marc Dann, D, Youngstown, would allow farmers to save one season’s patented seed for planting in the next season for a fee of $7 per bushel of seed saved. Of that, $1 would go to the Ohio Department of Agriculture to cover administrative costs and $6 would go to the seed company that holds the patent.

"Saving seed is a way of life for farmers," according to Larry Gearhardt, OFBF’s director of local affairs. "Some producers even supplement their incomes by cleaning and rebagging saved seed for their neighbors."

However, because of restrictions in federal patent law, farmers can not save any of their harvested patented seed to replant next season.

OFBF does not have state policy regarding saved seed; however, American Farm Bureau policy does support the concept. "We’ve got some concerns, though," Gearhardt said, because a state law allowing farmers to save seed would basically be "encouraging them to violate federal patent laws, and I don’t think that’s something we want to suggest to our members to do."

Gearhardt said he has not heard where seed companies stand on the issue, but he would venture they’d be against it. One of the biggest concerns for farmers if the legislation would become law, is that seed companies would be discouraged from investing in further research to develop other patented products.

ODA also has some concerns about how it would enforce such a law, Gearhardt said.

The next step for the legislation is to be assigned to committee. The legislation will have at least one hearing.

"Our members are definitely talking about this legislation, and they want more information," Gearhardt said. "But I really think we need to acknowledge that this is a federal issue. It’s not something that can be changed in each state without getting the seed companies on board or changing federal patent laws."