Pioneer begins soybean checks this spring

by | Feb 25, 2013 | Audio

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In 2014, the patent on the Roundup Ready soybean trait will expire. But that doesn’t mean producers can begin saving seed to replant. DuPont Pioneer forecasts confusion over intellectual property rights to become such an issue one the patent expires that they’ve begun implementing what are called “product compliance checks.” Senior Intellectual Property Manager Randy Schlatter explains the process, which began last year in Canada.

Beginning in the spring of this year, DuPont Pioneer will select customers at random and conduct the checks through a company called Agro Protection. Agro Protection agents will meet growers in person at their farms and review planting maps and sales receipts to ensure seed purchased in that growing season matches seed put into the field. Leaf tissue samples will also go to the Pioneer lab to verify that plants in the field match seed purchased earlier in the season. Within 30 days, producers should be informed as to whether or not they are compliant with the Technology Use Agreement signed when the seeds were purchased. If a producer is found to be non-compliant, Pioneer says it will work with those growers to help them become TUA-compliant again.

Because the Roundup Ready soybean trait went off patent in Canada in 2012, DuPont Pioneer conducted produce compliance checks there last year. Schlatter says the results were positive – nearly 95% of producers who completed post-check surveys indicated that their impression of DuPont Pioneer either remained the same or improved.

At first blush, a product compliance check may seem adversarial. Schlatter says they’re necessary for several reasons, not the least of which is to make sure Pioneer continues to innovate.