Political Quotes

“the Plant Variety Protection Act codifies our international commitments under treaties for protection of plant varieties. The law gives plant varieties 20 years of protection, similar to a patent, in order to preserve the quality of the variety. The law currently does not provide any mechanism to provide for periods of additional protection for varieties that are still commercially valuable. The original PVPA certificate for Marshall ryegrass was issued prior to the adoption of the latest changes pursuant to international negotiations and, as a result, were protected for less than the current 20-year period. My amendment would provide an additional period of PVPA protection of up to 10 years for one of the most if not the most heavily used varieties of ryegrass used by livestock producers around the country. The Secretary would be authorized to cancel this protection as soon as a new variety of this valuable feed grass is developed.”