Senator Jon Tester is introducing a Farm Bill amendment next week that aims to reinvigorate classical plant breeding and public cultivar development.
Call your senators today and ask them to support Senator Tester’s Farm Bill amendment to improve seed choices for American farmers and strengthen U.S. agriculture.
What this means: Establishing classical plant breeding (or “conventional,” field-based selection) as a priority for public research is critical to the competitiveness and resiliency of U.S. agriculture. Farmers constantly face changing climate, insect, weed, and disease pressures that vary by region, and they lament reduced options in regionally appropriate seed cultivars held in the public domain. Crops must continuously be adapted to meet these changes, and the most productive approach is to have seeds adapted to the same environment as their intended use through classical plant breeding.
Find your senators here or call the Senate switchboard and they’ll connect you: (202) 224-3121.
The message is this: “As the Senate debates the 2013 Farm Bill, I urge you to support the amendment sponsored by Senator Tester that aims to reinvigorate classical plant breeding to ensure farmers have the seed they need to be successful. Developing regionally appropriate seed varieties held in the public domain is paramount to the success of U.S. agriculture.”
Classical plant breeding is cost-effective, proven, and the best source of the diverse, complex traits that allow farmers and researchers to respond to changing conditions, new challenges, and new market opportunities. It’s not controversial, it has obvious benefits for researchers and consumers, and it’s good for every American farmer, no matter what kind of crop they choose to grow.
Your call will help ensure that public research dollars deliver diverse, public seed choices to American farmers.
More talking points and background after the jump.











