Baldwin Calls For More Research Funding For Seed, Animal Varieties

Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is calling on the U. S. Department of Agriculture to invest more money in public research to develop classically bred seed and animal varieties.

New investments in public research could encourage universities and other organizations to develop crop varieties suited for specific farming regions.

According to Harriet Behar, a senior organic specialist with the Midwest Organic Sustainable Education Service, the need for regional seed and animal varieties has grown as farmers experience more production challenges like extreme weather and changes in climate.

“We’re finding that what we have … is kind of a one-size fits all seed offering, and that’s not really servicing the production needs of our farmers,” she said.

Behar said investments in public research have declined over the years, limiting classically bred varieties for both farmers and private research companies.

Behar said the current lack of variety is an issue organic farmers have been facing for years. But new seed varieties are also important to companies working with genetically modified seeds, since they use classically bred seeds to make high-yield hybrids.

“We’re not only making it harder for people who want classically bred seed, but we’re also making it harder to have a wider variety of genetically modified seeds too, because those base hybrids aren’t even there for them,” Behar said.

Funding crop varieties available to everyone is important for continuing advances in both the public and private research field. Behar said most seeds currently developed in the private sector are patented and therefore unavailable for other companies to use in their development of hybrids.

Behar said current limitations in seed varieties make it hard for all farmers to see the same crop yields.

“There’s so many different variations in farms that affect the production needs and yields of the final crop,” said Behar. “It’s not only related to temperature and rainfall but also soil type, topography — so many things.”

Baldwin and 13 other U.S. Senators sent a letter to the USDA in support of public research to introduce new classically-bred crop varieties.