Ruling Ensures Continued Advancement In Ag Products

In the closely watched case of Monsanto vs Bowman the U.S. Supreme court has ruled that Monsanto can indeed use patents to prevent farmers from planting later generations of genetically engineered seeds. There are those that scream foul over the ruling, but think about it, if the decision had gone the other way, in favor of allowing farmers to save or acquire “second generation” patented seeds for replanting, there would be very little reason for companies such as Monsanto to continue research and development investments that improve agriculture. Even American Soybean Association president Dan Murphy recognizes this stating that, “Without the protection of intellectual property companies on whom my fellow soybean farmers and I rely would have no real incentive to make the investments necessary to develop new soybean varieties that yield more, resist disease, weeds, and pests, are drought tolerant, or have improved nutritional profiles.” There are reasons patent protections have been put into place, and they stand whether you’re one individual, a small independent company, or a large corporation operating on an international level.