Growers are being reminded to check the status of seed trading restrictions on Western Australia Department of Agriculture crop varieties protected under the Plant Breeders Rights Act.

Department of Agriculture commercialisation officer Tresslyn Walmsley said protection of varieties by Plant Breeders Rights did not mean that farmer to farmer seed trading was restricted, although growers should check.

"The decision on whether to permit farmer to farmer trading is made on a case by case basis when the marketing licence is granted to the licensee. Restricted trading is generally granted for a period of four years," she said.

Ms Walmsley said varieties were generally subject to a seed royalty or Crop Improvement Royalty.

"A seed royalty is paid at the point of seed purchase. A Crop Improvement Royalty, which is an end point royalty, is levied on the sale of each tonne of grain harvested and is deducted at the point of delivery, regardless of how the grower accessed the seed," she explained.

"The Crop Improvement Royalty (CIR) is levied on a variety during the period covered by Plant Breeders Rights, which for a grain variety is a maximum of 20 years."

Ms Walmsley said a table detailing the trading and royalty status of Department of Agriculture varieties was available to help resolve grower confusion on this issue.

"The table clearly lists all crop varieties released by the Department and protected by Plant Breeders Rights, and states whether they are subject to a seed royalty or CIR," she said.

"The table also details the amount of royalty to be paid and assigns varieties to groups where farmer to farmer trading is either prohibited or allowed. For restricted varieties, the table provides the appropriate licensee’s name."

The table is available from the Department’s website at
www.agric.wa.gov.au/programs/plantresearch/index.htm.

Ms Walmsley said the table only dealt with Department of Agriculture varieties.