GURT (Genetic Use Restriction Tech) - Terminator gene

[SASKFARMER3]

North farmer you do make sense on the fact that the Climate of rural Canada was destroyed by the Fed liberals and NDP and I do agree if we were getting a little return on the farm for our investment then yea all the research could go ahead but in todays world No.

[sawfly]

with the existance of the terminator gene. Reasearch on the private side with open pollinated crops would cease.
So any advances with yeild,nitrogen fixing,seed properties would become property of the companys.
assume a change in seed properties is required. Eg. like the change to low glugasinate canola. or a new rust or furssium . the old varieties would become obsolete.
The only ones that could be successfully grown are the new ones, which would give the seed companys a total strangle hold on the farmer.(the ability to charge whatever they wanted.)
with plant breeders rights as they are ,older varieties would be taken off the market and dissapear, (just stop selling them) forceing farmers and consumers to pay whatever the companys want.

we have already seen a shift to big bussines control. the takeing away of canola seed treatments from farmers.
you will notice that a lot of old chemicals just dissapear , triumph hoegrass . or they are fixed at such high prices to discourage their use. Edge, treflan , muster, poast
they dont drop in price to compete with the newer better systems , thus forceing farmers into the 6$/lb. seed and 25$ chemical systems.
the same thing will happen here , choices will be removed , incentives will be created to abandon all old seeds and systems. then they will own our and the consumers ass even more than they do now.
Look at RR canola soybeans , what has happened in 20 years, every gain in production has been scooped up by the chem/seed co. Farmers risk 4 times as much money to get a smaller return . Farmers take all the risk and chem guys get paid up front.

This may be progress but not for the farmer or consumer.

[northfarmer]

research on open polinated crops and devlopment of traits for op's would likley continue if there was demand and a business case to do so.... ...why would any company want to develope the technology if it was not theirs to control, at tleast until the expiry of their patent.......the only other way to advance plant genetics would be with public fuding.....cannot see that happening........ the new technolgies may become those of choice because they will be the ones the farmers get the greatest return from growing else farmer will not adopt them......the current form of PBR allows the unrestricted replanting of farm grown seed on the farm it was grown on...so how would that not allow farmers to continue to propigate their own seed suuply if they so wish........as for the old chemistries many can still can be purchased if they are still registered in Canada either from new vendors of the product or OUI....ie. recent rebranding of what was avadex...fact is most farmers want the new chemistries based on efficacy and rotational needs to prevent resistance............ok, the economincs of crop production are as challenging now as they have ever been, but i think that has more to do with government and trade policy hear and abroad....no one forces farmers to use these technologies...go organic if you think so, no law against it.....in MHO