SB 68 - This act creates the Missouri Seed Availability and Competition Act. Farmers who want to retain patented seed from a current harvest for planting the following season must register with the Department of Agriculture and pay a fee of seven dollars per bushel of saved seed. The fees are to be deposited into the Genetically Engineered Seed Fund, which is created by the act. Six dollars per bushel collected are to be remitted to the patent holder of the seed on a quarterly basis. One dollar is to be retained by the Department for actual administrative costs of the fund. Any unused administrative funds are to be directed to a subaccount of the fund for use by the University of Missouri for agricultural research and development. A farmer will only be liable for health, safety, or environmental impacts if he or she intentionally or negligently fails to significantly follow the patent holder's or manufacturer's instructions and guidelines for planting the seed.
A violation of this act is considered a crime of misappropriation of patented seed and is a Class D felony. All other legal remedies are available to the owner of the misappropriated seed.
This act is similar to HB 1300 (2006).
ERIKA JAQUES