Friday, October 13, 2017

USDA Helping Growers Build Success with New Technology

2:03 AM    
Everyone loves that burst of flavor you

get when you eat a fresh fruit or vegetable. But we often don’t think about all the research, propagating, and growing by plant breeders that happens prior to giving us that great food experience. Plant breeders work hard to develop new varieties, which are crucial to continued agricultural production, at levels that provide us with food security. New varieties help address the challenges we face - from plant pest and disease outbreaks to an increasing world population.
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has a long tradition of increasing the marketing options for American farmers, growers, and plant breeders. Our Plant Variety Protection Office (PVPO) grants certificates for intellectual property protection to developers of new plant varieties. These certificates enable breeders to market their variety exclusively for 20 years, providing them a strong incentive to invest the time and money to develop new improved varieties. These PVPO issued certificates are recognized worldwide, increasing trade opportunities for agricultural business across the country.
AMS identified a clear opportunity to improve the customer experience by adopting an innovative technology to automate plant variety protection applications. This week PVPO launched a new electronic Plant Variety Protection (ePVP) System.