GRAPHIC: Bayer, Corteva management overwhelming majority of GMO seed patents

Corn and soybeans are two of America’s most profitable money crops. Corn is utilized in mushy drinks and processed snacks, however most corn is used to provide ethanol, a closely sponsored business. Soybeans flip into cooking oil and biofuel.

Given their worth and centrality to the U.S. meals system, the agriculture business invests tens of millions of {dollars} and years into crafting genetically modified seeds — seeds that produce increased yields. To guard their investments, the business has patented their innovations.

Simply two corporations — Bayer, the German conglomerate, and Corteva Agrisciences, which spun off from DowDuPont in 2018 — management the overwhelming majority of patents associated to genetically engineered crops. They personal just below 80% of those patents, in accordance with U.S. Division of Agriculture analysis.

Bayer and Corteva each personal hundreds of patents associated to seed.

With their grip on the business’s mental property, Bayer and Corteva additionally management nearly all of the marketplace for corn and soybeans, in accordance with USDA analysis utilizing proprietary knowledge.

The 2 corporations additionally management giant swaths of pesticide markets. A 3rd chemical firm, Syngenta, additionally owns many corn and soybean patents.

The USDA has mentioned the focus in mental property has led to fewer decisions for farmers. It has additionally led to much less innovation within the business and better seed prices for farmers, the USDA has mentioned. 

Underneath President Joe Biden, the USDA started learning focus within the seed business a pair years in the past. It not too long ago introduced a brand new framework to handle the focus. One facet of the USDA’s new method helps small business gamers navigate the patent system to allow them to higher perceive what’s legally protected.

It’s unclear how the brand new Donald Trump administration will deal with the USDA’s new framework. Throughout his first time period, there have been three mergers within the seed business.