Organic Seed Alliance applauds Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) for introducing The Seeds for the Future Act (S. 2964) today. The bill will prioritize US research dollars for the development and release of public cultivars, with an emphasis on projects that use conventional breeding methods and intend to release finished, “farmer-ready” cultivars. The goal of Senator Baldwin is to have the provisions incorporated into the larger Farm Bill, which will up for consideration by the Senate soon. The bill has broad support from food and farm advocates and industry members.
Publicly bred varieties of crops that meet the diverse and regional needs of farmers are more important than ever. Seed is a farmer’s first defense in the field, providing the genetic tools to address production challenges, meet market demands, and adapt to increasingly variable climates. The Seeds for the Future Act helps farms remain resilient and competitive by:
- Ensuring that federal investments are sufficient to support farmers and researchers in developing seeds that work for a diversity of farming systems and locations
- Prioritizing “farmer-ready” public cultivar development in federal grant programs
- Encouraging commitments to seed diversification and regional adaptation
- Increasing efficiency and improving coordination across federal agencies
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has excellent summaries of the bill here.
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