Posted September 17, 2014
An Oregon
Wheat Commission administrator introduced terms of agreement between the
commission and Oregon State University (OSU), according to a Capital Press
article available here.
The terms
were revealed at the OSU extension meeting and define how OSU spends royalties
on OSU-developed wheat varieties.
According to the agreement, 75 percent of royalties
collected by the university will be reallocated into the wheat breeding
program. Five percent of royalties will support Crop and Soil Science
Department, 10 percent will support variety inventors, and 10 percent to the
OSU Research Office.
“That is
much improved from the old system,” said Blake Rowe, Oregon Wheat Commission
CEO. “I think it is a very good agreement.”
Mike
Flowers, OSU Extension Cereals Specialist, stated that the agreement
significantly decreases the percentage of royalty funds that will be recycled
back into the wheat breeding program.
In the
past few years, OSU has collected $1.2 million and $1.5 million a year in
royalties through a 2 percent royalty on Clearfield varieties.
“(The
Research Office) has been getting $400,000 or $500,000 a year the last five
years or so,” Flowers said. “That is a big chunk of change, and growers wanted
to see some of that come back into the program.”
For more information on commodity programs, please visit the
National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
