Overview
Plant breeding activity has significantly changed since the 1970s.
In the U.S. and elsewhere, laws have been written and refined to
protect through patenting intellectual property embodied in biological
material. Patent protection has led to more formal protocols for
interactions among plant breeders employed in both the public and
private sectors. Research in molecular biology has resulted in biotechnology
techniques that expand the array of genes available in plant breeding
programs and make plant breeding a more precise science.
These factors have resulted in a vast increase in plant breeding
by private companies. According to a 1994 national survey, 2,241
scientist years (SYs) were devoted to plant breeding research and
development in U.S. public and private sectors that year—1,499
SYs in private companies, 529 in state and territorial agricultural
experiment stations (SAES), and 213 associated with the U.S. Department
of Agriculture. During 1990-94, SAES experienced a net loss of 12.5
plant breeding SYs, while private industry showed a net growth of
160 SYs.
Feature
National Plant Breeding Study—This
study of U.S. plant breeders conducted by Dr. Ken Frey of Iowa State
University provides a comprehensive accounting of national plant
breeding research efforts and also provides the only national benchmark
to compare current efforts and future developments in this critically
important area of research.
Data Files
The data presented here are from a national plant breeding survey
published in 1996 by Dr. Kenneth J. Frey, National Plant Breeding
Study-I: Human and Financial Resources Devoted to Plant Breeding
Research and Development in the United States in 1994, Special
Report 98, Iowa Agricultural and Home Economics Experiment Station. Tables in the original publication were reformatted by ERS
to make a more useful database.
An Excel spreadsheet, PlanBreedingDataset.xls  ,
contains all the data tables in multiple tabs. Data in 16
tables in the original publication were collapsed to cover:
- Table 1—Numbers of scientist-years (SYs) devoted to plant
breeding, arranged by employer and crop.
- Table 2—Numbers of plant breeding SYs employed in the Plant
Materials Centers/USDA.
- Table 3—Number of SYs employed by crop, cultivar type,
and agency or industry.
- Table 4—Cost per SY, number of companies, total SYs, and
dollar input into plant breeding R&D; by private industry and the
public sector.
- Table A—SYs devoted to plant breeding research (PBR),
germplasm enhancement (GE), and cultivar development (CD) activities,
and total SYs and projects for breeding of crops by research
institution.
Updates
Since 1994 (the benchmark year for this data product), the technology
and structure of U.S. plant breeding have undergone rapid changes.
These changes have affected investment in plant breeding research.
A study conducted in 2002-04 by Auburn University and funded by USDA's CSREES
and ERS surveys all public and private organizations in the United States conducting plant breeding or variety development
in 2001. See
the CSREES website to access the new report and data tables
Methods
The original data were collected by Dr. Kenneth J. Frey at Iowa
State University. A questionnaire was developed in cooperation
with the Survey Unit of the Iowa State Statistical Laboratory.
Data requested included numbers of scientist-years (SYs) devoted
to plant breeding research (PBR), germplasm enhancement (GE),
and cultivar development (CD) activities by crop from each employer.
An original mailing list of more than 1,000 seed companies was
edited down to 690 companies. Data on USDA's Agricultural Research
Service efforts were obtained from the ARS National Program
Staff. The questionnaire was also sent to 28 USDA Plant Materials
Centers (PMCs), 50 State Agricultural Experiment Stations (SAES),
2 other universities, 6 experiment stations (AES) in territories
administered by the U.S. Government, and 17 1890 Colleges.
Returns are indicated below:
|
Institution |
Universe
|
Returned |
| Private Companies |
690 |
584 |
| USDA/ARS |
1 |
1 |
| PMCs |
28 |
26 |
| SAES |
50 |
50 |
| Other Universities |
2 |
2 |
| Territorial AES |
6 |
5 |
| 1890 Colleges |
17 |
6 |
| Total |
794 |
674 |
Glossary
See the glossary for the explanations
of the economic and scientific terms.
Recommended Readings
Public Sector Plant Breeding
in a Privatizing World—Intellectual property protection,
globalization, and pressure on public budgets in many industrialized
countries have shifted the balance of plant breeding activity from
the public to the private sector. Several economic factors influence
the relative shares of public versus private sector plant breeding
activity, with varying results over time, country, and crop. Public
sector involvement in plant breeding may have benefits to society
that the private sector's activities may not, fostering greater
sharing of information and more work on traits of plant varieties
that may be under-researched by private breeding programs. AIB-772
(8/01).
Concentration and Technology in
Agricultural Input Industries—Consolidation in the agricultural
biotechnology industry can both enhance and dampen market competition.
This report examines the causes and consequences of industry consolidation
and its effect on market efficiency. The protection of intellectual
property rights is integral to the agricultural biotechnology marketplace,
stimulating research and development, investment, and the development
of substitute markets. However, excessively broad intellectual property
rights can hinder the market for innovation. Recent data on mergers,
acquisitions, and strategic collaborations in the agricultural biotechnology
industry, as well as the emergence of life science conglomerates,
indicate some level of consolidation. AIB-763 (3/01).
Related Resources
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