Sean Dengler.

When it comes to seed saving, it is an interesting exercise for farmers. In Iowa, where corn and soybean hybrid seed is dominant, seed saving is non-existent. Protected by Plant Variety Protection certificates and utility patents, the seed companies treat their corn and soybeans seeds like Disney characters. Being able to save and use for one’s own discretion is not easy. According to the USDA, around 1970 is when seeds started to be protected by companies. Before this, most crop breeding was done in the public sector like universities. Seeds were for the public and farmers could do what they wanted with the seeds.

Due to the little protection against seed saving, seed companies saw little incentive to invest in breeding. It makes sense the value which is lost if a company puts all the work into the breeding and the farmers go to share seeds. On the other side of this dynamic, the public gains while private industry loses. When the certificates and patents came along, these new laws and court rulings gave seed companies protection. With the advancement of genetically modified traits and other biotechnology for plants, these were also protected.

With the protections against seed saving, the seed industry transformed from many seed companies to only two controlling over 65% of United States seed sales. Like how the entertainment industry went from eight film studios down in the mid-20th century to potentially four in 2026 if the Paramount, Warner Brothers Discovery merger goes through, the intellectual property of these businesses across different industries is now controlled by a few leading to access market power. With breeding knowledge transferred from public to private interests, the barriers to entry are even harder to enter the seed business than before.

This illustrates there needs to be a balance. Whether entirely public ownership or entirely private ownership of plant breeding, there are downsides to both. The protection allowed investment into seed breeding, but the reduction in input costs or helping a neighbor out by sharing seeds is lost.

According to Reuters, the paradigm shifted back towards farmers across the pond. Kenya’s High Court recently ruled farmers had a right to carry on the traditional practice of sharing local seeds. While a direct hit against the bottom line for seed companies, this right allowed farmers to share seeds which they knew worked in their climate. According to farmer Samuel Kioko, “It will be a relief for us farmers because we will be planting seeds that are familiar to us. We know where they come from, they are drought resistant and they have been in our lineage all along for many years.”

Farmers know their climate and field conditions they are working with more than any industry player. Farming is as local control as one can get. What works well in the United States, might not work well in Kenya. What works well in Tama County, Iowa, might not work well in Haskell County, Kansas. I bet what works well in Iowa does not work well in Kansas. Nature is different across the board. While a company can try, standardizing a seed across a county, yet along the world will never be perfect.

Between the seed industry and farmers, this is a tough balance. Currently, American farmers are not trusted to know their climate and field conditions more than the seed industry. On the other hand, the private industry utilizes a lot of research and development due to the certificates and patent protection. This has also caused the industry to charge an arm and a leg for their seeds while farmer margins remain thin.

Food is most important, and farmers and the public should always hold the advantage. The seed industry since 1970 has amassed a significant advantage over farmers,and the power scale has shifted too much one way. The American farmers need more wiggle room, not only for themselves, but for their families and communities. Let farmers save some seeds.

Sean Dengler is a writer, comedian, now-retired beginning farmer, and host of the Pandaring Talk podcast who grew up on a farm between Traer and Dysart. You can reach him at sean.h.dengler@gmail.com.