Seed Regulations post Brexit

Jim Bullock

Never Forgotten
Honorary Member
Just wondering what will happen to seed regulations post Brexit? Will it be possible to trade certified seed between farmers and growers who are not certified seed merchants. And if we go totally "Little Englanders" could we dream of being able to buy seed from a neighbour (pay the royalties) and plant it on our own farm, presently a hanging offence.
These are the sort of questions to which nobody could give me an answer to pre June 23rd and now there seems to be even more confusion
 

Grass And Grain

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Yorks
Great question Jim.

I don't know the answer, but let's hope we can get some common sense.

I guess seed standards are there to help protect us from weed and disease spread, but if you trust your source from a neighbour (we could check the standing crop before harvest) then it should be just as good as home-saved.

I would be happier seeing a standing neighbours crop and assessing it for myself than buying new from an unknown source.

Is home saved seed levy an eu agreed thing?
 

Y Fan Wen

Member
Location
N W Snowdonia
Just wondering what will happen to seed regulations post Brexit? Will it be possible to trade certified seed between farmers and growers who are not certified seed merchants. And if we go totally "Little Englanders" could we dream of being able to buy seed from a neighbour (pay the royalties) and plant it on our own farm, presently a hanging offence.
These are the sort of questions to which nobody could give me an answer to pre June 23rd and now there seems to be even more confusion
I'm just a pg farmer so know nothing about this. Can you explain why this is not allowed?
 

Dan Powell

Member
Location
Shropshire
I think there's a lot of issues like this that need addressing. The NFU are our best hope to get things like this sorted out. I know that many people dismiss them as ineffectual but the thing to do about that is to get involved I guess rather than complain from the fringes.

The first thing I want looking at is marketing British produce as British. Let's get a big Union Jack on our produce ASAP.

@Guy Smith what is the NFU strategy going forward.
 

Tractor Boy

Member
Location
Suffolk
I think there's a lot of issues like this that need addressing. The NFU are our best hope to get things like this sorted out. I know that many people dismiss them as ineffectual but the thing to do about that is to get involved I guess rather than complain from the fringes.

The first thing I want looking at is marketing British produce as British. Let's get a big Union Jack on our produce ASAP.

@Guy Smith what is the NFU strategy going forward.
No point in putting a Union Jack on it! Brexit has scuppered that. Just a st George cross soon.
 

Guy Smith

Member
Location
Essex
I think there's a lot of issues like this that need addressing. The NFU are our best hope to get things like this sorted out. I know that many people dismiss them as ineffectual but the thing to do about that is to get involved I guess rather than complain from the fringes.

The first thing I want looking at is marketing British produce as British. Let's get a big Union Jack on our produce ASAP.

@Guy Smith what is the NFU strategy going forward.

For those who have the patience to listen hopefully I articulate them here. NFU Suffolk delegate Steve Rash also makes some really good points.

Apologies for my stumbling words at times - it was the morning after a long night - but to be clear, I never touched a drop.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07gctdz
 
Location
Devon
I think there's a lot of issues like this that need addressing. The NFU are our best hope to get things like this sorted out. I know that many people dismiss them as ineffectual but the thing to do about that is to get involved I guess rather than complain from the fringes.

The first thing I want looking at is marketing British produce as British. Let's get a big Union Jack on our produce ASAP.

@Guy Smith what is the NFU strategy going forward.

The NFU has one hell of a fight ahead of it in the next two years protecting UK AG plc, it will need the strongest of leadership teams to do this, only Guy Smith of the current top team should be involved and the other two members need to be replaced with people that will actually stand up and fight for the industry!
 

Y Fan Wen

Member
Location
N W Snowdonia
There is considered to be intellectual property rights in the genetics. The effort was put in up front, you pay for this in a levy.
But the op says' pay the royalties' in his post;
'buy seed from a neighbour (pay the royalties) and plant it on our own farm, presently a hanging offence.'
so I don't follow his statement.
 

RushesToo

Member
Location
Fingringhoe
But the op says' pay the royalties' in his post;
'buy seed from a neighbour (pay the royalties) and plant it on our own farm, presently a hanging offence.'
so I don't follow his statement.
Sorry, misunderstood, no the regulation is in place until it is removed. The EU will need unraveling and this will be part of it.
 

Barry

Never Forgotten
Honorary Member
The seed regs as they stand are not likely to change significantly as it is not intimately tied into being a member of the EU. And we may get some changes now we are outside but if they have to come with law changes it is clearly going to be pretty far down the agenda with other bigger issues to sort over the next few years.

A lot of EU countries have some sort of home saved levy/royalty on seed but the detail is agreed between the NFU and British Society of Plant Breeders.


Barry
 

Hindsight

Member
Location
Lincolnshire
The seed regs as they stand are not likely to change significantly as it is not intimately tied into being a member of the EU. And we may get some changes now we are outside but if they have to come with law changes it is clearly going to be pretty far down the agenda with other bigger issues to sort over the next few years.

A lot of EU countries have some sort of home saved levy/royalty on seed but the detail is agreed between the NFU and British Society of Plant Breeders.


Barry

Thank you for this.
 

Fuzzy

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Bedfordshire
Just wondering what will happen to seed regulations post Brexit? Will it be possible to trade certified seed between farmers and growers who are not certified seed merchants. And if we go totally "Little Englanders" could we dream of being able to buy seed from a neighbour (pay the royalties) and plant it on our own farm, presently a hanging offence.
These are the sort of questions to which nobody could give me an answer to pre June 23rd and now there seems to be even more confusion
No and No.
 

Barry

Never Forgotten
Honorary Member
Agreed costs will be more but only on a currency basis. Don't think it will be more difficult, at least not from a merchant perspective as I can import seed fairly easily from Europe and I don't think that will change for regs, tariffs etc.
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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