Syngenta Reaches Settlement with Kansas Farmer Over Selling Uncertified Wheat Seed

In Kansas, Syngenta settled with Kyle Awalt, a Kansas farmer, for his sale of noncertified protected wheat seeds, specifically Syngenta’s AgriPro SY Monument and SY Wolf wheat seeds. Under the Plant Variety Protection Act, no one is allowed to offer or cell uncertified protected wheat seed. The AgriPro and SY Wolf seeds are popular among producers in Kansas and surrounding areas due to their high disease resistance and high yields, but since they are protected by law as genetically innovative wheat varieties created by Syngenta, they can’t be sold illegally without fear of legal recourse. Syngenta and other plant breeders protect their intellectual property through a wheat industry cooperative, the Farmers’ Yield Initiative, which helps enforce the Plant Variety Protection Act laws.