Seed Innovations Benefit All of the Seed Industry

Innovations from throughout the seed industry help address many of the economic, environmental and health issues we face as a global society, writes James Weatherly on SeedWorld.com. The USDA estimates that the U.S. seed industry on average reinvests approximately 10% of the estimated total annual seed value, $18 billion, back into research and development of new seed innovations. So approximately $1.8 billion annually is put back into research and development for new seed innovations.

This annual investment in new innovations is fundamental to ensure that new innovations continue to be brought into the market. New seed innovations require a great deal of investment both in time and expense. CropLife International reports a new variety can cost upward of $1 million or more to develop and bring to market over a 7- to 10-year period, and it can cost upward of $100 to $150 million to bring a new seed technology to market.

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Investments in seed innovations have brought dramatic value and benefits to the industry as a whole. From 1980 to 2015, land use is down 22%, soil erosion is down 40%, irrigated water is down 26%, energy use is down 22 percent and greenhouse emissions are down 9%.

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Read the full story on SeedWorld.com.

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