Copyrighted Image? DMCA | Shortages of seed in some crop types are almost a certainty leading into the 2012 planting season. Due to poor spring planting conditions in North Dakota, durum, barley and edible bean seed acres were greatly reduced in 2011. In the case of barley, a reduction in malt contracts over the past two years has also negatively influenced seed production. Nearly every commonly used small grain variety is protected by Plant Variety Protection Title V and may only be sold as a class of certified seed. Brown bagging, or farmer-to- farmer exchange or sale of protected varieties, is illegal. |