How everyone pays the cost for patents on seeds, and private companies get rich from keeping them secret

Photo credit: USDA via Flickr. Public Domain. Article by Julie Dawson, Kiki Hubbard and Paulina Jenney. The Conversation – June 23, 2026.

The United States is one of only a handful of countries that allows companies to hold patents on plant varieties. As a result, a small number of corporations can – and do – suppress competition in the seed industry, stifle innovation and turn taxpayer subsidies intended for farmers into corporate profits. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has found that two companies control more than 70% of U.S. corn and soybean seed sales, and the top four cottonseed companies control nearly 94% of that market. […]

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