b'We knew a new law was required but none ofState University and was brought back to Purdue us had that kind of experience, Buker says. As aas a faculty member.director, I was part of the committee tasked withBuer laughs: Funny thing is Ive never been an drafting this new law. associate professor but Ive got full professorship I wanted to keep the whole process as cheapat three universities.as possible. I was looking at copyright laws andWhen you own it,You might say Buker is a practical professor comparing it to that of patent laws.you dont waste,who earned tenure and university benefits through Buker explains his thought process: If we hadtime spent in the fields, research plots and working followed the direction of copyright laws, it wouldveyou prevent losswith farmers.saved companies from an advertising perspectiveFFR evolved through the years, changing its as you couldnt prevent someone from stealingand you make asname to FFR in 1976 to better reflected the scope your variety, but it wouldve had to be marketedmuch as you can inof crops in its research portfolio. In 2000, FFR cre-under the original name. ated SoyGenetics LLC to solely operate its soybean The group, however, wanted to more closelya year. If youre notbreeding program with Limagrain Genetics and align with the patent laws, which was a moreproductive today,Land OLakes.expensive process.Most recently NCCPB merged with the The committee met twice a year to work on thethere might not be aAmerican Seed Research Foundation to create the draft. Even though efforts were made to keep itSeed Science Foundation.under the table, it wasnt secret for long. tomorrow.Next year, Buker who resides in Vancouver, We couldnt keep it a secret that a lose group Robert Buker Wash., will be 90. He remains close to agriculture of people were working on a seed law, Buker says.and the issues impacting the industry.Once the news was out, cash came into soybeanKey to his longevity is a good sense of humor breeding like you wouldnt believejust with theand staying up on what hes passionate about.hope of a seed law passing. Buker projects that in the next year or two, soy-Once the committee completed the draft, it wasbeans will surpass corn for U.S. production.read to the entire NCCPB membershipthis wasHe still owns farmland in Indiana but resides in just whoever came through the door. Vancouver where his family has inhabited the land Their next challenge was to get it in the hopper1970since 1883. Last year, his Vancouver farm produced for a vote by the House and the Senate. marked the year7.5 tons of quality sweet corn, which was donated I didnt think we stood any chance of gettingthe Plant Varietyto a local foodbank, and this year it produced more it passed, he says. We had no legal expertise.Protection Act wasthan 6 tons, again donated to the foodbank.But there was one man from the deep South whopublished.Its a tradition I like. At my age, I only buy ripe had a relationshiphe provided all the campaignbananas, Buker teases, but Im already planning money for his congressmans first political office. next years corn crop.So we handed all the materials over to thisMeanwhile, hes writing to The Mark Levin Show gentleman who then passed it over to his con- 1930and wants to make a case against socialism, using gressman. marked the yearthe history of soybean production and the influx of It went to the House and Senate for approvalthe Plant Varietyprivate dollars as the basis.and was signed by the president in 1970.Protection ActsTheres a reason the United States is No. 1 when Now, Buker says, breeders and companiespredecessor, theit comes to crop production, he says. Ive never could fill out similar forms to that of a patent appli- Plant Patent Act, wasopened up a planter to see clean planter boxes cation to get protection for their varieties. published.its always got moldy and rotten seed leftoverBuker continued to be involved with NCCPB butand Ive never seen a combine driven at the proper this allowed for more progress and investment byspeed in the Soviet Union.FFR, which is where Buker really applied his skills.When you own it, you dont waste, you prevent FFR developed a number of new materials, one of1994loss and you make as much as you can in a year. Ifwhich was Hallmark orchard grass that comprisedmarked the yearyoure not productive today, there might not be a more than half of all U.S. and Canada plantings,the Plant Varietytomorrow.according to the Oregon State Department ofProtection Act wasThis, he believes, is what makes the United Agriculture. revised to includeStates so successful.SWAfter 26 years at FFR, Buker moved back to hissaved seed. birthplace of Vancouver and took a post head-ing up the Universty of Wyomings program in Somalia. After that, he took a job with The Ohio DECEMBER 2019SEEDWORLD.COM /95'