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The Differences Between Public and Private Plant Breeding

Plant breeding is funded one of two ways — public dollars paid for by governments or private dollars funded by companies. Each funding source has its pros and cons, but what are these differences and how do these two sectors work together (or not) on plant breeding?

On the March 8 episode of Seed Speaks, we’re taking a closer look at what the differences are between private and public plant breeding. We’re joined by François Eudes, the director of research, development and technology in the science and technology branch at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), and Luis Verde, the product development director for North America at Corteva Agriscience.

Eudes leads a large group of staff in at the Lethbridge and Lacombe AAFC research centres and at the Beaverlodge and Vauxhall farms, managing the resources associated with the science programs in seven sector strategies. He’s AAFC’s lead for the forage and beef sector strategy, and the science lead for five cross sectoral files including honeybee, antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use, gene editing, bioinformatics and big data and microbiome. Eudes represents AAFC on various stakeholder engagements and is the science and technology branch director lead for the pulse research cluster.

Verde has worked as a maize breeder at Pioneer, working in several scientific roles including as the research director leading different groups and regions within the plant breeding organization. During his tenure as field breeder at Pioneer, now Corteva Agriscience, he has been granted more than 90 patents and commercialized products in more than 18 countries. Products and germplasm developed by Verde have been recognized within the company and the public sector for their industry-leading yields, including a corn hybrid that has produced a world record 616 bushels-per-acre yield.

Join us on March 8 at 12 p.m. CST on Seed World‘s Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn pages to watch the discussion.

Episode link — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtlkRtZtMxg

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