DEFRA restrictions

[Filbert]

As the Scottish Executive and not DEFRA are in charge are the rules the same in Scotland?

[User Removed]

Shortie, quite honesty I don't think their is anything you can do, at the moment we are pursuing taking legal action against the DEFRA as this has been done before.
However would it be worth it?? As someone has already said to me the Government ALWAYS win
Im not sure about scotland, i don't live in scotland so i am not sure

[Sunbeam]

He worked for a company called Syngenta based in Whittlesford for 20 years - the site he worked for specialised in crop protection...

I do recall an article on Farming today on radio 4 (why was I up at that time???) talking about a 'large' company trying to patent the seeds of a crop that was a stable diet of a small country - (does this make sense?) thus making it illegal for them to produce it from other sources...

Surely this is madness? How the hell can you patent a seed, and by doing so decimate a country's economy? How do the people that do so sleep?

[pigletwillie]

Am I right in thinking that its legal to sell ANY seeds be they heirloom or not but they have to be registered and its that cost which takes the seeds out of the market. If you register them you can sell them.

[blossom]

He worked for a company called Syngenta based in Whittlesford for 20 years - the site he worked for specialised in crop protection...

I used to live right next to whittlesford. Dream dream.

[User Removed]

Piglet, its not legal to grow heirloom seeds for seed repoduction in the UK as these cannot be registered

[Alice]

Thank you for that info S for S. I had no idea any of that was happening. Is there anything I can do? Even if it's only at the mini level of defiance.

I think the world has just gone mad, or I have. On another note, my husband was in hospital recently. I asked if I could move a small chair which was sitting in the corridor to his bedside so that I could sit down. The nurse said she would give me a pillowslip to drag it on as no one was allowed to lift anything anymore! ! Maybe DEFRA are in charge. No one else seemed to be!

[User Removed]

There is nothing anyone can really do, (unless you want to may for legal action)

[User Removed]

Rang my solicitor about changing these laws this morning, he said legal action is possible as long as the correct routes are followed.
First of all i have got to ring them and ask for these laws to be removed (and their going to do that ) fax them a list of reasons and a large piece of information on how people can choose what they want to grow and how this is ruining the Uk agricultural heritage (4 pages long )
Wish me luck

[pigletwillie]

I dont mean to be argumentative but how then do the HDRA manage to grow their heritage seeds and also the Vide Verde seed collection. Most of their seeds are heirloom and therefore according to you "illegal" to grow.

I am sure an organisation of standing like the HDRA or Garden Oganics as it is now called certainly wouldnt flout the law as openly as the do by growing heritage seeds for seed production. I have just bought heritage "champion of England peas from them. Having spoken to them they say they can be grown and indeed registered but the costs far outweigh the likely return on selling the seed so the seed companies dont bother. If they are not registered they can still be grown but not SOLD to the public, hence you join a "club" to buy them as then they are not being sold to the public. Surely if these two companies prosper by doing it this way you would be far better off following suit rather than feeding £20 notes to solicitors.

[User Removed]

Your not being argumentative, People like the HDRA grow these seeds but do not actually sell them do they, they sell a membership.
A club such as people like the HDRA have are not really suitable for us, however we do not have both the financial backing and public support like these large companys. Without such support these companys would fail and we most proberbly would
Ohh and finally, i dont know who your solicitors are but mine each £50 notes

[pigletwillie]

Mmm, mine is £195 an hour billed in 6 minute increments.

All you need to do to get around it is to do as "The Real Seed Company (Vide Verde)" do and charge 1p per order for membership. They are a small company like yourself and seem to have no problem doing this. You could easily set up your billing to account for the 1p.

I buy an awful lot of seeds from them as they have provenance and work in small low intensity situations like allotments and gardens rather than the "big players" seeds which are bred for farming and just put in small expensive packets for we gardeners. If you do go down that route you can put me down as a customer and you will have my full support on a seed buying front.

[User Removed]

Piglet, I understand this piglet and will be looking into this for the fucher.
Thanks for all your advice

[Earthbabe]

This DEFRA idea is barmy and I hadn't realised things were that serious. I was vaguely aware of the seed registration thing because I too have bought from the Real Seed Company this year for similar reasons to pigletwillie. I don't want or need all my plants/veg cropping at the same time so I buy very few F1 varieties (Think I may have some toms and some seed I have been given ) . Heritage varieties tend to suit our growing conditions well- I've had best potato results from heritage varieties. Count me in on the seed swaps or club joining. Can we not lodge a petition or something. I haven't got properly political in ages.

[dexterdoglancashire]

Ah Adam - know what you were talking about in your messages! Good luck! dexterdog