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Plant Variety Protection Board Meeting Minutes

Chicago, Illinois - April 24 - 26, 2019

Meeting Location:

Holiday Inn Chicago O’Hare Area

5615 N Cumberland Avenue

Chicago, IL 60631

Wednesday, April 24th

1:00 pm Introductions and Opening Remarks by Ruihong Guo, Ph.D., Science & Technology 

Program Deputy Administrator

• Participants from USDA: Bruce Summers, Chris O’Hagan, Ruihong Guo, Brian Ikenberry, and 

Mark Hermeling, and Jeffery Haynes

• Participating PVP Board Members: John Beuttenmuller, Brent Burchett, Eloy Corona, John 

Duesing, Josh Freeman, John Heaton, Patrick Kole, Stevan Madjarac, Heidi Nebel, Albert Tsui, 

Kathy White, and Charles Brown

• PVP Board Members unable to Participate: Shannon Douglass, Kelly Keithly, James Sutton, and 

Wendall Shauman

• Participants from industry: Paul Nelson, Rosetta Newsome, Abigail Struxness, Craig 

Regelbrugge, and Audrey Charles

1:30 pm Welcoming remarks by Bruce Summers, Agricultural Marketing Service Administrator.

Bruce Summers congratulated the members of the board for their appointments by the 

Secretary of Agriculture and thanked them for their time in support of the Plant Variety 

Protection Office (PVPO). Bruce covered major areas that the Agricultural Marketing 

Service (AMS) is involved with, including grading, market news reporting, the 22 checkoff programs, marketing orders, food procurement purchasing program, the National 

Organic Program, Hemp production regulations and the 25 initiatives from the 2018 Farm 

Bill that directly affect AMS. Bruce continued to provide an overview of the Plant Variety 

Protection (PVP) Act and announced that seed propagated Hemp applications are officially 

accepted by the PVPO on this day.

1:45 pm Hemp Update from the PVPO. Sexually propagated hemp varieties are allowed under the 

current PVP Act, and with the announcement from Bruce Summers, AMS Administrator, 

applications can officially be accepted on April 24, 2019. The hemp objective description 

of variety (Exhibit C) form has been completed and is available from the electronic Plant 

Variety Protection (ePVP) system and as a PDF form from the PVPO Website. 

Germplasm deposit requirements are the same as other sexually propagated varieties and 

are required to be made at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Fort Collins deposit 

Plant Variety Protection Office

STOP 0274 - Room 4512-S

1400 Independence Avenue, SW.

Washington, D.C. 20250
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starting on January 1, 2020. The hemp filing letter provides further instructions for seed 

deposits with due dates and late fees.

The hemp Exhibit C form mirrors the International Union for the Protection of New 

Varieties of Plants (UPOV) Test Guideline (TG) Table of Characteristics (TC) with the 

minor addition of quantitative fields. The examination for distinctness will be conducted 

by comparing known varieties worldwide, the most similar variety and UPOV comparison 

varieties. The PVPO is seeking assistance from Canada and Australia, as well as other 

countries with hemp experience.

Asexually reproduced hemp varieties will qualify for PVP Protection when the final rule 

for implementing the PVP Act amendment is published. The current hemp Exhibit C form 

covers both sexually propagated and asexually reproduced varieties. Germplasm deposits 

will be required at the Bigelow Laboratory in East Boothbay, Maine. Both sexually 

propagated and asexually reproduced varieties require a signed statement verifying that the 

variety has 0.3% or less delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration level by an 

approved method of detection.

2:00 pm ASTA Molecular Marker Working Group Update and Presentation by Paul Nelson. The 

presentation covered: Molecular Marker 101; Significance of MM in the US context and 

forming of the Working Group; and Working Group activities and outcomes. MMWG has 

continued its study and research on the potential use of DNA marker method to distinguish

soybean varieties. The group has written two draft papers for eventual publication. The 

first paper is on the development and validation of the molecular marker and sampling 

methodologies. The second paper is on establishing the criteria for the use of SNP data for 

eligibility of candidate cultivars for PVP certificates. The timeline for finalizing both 

papers is June 2019 and presentation at the next PVP Board meeting later in 2019. The 

MMWG Chair will present findings and the status of the two papers at the UPOV 

Biochemical and Molecular Techniques (BMT) meeting in October 2019, and a 

presentation by PVPO at the UPOV Technical Committee meeting in November 2019 will 

be explored. A comprehensive presentation of the study outcome and PVPO’s planned 

actions is also being considered for the 2020 UPOV BMT meeting, which will be hosted by 

the US.

PVP Board members expressed support and appreciation for the group’s work and for 

PVPO’s collaborative approach. PVPO has been working closely with the MMWG and 

will provide a presentation regarding how this method will be used by the office at the 

next PVP Board meeting.

5:00 pm Adjourn

Thursday, April 25th

8:30 am Thoughts from Previous Day. The PVP Board members asked for copies of the 

presentations being provided at the meeting. There was a discussion of the International 

Community of Breeders of Asexually Reproduced Ornamental and Fruit Plants 

(CIOPORA) meeting that was held recently in South Africa. The PVPO was represented at 
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the meeting by Dr. Ruihong Guo, where an update on the progress of the proposed rule to 

include asexually reproduced varieties was provided.

There was a continued discussion of how molecular markers are being used around the 

world. Several PVP Board members suggested that the PVPO work more closely with the 

European Union (EU) Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) to see if information can 

be shared. In addition, molecular markers could prove useful in the determination of 

Essentially Derived Varieties (EDV) by owners of protected varieties. The International 

Seed Federation (ISF) has threshold guidelines for EDVs and it was suggested that the 

PVPO take a closer look. There was also mention of the Seed Association of the Americas 

(SAA) and how they are moving forward with the use of molecular data.

There was a question regarding the UPOV Electronic Application Form (EAF) and if a user 

can see the list of countries that a variety is protected in from the dashboard. The PVPO 

responded that this was not a feature of the EAF system at this time but may be something 

available in the future.

Does the PVPO need to change the regulations to reduce fees? The response is yes, the fee 

schedule and hourly rate is published in the regulations and requires a Federal Register 

notice with a comment period to update fees. Many PVP Board members indicated that the 

fees should remain as they are now to cover unexpected expenses in the future and for 

additional staffing of the PVPO. Regarding staffing, it was suggested that PVPO 

investigate internship opportunities for upcoming and recent college graduates.

8:45 am PVPO Program and Staff Update. A presentation on the PVPO program priorities, ePVP 

System, UPOV and Staffing was provided. The program priorities include completing the 

rule-making process to implement the PVP Act amendment to include asexually 

reproduced plants for a PVP certificate. Other priorities include training of the staff on the 

examination of asexually reproduced plants, maintaining the current workload, training of 

the two new plant variety examiners and implementing release 5 of the ePVP System.

The ePVP System can accept application forms for over 100 plant species, which include

most of the major sexually propagated varieties and potatoes. A total of 80 applications 

were submitted through the ePVP System out of the 182 applications received so far in FY 

2019. Asexually reproduced crop forms will be added to the ePVP System for electronic 

submission by the end of the year to coincide with the published final rule.

Electronic payment of fees is available from the ePVP System and by the pay.gov website 

available to the public. The ePVP System allows bulk upload of corn applications at this 

time and with the next release the top 5 crops will be added to allow bulk upload of 

applications. In addition, the next software release will provide a direct interface between

the ePVP system and UPOV EAF PRISMA system as well as additional portal and 

examination enhancements.

The PVPO has examined over 180 species and issued over 13,800 certificates of protection 

over the years; it receives on average 480 applications per year and maintains a processing 

time of 1.5 years from application receipt to issuance. The top incoming crops over the 

past 10 years were soybean, corn, wheat, cotton, and potato.
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The PVPO is active in the UPOV administrative and technical meetings throughout each 

year. The PVPO provided presentations at the UPOV general meeting, CIOPORA 

meeting, and will present at the BMT meeting in October 2019. The PVPO continues to 

support the UPOV PRISMA system and has received six lettuce applications since the 

launch of the system in 2017.

The PVPO currently consists of one acting commissioner, six plant variety examiners, one 

program analyst and one new plant variety examiner that will start the end of May 2019. 

Dr. Paul Zankowski, commissioner of the PVPO continues his detail with the USDA office 

of the chief scientist for an additional year. The program also receives support from the 

Department IT Services and the Science & Technology Program Resource Management 

Office.

10:30 am Plant Variety Protection Act Amendment from the 2018 Farm Bill – Proposed revisions of 

PVP Regulations and Rule-making Process. A side-by-side comparison of the existing 

PVP regulations and proposed regulations was provided to the PVP Board members. Once 

the proposed rule completes a regulatory impact assessment and review by the Office of 

General Counsel, and goes through Departmental clearance, it will be published in the 

Federal Register with a 60-day comment period. The PVP Board members requested that 

PVPO conduct outreach to stakeholders to inform them of the published proposed rule and 

highlight major changes. The PVP Board also requested that the proposed rule include a 

deposit waiver option for species that may not be conducive to long-term storage by tissue 

cultures and cryogenic freezing, after an extensive discussion about the challenges and 

feasibility of germplasm deposit for some species. Board members supported a “range of 

possibilities” approach.

1:30 pm Program Implementation Plan (New forms, germplasm deposit, DUS examination, 

reference varieties, farmer saved seed provision, research exemption, etc.). The PVPO has 

a deadline of December 20, 2019 to publish the final rule that includes asexually 

reproduced varieties as a result of the amendment to the PVP Act from the 2018 Farm Bill. 

The goal of the PVPO is to publish the final rule by September 2019 so the office can start 

accepting application in October 2019. 

The PVPO is currently developing the Exhibit C forms for the expected asexually 

reproduced crops using the UPOV TCs, and will share draft forms with key stakeholders. 

The US Exhibit C form for asexually propagated crops will mirror the UPOV TG Table of 

Characteristics

With regard to the use of the Bigelow Laboratory as the designated depository, Board 

members suggested a visit by PVPO to the facility to ensure capacity, quality and other 

details.

PVPO expects that the DUS examination process for asexually-reproduced crops will be 

similar to the established process for examining sexually-propagated varieties. Following 

current PVPO practice of accepting DUS reports (in place of the Exhibit C) from other 

UPOV countries for sexually propagated crops that do not have established databases with 

PVPO, we anticipate accepting DUS reports for asexually reproduced crops, where 

appropriate.
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“Right to save seeds” does not apply to asexually reproduced varieties. Saving an asexually 

reproduced crop and replanting in a subsequent year would be infringement under the 

amended PVPA.

6:00 pm PVP Board Comments and Recommendations

1. The Board commends 

• The PVPO for the considerable work and planning done to design, build and implement the rules, 

regulations, system and processes required to incorporate asexually propagated varieties into the 

U.S. PVP structure. 

• The efforts of the PVPO to establish the electronic PVP filing system and to optimize their internal 

processes while keeping fees stable for applicants. 

2. The Board recommends that the PVPO

• Continue its involvement in international meetings seeking to harmonize and strengthen global 

PVP/PBR education, coordination, implementation and enforcement to ensure improved plant 

varieties can be protected for the benefit of domestic and global agriculture.

• Serve as a champion within UPOV and in bi-lateral discussions 

− to endorse and promote the findings, conclusions and recommendations coming from the 

soybean molecular marker project, executed by the Joint ASTA-PVP Office Molecular Marker 

Working Group; and

− to advocate for wider acceptance and use of DNA markers by PVP offices globally to assess 

similarity and distinctness in the PVP process and for PBR enforcement. 

• Take a proactive approach to enable and incorporate the use of DNA markers to deal with 

challenges expected to come from new and emerging crops seeking PVP.

• Investigate closely and critically Bigelow’s capability and capacity to receive and preserve 

deposits for asexually propagated plant varieties being protected by PVP, and identify and consider 

potential alternatives, such as a waiver upon request to allow PVP applicants to maintain the 

voucher specimen and to attest on a periodic basis that the voucher specimen is being maintained 

and still viable.

• Work with ASTA, AmericanHort and AUTM to ensure public and private sector applicants for 

PVP are aware that updated rules and regulations going into effect in Q4 2019 will include a 

change in the payment schedule for the U.S. PVP process.

3. The Board encourages the PVPO

• To continue engaging with PVP/PBR agencies in various countries (e.g., Canada), regions (CPVO) 

and with UPOV to drive increasing and consistent alignment regarding the standards for 

morphological characteristics being used to administer plant variety protection. 
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• To select and train candidates as potential future staff to ensure the PVPO can access the 

knowledge and experience needed to grow capacity in the near future. 

• To consider when and how to bring into the PVPO an individual with relevant knowledge and 

expertise regarding plant genomics and DNA markers to support PVPO’s efforts to incorporate 

DNA markers into the PVP process. 

• To continue working with the US PTO to explore and identify opportunities for synergy and 

coordination in connection with their respective plant IP protection domains. 

6:30 pm Adjourn

Friday, April 26th

All presentations and discussions were completed on April 25-26, 2019 so no meetings were held on this 

day.