Sep 5, 2012

Independent Plant Breeder Conference to Meet in NovemberSource: Independent Plant Breeder Conference

The fourth biennial Independent Plant Breeder’s Conference will meet Nov. 1 to 4, in Portland.

The goal of the conference is to educate professional and hobbyist breeders on how to protect themselves and their investment when patenting and introducing a new variety, get a reality check on what a plant is worth and understand the legalities of patenting and what it offers in the way of breeder protection.

The four-day conference will include a mixer, lectures and tours of some of the most beautiful gardens in the country.

Rick Schoellhorn, new product director at Proven Winners, states plant breeding and patenting “is really a fairly simple process, however, you need to have a realistic outlook, your paperwork in place, and patience. The real key to demystifying introducing a plant is being fully educated about the process.”

The conference will focus on lectures for basic and advanced plant breeding techniques, how to work with tissue culture labs and why a breeder should patent and protect a plant. There will be guest speakers from across the United States, who are plant breeders themselves and can give personal accounts and perspectives on what has worked successfully for them.

On November 4, attendees will tour and visit world-famous destinations such as Terra Nova Nurseries, the Portland Japanese Garden, Cistus Nursery and the Lan Su Gardens.

To register for the conference, please visit the Independent Plant Breeder’s Conference webpage. On the website, attendees will find the agenda, hotel accommodations and much more.

Please note, attendees SHOULD NOT bring live plants to the conference, instead bring images of your work with the words “NOT FOR SALE” prominently displayed on the picture.