Plant Variety Breeding

Creating and licensing new plant varieties, particularly fruit trees, as a long-term business strategy with high barriers to entry.

Key Points:

• Develop new plant varieties:

• Cross-pollinate existing plants to create new cultivars
• Focus on desirable traits like taste, appearance, or growing efficiency
• Process can take decades, especially for fruit trees

• Patent and license the new varieties:

• Obtain plant patents for unique cultivars
• License the rights to grow and sell these patented varieties to farmers and nurseries

• Build a competitive moat:

• Long development cycle (20+ years) creates significant barriers to entry
• Accumulate a portfolio of popular varieties over time

• Revenue model:

• Collect licensing fees or royalties from growers using patented varieties
• Potential for ongoing cash flow from successful cultivars

• Example: Honeycrisp apple

• Developed by University of Minnesota over many years
• Became hugely popular, generating significant licensing revenue

• Industry structure:

• Some companies specialize in breeding (e.g., Zaiger's Genetics)
• Others focus on propagation and distribution (e.g., Dave Wilson Nursery)