This paper estimates the cost of mastitis for the New York dairy sector. The average cost is found to be $125 per cow from reduced milk production, treatment, and increased culling. At the 1988 cow inventory, this translates to approximately $100 million annually for the entire dairy farm sector. When quality and production losses for the processing sector are added, the cost to the New York industry alone is nearly $150 million annually. Two promising new treatments, a bacteriocin and a vaccine, are evaluated. Both have shown effectiveness in preliminary trials against Staphylococcus aureus. Assuming that further development will allow the treatments to be effective against the major bacterial sources of mastitis infections, the treatments are projected to increase the annual income of the New York dairy industry by $18.8 to $39.7 million. The bacteriocin could replace antibiotic usage, a desirable goal in the opinion of many, and the vaccine promises to immunize cows against mastitis very effectively.

"The objective of this paper is to evaluate the effect of Plant Variety Protection (PVP) on the productive merit/yield increases of US seed varieties. As an example, we use wheat varieties, which are and have been available as both protected and unprotected under PVP from both the public and private sectors. We find evidence that PVP has contributed to the genetic improvement of wheat, using varietal trial data from Washington State. As the private open-pollinated varieties exist only because of PVP and are higher yielding, these results indicate a clear public benefit from PVP." Copyright (c) 2008 The Authors. Journal compilation (c) 2008 The Agricultural Economics Society.

handicap. The Unlv8r8lty Is committed to-the maintenance of affirmative 'l!lCt1on .progr8ma' which will MIura,Iht cohtln\fation of euch equality of opportunity•.

This paper examines the most recent (1991) UPOV modification of Plant Variety Protection systems to provide incentives for prebreeding. We conclude the system is unworkable as presently interpreted and, at a minimum, recommend that national bodies be established to manage minimum enhancements for initial variety status. A more fundamental limitation is the application of a single approach for improvements controlled by single or by multiple gene traits; a relatedness requirement is appropriate for the latter but not the former. We recommend different criteria be applied depending on the type(s) of innovation that characterizes a new variety. Absent that, the incentive structure applies pressure against the use of competitors’ materials in a breeding program, which can delay breeding advances, while not providing significant incentives to encourage introduction of new traits through prebreeding.