Can you patent productivity? That’s the new strategy at Ceres Inc., which last month received an Australian patent for producing higher yields of corn, soybean, sorghum and other crops. The Thousand Oaks agricultural biotech has licensed the patented gene trait to an undisclosed multinational crop developer for use in the Australian market. Ceres said in a press release that the genetic sequence of the trait was derived from a plant and optimized by the company. Experiments have shown “significant yield increases in several plant species,” according to the company. Ceres did not respond to requests for comment, but in a prepared statement at the time the patent was issued, Chief Executive Richard Hamilton said there are well-established systems to share trait innovation among growers, seed companies and developers such as Ceres. “We believe that our next-generation traits can provide multiple opportunities for producers to increase productivity, reduce inputs and make greater use of marginal cropland,” Hamilton said in the statement. F. John Hay, an extension educator in energy and biofuel at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, said that technology for increasing crop yield, such as the Ceres gene, is critical for the future. When less land is needed for crops, the logistics become easier and overall costs decline. Bringing that about is important and exciting work, Hay said. “If I need 300,000 acres depending on the density, I might need 500 farmers,” Hay said. “But with higher yields I might need only a quarter of that, 50,000 acres and it might be only 50 farmers.” Declining energy Ceres, named for the Roman goddess of agriculture, got its start in 1996 at a UCLA incubator, later moving to Malibu before settling in Thousand Oaks in 2004. The company has 44 full-time employees. Until recently, the company developed seeds for use in biofuels, specifically a type of sweet sorghum grown in Brazil. But the sharp decline in oil prices in the last 18 months has curtailed interest in alternative fuels. In response, the company has moved its research into food, feed and fiber. In Brazil, where the company has relationships with growers and has received government funding, the company has switched from biofuels to forage crops. For the fiscal first quarter ended Nov. 30, Ceres reported a net loss of $3.4 million (-39 cents a share) compared with a net loss of $6 million (-96 cents) in the same period a year earlier. Revenue increased 135 percent to $942,000. The patent issued by IP Australia, the government agency responsible for patents, will expire in 2030. With the gene only allowed for use in Australia, getting approval for use in the United States would require additional regulatory hurdles. While high-quality testing done elsewhere is helpful, that alone will be not be enough for a trait developer to get approval in the U.S, said the University of Nebraska’s Hay.