No, they don't. Having studied the case histories of Monsanto, I can say with confidence that they are careful to bring cases only against farmers who they thin

No, they don't. Having studied the case histories of Monsanto, I can say with confidence that they are careful to bring cases only against farmers who they think have deliberately infringed on the patent agreements. As a plant scientist who has studied the history of agriculture, I can tell you that since the 1950s, farmers have freely chosen to purchase seed every year from suppliers. This was initially because hybrids became the best-yielding varieties, and hybrids only keep their best characteristics for one generation ("hybrid vigour"). Now it's because licensing requires it to fund the massive R&D spend that improving crop productivity requires. For the vast majority of farmers, it makes economic sense to buy every year. It's not a trap, and they aren't idiots being fooled by "big ag". Monsanto have done some evil things in the past when they were a different company. Now they're a pretty decent company with a terrible PR problem.