Seed supplier plays it cool

A big new facility in Hamilton is helping put premium grass seed on-farm faster this autumn, and in peak condition for sowing. 

The store was already full of autumn orders by late January. 

Think of it like the fridges you and your farmers use for animal vaccines, only in this case it’s to protect something just as important – the live endophyte in ryegrass seed.

Vaccines lose viability if they’re not stored correctly, and endophyte is the same. 

Heat and humidity can kill this tiny organism faster than most people realise, so seed containing endophyte should stay cool and dry for as long as possible before it goes in the ground. 

That’s easier said than done at this time of year, especially when truckloads of South Island seed have to travel half the country to be in the right place at the right time for North Island autumn sowing.

The solution for one leading supplier? 

Invest in five times more cool storage space in the heart of the Waikato and hold autumn seed orders there at perfect temperature and humidity until they’re required. 

Sales manager Jake Gardner says Barenbrug’s new facility includes a 400 tonne cool store, thought to be a first for the industry in the Upper North Island, de-risking autumn pasture renewal for all who rely on the North Island seed supply chain. 

“This is a massive milestone for our farmers, our resellers and us, in terms of both seed quality, and logistics. 

“Farmers get the extra confidence of knowing all their Barenbrug seed – with endophyte and without – arrives at their gate straight from optimal storage in the best possible condition. 

“And we can fill the cool store early, so we have a lot more stock on hand at the start of autumn. 

“That means everyone, including us, can rest easier knowing repeat Cook Strait ferry cancellations and other freight disruptions aren’t going to cause as much havoc as they have some years with such a time-sensitive market.”

In fact, Gardner says, the new cool store was already full by late January, even though farmers won’t need that seed for sowing yet. 

At most, it’s spent only a few days in transit between Barenbrug’s purpose-built Rolleston cool store, and Te Rapa. 

The new facility means resellers can place orders early, knowing their customers’ seed will be allocated, mixed and wrapped in advance, ready for delivery as close to sowing time as possible, Gardner says. 

Seed is shipped directly from Barenbrug's cool store in Canterbury. 

Seed stewardship and logistics are not the only big gains, however. 

“We have significantly increased the permanent number of staff at Te Rapa, which allows us to put on extra shifts as needed. 

“We have also re-configured our two existing seed mixing plants for higher throughput. 

“This means we can turn orders around faster. Seed will get where it needs to be with minimal delay, and having spent the least possible time outside of optimal storage conditions.”

Most proprietary pasture seed produced in NZ is grown and processed in the South Island, totalling over 10,000 tonnes per year. 

It’s estimated more than two-thirds of this is sown every autumn by North Island farmers.

Note: In the previous issue, a Barenbrug article stated that ‘Forge was currently NZ’s top-selling hybrid ryegrass.’ This was not correct – Mohaka currently is.  However, Forge NEA hybrid ryegrass is the top performer in the industry’s National Forage Variety Trials for hybrid ryegrasses for
New Zealand.