Pioneer celebrates 50 years in NZ
This year marks 50 years since the signing of the seed production and distribution agreement between Pioneer Hi-Bred International and Philip Yates, who at the time was managing director of Arthur Yates & Co, and subsequently the founder of Genetic Technologies, a Yates family-owned business.
Will and Phil Yates
A name synonymous with seeds
The Yates seed story began in 18th-century England when James Yates sold seed to farmers in the southern part of the present-day USA.
By the late 1800s, his great-grandson Arthur Yates had migrated to New Zealand, opening a specialised seed business in Auckland in 1882.
Arthur’s younger brother, Ernest Yates, travelled from England to join him in business in 1886.
Ernest was followed in the trade by his son Norman, and in 1973, his grandson Philip became chief executive and managing director.
Signing with Pioneer
Arthur Yates and Co prospered, and Yates' Reliable Seeds became a household name.
While their product range was large, Philip was always looking for superior seed products.
A magazine article about hybrid wheat caught his interest and ultimately led to a phone call to Pioneer Hi-Bred’s Overseas Division based in Des Moines, Iowa.
A visit to the US revealed that hybrid maize, and not hybrid wheat, held more near-term potential in NZ.
He was impressed by Pioneer’s significant library of elite maize germplasm, their commitment and innovation in plant breeding, and above all else, their conservative family values.
On Tuesday, December 18, 1975, an agreement was signed in Des Moines, Iowa, and the Yates Company became the NZ distributor and producer of Pioneer® brand seed.
The timing of the relationship between the two companies could not have been better.
In the 1970s, Pioneer’s new maize hybrids were breaking USA yield records, and sales were on a rapid upward trajectory, increasing five-fold from 1972 to 1980.
Tight NZ biosecurity rules limited seed imports to 48 individual maize seeds at a time.
On arrival, the seed had to be treated with a toxic combination of fungicides, meaning only half would remain viable, so commercialising new hybrids was painstakingly slow.
Initial seed crops were hand-picked and sun-dried, with seed conditioned in the Manawatu and as demand grew, a processing plant was built at Waharoa.
But burning cob cores and coal to dry the seed caused severe corrosion, cutting the plant’s life short.
An end and a beginning
As the maize seed production plant was coming to an untimely end, so too was the Yates family’s involvement in the Yates company.
In 1985, Equiticorp, a recently established investment bank, took control via a share market raid.
At 53, Philip was dismissed and given two days to vacate his office.
Disillusioned by the takeover, Pioneer executives in the U.S. cancelled the agreement with Equiticorp and offered it directly to Philip and Genetic Technologies Ltd (GTL) was formed.
The new company had humble beginnings.
For the first three years, seed was either imported or produced locally under contract.
In 1989, a new plant was commissioned in Gisborne, an area with ideal conditions for growing maize seed.
“The Gisborne region allowed us to produce some of the world’s finest quality seed,” Philip Yates says.
Vision for the future
GTL invested heavily in research and began promoting maize silage to dairy farmers.
The team expanded, with area managers in all growing regions, supported by dairy specialists and a robust research team.
In 1990, Philip’s son Will joined the company, becoming the seventh generation of the Yates family in the seed trade.
Will started by working in the field, including time in the South Island, and today leads GTL as managing director.
“We’re investing in hybrid, agronomic and environmental research to help farmers build sustainable, profitable businesses,” he says.
From a handful of imported seeds to becoming a cornerstone of NZ agriculture, the Pioneer and Yates partnership has shaped five decades of maize production, and the future is just beginning.