Stewardship lands seed on farm in peak condition

A big new facility in Hamilton built to put premium grass seed on farm faster and in peak condition for sowing has sailed through its first season.

t was a major step in seed stewardship for leading pasture and forage supplier Barenbrug, and the company’s sales manager says customers welcomed the move with open arms.

“Despite all the planning you do, the first season in a new facility like this always creates a bit of apprehension,” says Jake Gardner.

“But by all measures the Waikato site passed the test with flying colours.

“We constantly assess our seed delivery times, and these not only met the high standards we set ourselves, but in many weeks actually surpassed them.”

Feedback from customers has been fantastic, particularly around the smooth delivery of service.

The new 400 tonne cool store at Te Rapa was primarily set up to protect live endophyte in ryegrass seed.

It adds to the three other climate-controlled warehouses the company already has across its network.

This gives Barenbrug the ability to deliver the best seed to resellers nationwide and year-round, for spring as well as autumn.

Gardner says a good analogy for the climate-controlled facilities is the fridges merchants and farmers use for animal vaccines.

“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.

“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.”

Interestingly, the energy requirements for running the Waikato coolstore were much higher at the start of the season, in January and February, than they were in early winter.

“What we discovered is that the low humidity inside the store was pulling moisture out of the concrete floor. This has now stabilised, so power consumption has dropped back.”

He says the company is proud of achieving a major milestone in seed stewardship so farmers can get the best results from new pasture.

“This development has been a few years in the planning and building. It’s great to be where we are now, and to know we can keep delivering this enhanced product care in coming years.”