Thursday, March 28, 2024

Trial site gives breeder clout

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Plant breeder Seed Force has opened the gate on its new SF Henley Research Centre. The joint-venture between farmers and French breeding company RAGT has been in business for 13 years but a recent open day was a rare insight into its agronomic field work.
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Hundreds visiting the trial site near Lincoln heard about new ideas and technology for plant breeding and better farm production.

Seed Force managing director Bruce Garret said it took nearly two years to establish SF Henley, which was once part of a Lincoln University research farm.

Garrett joked Seed Force had an agreement with the landowners to rent the property at the same equivalent price as a first European settler in the area.

“The name Henley does have historical significance … Mr Patrick Henley being an early settler from Ireland and first private landowner of what I believe to be this site, having purchased the land off the Government for two pounds an acre.”

Garrett said Seed Force’s motivation will continue to be bringing new, proprietary seed varieties and technologies together to make a difference for farming, like it did with the introduction of fodder beet.

“We need to ensure we can access the best genetics, the latest in technological advances globally plus ensure we have the scale, resources and international footprint required to create what you see today.”

The company is especially interested in evaluating species that can help farmers operate under stricter environmental and nutrient considerations.

The business has agronomists on site at Henley, following germplasm through its early development to final commercialisation. The joint-venture has about 50 staff on either side of the Tasman.

“RGAT has a similar vision and can see the potential to explore their vast genetic pipeline and expand their global footprint in this part of the world.”

The vision is similar in its Australian operation where a few local managers based around Shepperton, Victoria, are also working with RAGT. The latter started in France as a co-operative providing genetic research and products to a part of the country that was quite different in soil and climate to the rest of western Europe.

Seed Force is mainly in the forage business in New Zealand while in Australia it is broad-acre wheat, barley and canola, Garrett said.

It takes years to create a new cultivar but investing time, effort and resources instills confidence in the final product, he said.

Guest speakers at rotating talks beside the Henley trial sites included Lincoln University’s plant scientist and lucerne king Derrick Moot, nearby beef farmer and client Brent Fisher and Northland dairy farmer and agribusiness director Murray Jagger.

Moot said legumes underpin NZ’s pastoral agriculture, driving animal performance and overall production. Under strict nutrient regulations they will be a crucial component in all pastoral systems.

Fisher, who operates Silverstream Charolais Stud at Greendale in partnership with his wife Anna, said pro-active environmental management is now a must for all farmers. The Fishers pioneered the use of beet in high-production beef systems and it had changed the way they finish their animals, Fisher said.

Jagger said Seed Force offers advanced breeding and highly-productive and palatable products across a range of alternative perennial grass species. 

He and his wife Helen farm dairy and beef at Whangarei Heads, where their family has lived and farmed for more than 150 years. Jagger has a focus on understanding the performance of alternative species in different environments. Many other farmers could benefit from these improved genetics, he said.

Seed Force is 60% owned by NZ shareholders Garrett, chairman Warwick Green and a third investor, Andrew Moorhouse. RAGT has the remainder.

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