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

Think of it like the fridge you 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 400 tonne cool store set up at Te Rapa is 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, Jake says, the new cool store was already full with autumn orders by late January, even though farmers won’t need that seed for sowing until March or April.

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

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, and get seed where it needs to be with minimal delay.”

Most proprietary pasture seed produced in New Zealand 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.