A FOCUS ON PROCEDURE AND INNOVATION ENSURES SEED QUALITY

AGF Seeds has long followed the mantra that buyers need to get what they’re paying for.

Director David Toose says the company’s intensive quality assurance process is constantly evolving while its commitment to improvement and innovation has never dimmed.

“You need to know what’s written on the outside of the bag is actually in the bag and we have very strong processes in place to make sure that happens,” David said.

AGF Seeds has earned its well-established reputation over many years for selling quality seed and providing expert independent advice to resellers and growers throughout Australia.

The company’s recent expansion with the acquisition of Smyth Seeds has made it one of the leading seed production and marketing businesses in the country, while retaining its status as a 100 per cent Australian family-owned business.

David says AGF Seeds’ focus on quality and innovation is paying off with exciting new products coming to the market.

The company’s six-hectare research and development site at Smeaton in central Victoria is home to hundreds of different trial plots which will yield long-term replacements for the likes of Pinnacle annual ryegrass, BigRed long season wheat and Tillage Radish. These successful products have all evolved through AGF Seeds’ research and development program.

There are currently about 400 plots of wheat and 100 barley plots in evaluation and variety trials, along with annual, Italian and perennial ryegrasses/other perennial grass species.

“The genetics we’ve got coming through are exceptionally good,” David said. “A real highlight of this season is the quality products we have to sell along with multiple cereal, oilseed and forage lines showing great commercial promise.”

The trials at Smeaton are the first step in the research and development process. Varieties that look promising in this early evaluation work are further tested in multiple locations around Australia.

Quality assurance is integral from before the crop is accepted into the plant to the time it is planted. The modern seed cleaning processing plant at Smeaton complete with gravity table and colour sorter ensures a smooth and safe process.

“We maintain the purity by segregation and careful cleaning,” David said.

“We have strict quality assurance procedures to ensure that everything is clean, that all dust, chaff and weeds are removed, and that certification rules are adhered to. The procedures are continually evolving with new machinery, training of staff and development of strict protocols that everyone follows.”

Cleanliness and good hygiene are essential at all stages from planting, sampling, cleaning, storage, packaging, dispatch and transport.

The approved product is custom mixed or treated and then distributed around Australia using a well-honed transportation system to get the best seeds to end users in a timely manner.

“It’s a painstaking process that starts with finding the right growers and the right products for our conditions and continues until the product is in the hands of the buyer,” David said.

David says that the positive feedback from long-term customers backs up the decades-long experience of staff and contributes to successful long-term partnerships.