Naracoorte Seeds

What a fantastic time to be involved in Agriculture!!! Strong livestock prices have driven the demand for pasture seed with a concerted effort being made by switched on producers to push on farm production. Compounding this demand is the recent rise in farm values which means it is no longer acceptable to have expensive land not producing forage which can then finish sheep and cattle or put extra litres of milk in vats! It is great to see farmers are realising the value of investing in better pastures to guarantee livestock are finished properly to attract premium pricing.

There have been ongoing shortages in pasture seed supply around Australia and the world over the past few years, but hopefully the good spring this season supplies won’t be as tight?

At Naracoorte Seeds we have continued to invest in our storage and dispatch facilities to ensure we can mix and inoculate as efficiently as possible to guarantee fast turn around times. The addition this season of a fuji robotic palletising machine has taken our production capabilities to the next level.

Improved ryegrass and cereal cultivars offer genuine graze and grain options which are proving to be invaluable to all livestock enterprises. We continue to work with proprietary seed companies as well as export contacts to bring the most suitable forage options to our region to ensure there is a forage plant suitable for all enterprises.

Naracoorte Seeds has stuck with the tried and true “Fresh Coat©” system of inoculating legume seed on demand as we believe it is still the best system for producers to get the best establishment and legume content into their pasture. Fresh inoculation applies live, rhizobia strains directly onto the seed which ensures the maximum amount of nitrogen nodules on the plant and therefore available to the pasture. We now have 3 inoculation bowls to ensure we keep up with demand expected from producers keen to ensure they have the most productive and persistent pastures available to them.

We are proud to bring our latest pasture book and will always welcome any feedback we receive and as always we endeavor to live up to our reputation as “The Seed Professionals”!

History

Naracoorte Seeds was founded in 1962 by John Clarkson (dec).

The purpose of the business was to clean and sell seed for local seed producers, predominantly Phalaris, Cocksfoot, Fescue, Strawberry Clover, Shaftal and Sub Clover.

In 1980, after 14 years with Wright Stephenson & Co., (now P.G.G Wrightson Seeds) Bob and Gini Tidy purchased Naracoorte Seeds. Around this time Centre Pivot Irrigators were introduced which significantly increased the amount of seed produced in the area. SA Seed Marketers was established to Promote, Export and Trade seed around Australia and Internationally.

In 1990 Gambier Seeds was established in Mt Gambier as an outlet to supply seed to farmers and merchandise outlets in the lower SE of SA and Western Vic. With Plant Variety Rights/PVR being introduced into Australia in the late 80’s many new varieties have been introduced to the market place. Naracoorte Seeds prides itself in assisting farmers in selecting varieties of seed which best suits their needs from the large number of varieties promoted by all seed companies.

Being based in the South East of South Australia and having spent over 12 years in the seed industry I feel qualified to say that the Company motto of “Keeping Seed Simple” and value for money is the formula that works for the clients we share a relationship with.

Naracoorte Seeds has now been in business for over 50 years and I am proud to say Naracoorte Seeds/SA Seed Marketers is today one of the largest private Seed Companies in the Australian Seed Industry.

With Joshua Rasheed (our lucerne seed trader, seed production manger and pasture adviser) and his wife Emma buying into business, I am confident we will continue to prosper and grow and service the ever changing needs of the Seed Industry.

Jamie Tidy
Managing Director 2010 – present