Latest News

News Release – 15 February 2021

Ray Smith, MPI Director-General

Kia Ora,

I just wanted to update you with some helpful information now that Auckland has moved to Alert Level 3 and the rest of New Zealand Alert Level 2.

The lockdown will initially be for a period of 72 hours, until midnight Wednesday, while further investigations and tracing are conducted. This will be reviewed on a 24-hour basis.

The primary sector can continue to operate at both levels 2 and 3. Businesses and workers need to comply with the Government’s COVID-19 alert level settings and observe any protocols for their particular industry. For more information please see here.

An Alert Level boundary is in place around Auckland. Please see here. Many primary sector businesses will be able to travel across the Alert Level boundary.  These include businesses involved in:

• primary processing, production and supply of food and drink. It also includes businesses involved in the production of packaging for the products of primary production for food ordrink and all businesses transporting freight.
• veterinary and animal health and welfare services, but only if travel between Alert Level areas is necessary to enable the service to be provided and not providing the service would result in animal welfare concerns.

More information about permitted activities and travel across Alert Level boundaries can be found here on the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE) website.

You can view the health order for the Alert Level settings here.

Register to travel

MBIE has developed a Business Travel Register (see here)  to enable businesses and organisations to request travel documents: either for permitted activities or, if required, to seek an exemption to travel from the Director-General of Health if your business activity does not appear on the permitted activities list referred to above.

The Business Travel Register will generate Business Travel Documents for workers to display at checkpoints.  This includes a QR code, which enables Police at the cordon to verify the document digitally against the travel register. It is important that today you register your businesses for travel.

MPI is committed to working with the sector and I am confident that together we can deal with any issues that may arise.

Ray Smith

MPI Director-General

News Release – 12 February 2021

Ryegrass the Largest Proprietary Pasture Seed Crop                                 

Calendar year 2020 sales figures from the Plant Breeding and Research Association (PBRA) shows over 10,700 tonnes of branded proprietary pasture seed was sold to farmers, up 21% on 2015. This was the strongest sales year on record.

Proprietary seed, which comes with built-in technological advances to increase performance, is increasingly recognised as the one of the best investment farmers can make in their land says Association president David Green.

“This is the highest quality seed you can buy. As well as its advanced performance attributes, it’s certified, which means it has been grown under regulatory supervision, has passed inspection for purity and germination, and is fully traceable.”

The current market for forage seeds shows ryegrass and clover dominates the category.

Most of this seed is produced by specialist growers in the Canterbury region. Certified ryegrass and clover seed was grown on around 29,000 hectares.

Different ryegrass types comprise 81% of grass seed sales by volume. Red and white clover comprises 9% of the legume sales by volume.

Mr Green says NZ pasture seed development is underpinned by intensive and local private breeding programs.

And breeders are focused on delivering new locally adapted seed genetics and desirable traits for our pastoral farmers.

Seed breeding and development can take up to a decade and cost up to $1million before a new cultivar is ready for the commercial market.

“There are many variables with seed selection and proprietary seed is genetically superior to older public domain varieties and the degenerating quality of farm saved or farm traded seed; the latter is of course illegal under the Plant Variety Rights Act.

Mr Green said that the forage genetics and seed technologies farmers use is more important than ever and proprietary seed is reliable and high performing for long-term success.

For further information, please contact:

Thomas Chin, General Manager, NZPBRA

Ph 021 679 989

Thomas.chin@seedindustrynz.co.nz

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