International News
June 2013
Hello, Guten Tag, Buenos Dias, Ni Hao, Bonjour, Ahlan, Goeie Dag, Ahnyounghasaeyo,
Buon Giorno, Konnichi wa, Marhaba, God dag, Winamek, Salaam, Hej, Dobry den
INTRODUCTION
By Craig Myall
International Business Manager
Seedmark / Heritage Seeds
Welcome to the End of Financial Year edition of Seedmark International News!
In a flash the first half of the year is behind us and what a busy six months it has been.
Following what was a long and dry season from August to March; the harvest of most clovers (with the exception of
Lucerne) was below average and thus ensured a sell-out of many proprietary species, but in particular Annual and
Sub Clovers. Most of our clients that ordered early were not disappointed with supply, however there was the odd late
order that we had to refuse and switch to a common variety. Much of the availability for the coming harvest will rest on
a successful 2013/14 harvest, so be sure to get your commitments in early to avoid missing out in 2014.
The Lucerne harvest of 2013 was the most successful in the last decade with yields well above the mean ensuring we
again have stocks of seed which had been largely depleted over the last two years. Demand for our proprietary
varieties such as Alfamaster 9 and 10, Pegasis and Sirosal has been very good and we will again be reliant on a good
harvest in 2014 following a great selling season this winter.
Our sales staff have been very busy travelling in 2013 venturing to South Africa, Holland, Middle East, New Zealand,
United States, and ISF in Athens. We have also been lucky enough to entertain a number of new and current
overseas clients in Australia in this time. We welcome anyone thinking of making the trip to our shores to make
contact with us and allow us the opportunity to show you our seed industry and the many things that make Australia a
place to see.
We also welcome back a couple of familiar faces to the team in Adelaide with both Karolina True (Marketing) and
Tracy Smith (Operations) both returning from maternity leave in a part time capacity to assist us in our day to day
activities.
As highlighted previously, the overall Australian business is transacting business with 2 separate brands “Seedmark”
and “Heritage Seeds”, which does provide opportunities with Tropical’s, Grasses and some Legumes from the
Heritage Seeds variety stable for our client base. Should you wish to know more about any of the Heritage Seeds
varieties, please feel free to contact Robert Hedge at [email protected]
I wish you all the best in your selling seasons and sincerely hope that you prosper in 2013 and beyond.
DID YOU KNOW.....
Peru has more pyramids than Egypt!
International News
June 2013
Hello, Guten Tag, Buenos Dias, Ni Hao, Bonjour, Ahlan, Goeie Dag, Ahnyounghasaeyo,
Buon Giorno, Konnichi wa, Marhaba, God dag, Winamek, Salaam, Hej, Dobry den
INTERNATIONAL SALES
by Warwick Prestwood
International Sales & Marketing Manager
The financial year has come to an end so fast and the ISF in Greece was a
great opportunity to catch up personally again with all our clients who made
this last 12 months such a great success!
ISF was a fantastic event for us this year and this coupled with strong demand over the last 6 months has ensured we
have virtually sold out of many varieties. During the ISF we reinforced the need for all clients to advise us ASAP of
their anticipated requirements from our 2013/14 crop for 2014 delivery. This will help ensure you avoid disappointment
and enable us to forward plan from production, right through to the entire logistics chain.
Significant orders have already been received for 2014 and 2015 delivery, so please contact Colin or myself to discuss
your upcoming requirements.
We are still incredibly busy and are about to embark on numerous overseas trips through China, South America, the
USA and then back up to Europe in October for the European Seed Association in Poland.
Training packages will be rolled out over the coming months and we will be presenting these to clients throughout our
travels, designed at further educating our clients about various varieties with a focus on understanding their uses
whilst maximising production. They will also highlight the superiority of the Seedmark range when compared to
publicly available varieties and we anticipate these presentations being highly interactive between Seedmark, our
clients and their farmers. We will be contacting you well ahead of our planned visits to arrange meeting times.
Thank you again for your business over the past and we look forward to further growing and enhancing our business
and personal relationships over the next 12 months and beyond.
INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS
by Mel Parish
International Operations Manager
The operations team is now in the busiest months of the year processing orders.
Available space on vessels ex Australia and equipment are in shortage at the moment and this needs
to be kept in mind to allow for any issues obtaining vessel bookings and quality containers for prompt
shipments. As a result some orders were delayed leaving Australia because of these issues recently.
Our contracted packing sheds are busy with cleaning/processing/dispatching seed which is also causing some delays
in getting orders ready for export, especially for prompt orders.
I recently took three weeks leave to attend a friend’s wedding on the Greek Island “Ikaria”, so a big thank you to Sandy
and Richard who kept everything running smoothly while I deserted them at our peak time!
Please continue to keep us updated on any changes in your countries quarantine requirements/weed lists and also
making sure it is clear what Seed Certificates are required. Happy shipping from the Ops team!
International News
June 2013
Hello, Guten Tag, Buenos Dias, Ni Hao, Bonjour, Ahlan, Goeie Dag, Ahnyounghasaeyo,
Buon Giorno, Konnichi wa, Marhaba, God dag, Winamek, Salaam, Hej, Dobry den
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS.....
WARWICK PRESTWOOD
China (JULY)
South America inc. Argentina, Uruguay, Peru & Chile (AUGUST)
Europe inc. Poland, Turkey, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain & France (OCTOBER)
CRAIG MYALL
USA (SEPTEMBER)
COLIN GRANT
USA (SEPTEMBER)
Europe inc. Poland, Turkey, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain & France (OCTOBER)
SEED INDUSTRY EVENTS 2013
3-6 Jun
OECD: Annual Meeting of the Seed Schemes
Paris (FR)
12-18 Jun
ISTA: Seed Symposium and Congress
Antalya (TR)
17-21 Jun
UPOV: Technical Working Party for Agricultural Crops (TWA)
Kiev (UA)
26-27 Aug
ISF: Tree and Shrub Seed Group Meeting
Slovakia (SK)
3-5 Sep
SAA Congress
Punta del Este
(UY)
12-13 Sep
ISF: Intellectual Property Committee Meeting
Beijing (CN)
14 Sep
Joint meeting IPC with Chinese IP experts
Beijing (CN)
25-28 Sep
Beijing Seed Congress
Beijing (CN)
13 Oct
ISF: TARC meeting
Warsaw (PL)
13-15 Oct
21 Oct
22 Oct
24 Oct
ESA: Annual Meeting
UPOV: Administrative and Legal Committee
UPOV: Seminar on essentially derived varieties
UPOV: Council Meeting
Warsaw (PL)
Geneva (CH)
Geneva (CH)
Geneva (CH)
International News
June 2013
Hello, Guten Tag, Buenos Dias, Ni Hao, Bonjour, Ahlan, Goeie Dag, Ahnyounghasaeyo,
Buon Giorno, Konnichi wa, Marhaba, God dag, Winamek, Salaam, Hej, Dobry den
25 Oct
28-31 Oct
11-12 Nov
18-22 Nov
9 Dec
UPOV: Administrative and Legal Committee Advisory Group
ISF Meetings
Buenos Aires Seed Convention
APSA: Annual Congress
ISF: SAT-Com meeting
DID YOU KNOW.....
Geneva (CH)
Zurich (CH)
Buenos Aires (AR)
Kobe (JP)
Chicago (US)
In eastern Africa you can buy beer brewed from bananas!
REGION OF THE MONTH
By Colin Grant
Export Sales & Marketing
Our customers come from near and far, so here’s a brief agronomic overview of our “Region of the
Month” to give you an insight into one of our main client regions.
Saudi Arabia
Latitude of Saudi Arabia: 25º00´ North of the Equator
Longitude of Saudi Arabia: 45º00´ East of Greenwich
Water restrictions continue to be one of the major discussion
points for Saudi Arabia and while there has been a lot of
debate about how strictly enforced it will be, changes are now
starting to happening at farm level. Within the next 2 years it
is expected that wheat and barley production will be
completely banned and thus 100% reliant on imports which
represents significant opportunity for other countries to
supply.
For the short term, forage crops such as Alfalfa and Rhodes
grass will be unaffected by these regulations due to the large amount of infrastructure and investment that has been
developed by Saudi Arabian companies and international investment over many years. This same investment is now
developing new production areas of Alfalfa and Rhodes grass within the MENA (Middle East North Africa) region to
supply hay for Saudi Arabian dairies.
Saudi Arabia will still provide a lot of opportunity, growth and investment for many companies but will mean more
trading will be done with the greater MENA region with a view to supplying Saudi Arabia, as opposed to supplying
Saudi Arabia direct which has predominantly happened in the past.
International News
June 2013
Hello, Guten Tag, Buenos Dias, Ni Hao, Bonjour, Ahlan, Goeie Dag, Ahnyounghasaeyo,
Buon Giorno, Konnichi wa, Marhaba, God dag, Winamek, Salaam, Hej, Dobry den
USEFUL PRODUCT INFORMATION
What are the Benefits of Cover Crops or Green Manures?
Cover crops and green manures are basically the same term. When these plants are alive they are cover crops. When
the plants are decaying they are green manures. Green manuring has all the soil benefits of classic composting, plus
other benefits:
1. Green manures can fertilize large acres of land cheaper and are easier than hauling in tons of finished compost.
2. You can eat the produce of certain cover crops like beans, peas, or radishes.
3. The roots of certain legume green manures can supply tons of free atmospheric nitrogen per acre to the topsoil
after the cover crop plants are tilled, mowed down, or smothered.
4. All green manures supply extra organic matter to feed and breed beneficial soil organisms for soil fertility and soil
health.
5. The roots of certain cover crops can go down several feet below the topsoil and into the subsoil to break up
hardpan and pull essential nutrients up to the topsoil level at green manuring time.
6. Some cover crops can weed out other plants. Buckwheat, oats, and sunflowers are good types of these allelopathic
plants.
7. Some cover crops can attract beneficial insects and repel bad insects like marigolds and crimson clover.
8. Some special cover crops can help control diseases in the soil or on the foliage of nearby plants. They can also
control bad nematodes or other soil problems. Some of these cover crops can perform these functions as living plants
or as decaying green manures.
9. Some legume cover crops such as white clover can be planted next to your crops during the warm season to be
used as a living mulch.
10. Green manures work best when mixed with legumes and non-legumes. That way you get the nitrogen fixing
benefit from the legumes, but also you maximize the fast growth of the expansive root development and tall foliage
height that is characteristic of grasses and grains.
11. Did you know that about 95% of all the bulk and biomass of all non-legume cover crops is a direct production from
only water and photosynthesis! The other 5% is straight from the soil.
Below is a partial list of some cool season and warm season cover crops and their basic
purposes:
A. Crimson clover - cool season annual legume. More cold hardy than most other clovers. It
grows great on all soil types in 1-2 months. Supplies lots of foliage and roots OM. It attracts
lots of beneficial insect and is easy to green manure.
International News
June 2013
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Buon Giorno, Konnichi wa, Marhaba, God dag, Winamek, Salaam, Hej, Dobry den
B. Hairy (woolly Pod) vetch - cool season annual legume. It is the most cold hardy of the
popular legumes. Can grow in temps below -5 degrees F. Great legume weed suppressor.
Grows well with non-legumes like rye as a nurse crop.
C. Rye, winter wheat, and oats - cool season fast growing grass/grain non-legumes. Rye is the
most cold hardy of all green manures, and it can grow almost anywhere. Rye can grow in
temps below -20 degrees F. Rye and oats are a great non-legume weed suppressors. These
crops can grow fast in a few weeks. Supplies lots of OM. Rye must be killed at least 4-6 weeks
before planting spring crops to not hinder seed germination.
D. All beans and peas (legumes) - All beans are warm season
except fava beans. Most peas are cool season. The most cold hardy
peas are winter peas.
All cover crops should be either tilled in, mowed down almost to the ground, or smothered
by organic mulches before they go to seed, to prevent sprouting later in the year and
becoming a weed themselves. The no-tilling option is the best way to get optimal soil
health, texture, and soil microbial activity. Recent research has proven that excessive tilling,
or tilling too deep, can kill off beneficial fungi in the soil and create soil texture problems and some soil fertility issues.
Year round green manuring practices can not only improve your soil health and texture, but also decrease extra
periodic plant fertilizers and soil amendments.
DID YOU KNOW.....
You can buy square watermelons in Japan! (Developed to stack better in supermarkets)
STAFF PROFILE
Staff at Seedmark are one of our most valuable assets and we have a strong focus on having the right people on the
job to support you! Each addition we will take a quick look at the individuals that make it all happen!
Karolina True
Marketing Coordinator
Karolina started with the Seedmark team in early 2011, originally working on all
domestic and international marketing requirements for the business. Since the
birth of her beautiful son Hudson in 2012, Karolina is now solely dedicated to
looking after the needs of the ever growing International Sales and Marketing team
and loving it!
She is an experienced domestic and international traveller, having caught the
International News
June 2013
Hello, Guten Tag, Buenos Dias, Ni Hao, Bonjour, Ahlan, Goeie Dag, Ahnyounghasaeyo,
Buon Giorno, Konnichi wa, Marhaba, God dag, Winamek, Salaam, Hej, Dobry den
“travel bug” early on in life from her parents who moved to Australia from Poland. They also travelled frequently as a
family all throughout her childhood. She loves exploring new cultures, cuisine, history and scenery; having recently
returned from a trip to Europe and the UAE with her 11 month old child.
Coming from an events management and sponsorship background, Karolina has held various marketing roles in many
different industries; previously working for organisations such as the Adelaide & Bendigo Bank, Radio Murray Bridge
and the Master Builders Association of SA. Although new to agriculture, working in a role that both captures her
interests in both travel and farm life, her role at Seedmark is something she finds stimulating and rewarding. In her
spare time, Karolina is a keen equestrian, renovator and adrenalin junkie.
JUST FOR LAUGHS
A man lives on a farm, he writes to his son in prison - "I can't grow potatoes this year. I'm too old to be digging up the
field." Soon he gets a letter back from his son. - "You can't dig in the field, that's where I buried the bodies!" The next
morning, people came from the police. They dug up the entire field but found nothing. Soon the farmer gets another
letter from his son. - "Now Dad, you can grow potatoes. It was the best I could do from here."
********
A farmer needed to buy a new truck and after choosing the one he wanted, sat down with the salesman to do the
paperwork. The salesman handed the farmer the bill and the farmer declared, 'This isn't the price I saw advertised!'
The salesman went on to tell the wise old farmer how he was getting extras such as power brakes, power windows,
special tires, etc. and that was what took the price up. The farmer needed the truck badly, so he paid the price and
went home.
A few months later, the salesman called up the farmer and said, 'My son needs a cow for a school project. Do you
have any for sale?' The farmer said, 'Yes, I have a few cows for sale for $500.00 each. Come look at them and take
your pick.' The salesman said he and his son would be right out. After spending a few hours in the field checking out
all the cows, they decided on one and then the salesman proceeded to write out a check for $500.00. The farmer
said....'now, wait a minute, that's not the final price of the cow. You're getting extras with it and you'll have to pay for
that too.' 'What extras?' asked the sales man.
BASIC COW
Two tone exterior
Extra stomach
Product storing equipment
Straw compartment
4 Spigots @ $10 each
Leather upholstery
Dual horns
Automatic fly swatter
$500.00
$45.00
$75.00
$60.00
$120.00
$40.00
$125.00
$45.00
$38.00
International News
June 2013
Hello, Guten Tag, Buenos Dias, Ni Hao, Bonjour, Ahlan, Goeie Dag, Ahnyounghasaeyo,
Buon Giorno, Konnichi wa, Marhaba, God dag, Winamek, Salaam, Hej, Dobry den
Fertilizer attachment
GRAND TOTAL
$185.00
$1,233.00
DID YOU KNOW..... The coins thrown into the Trevi fountain in Italy are collected for charity!
PRODUCTION UPDATE
By Jeremy Gittens
National Production Manager
The 2013 harvest for temperate seed production is coming towards a close, with Lucerne the only major
crop that is still being processed through the cleaning sheds and seed test laboratories. The Lucerne
harvest was one of the largest in recent years. Warm and dry conditions from January through to early
April, meant that finishing conditions were almost perfect. Yields on established Lucerne stands were average to
above average, with numerous crops achieving over one tonne per hectare. This has brought renewed confidence
back in the Lucerne industry, particularly after the disappointing harvests in 2011 and 2012.
The warm and dry conditions over autumn contributed towards a slow start to the new seasons seed production. In
fact, temperatures in early to mid autumn were almost the hottest on record, with little rainfall to speak of during that
period. However heavy rainfall in late May (80-100mm) in key seed production districts has kick-started the season,
with most annual crops sown and well established. The change in events has been a welcome relief and brought
renewed confidence that we will have a good season ahead. New production areas are again significant with all our
key varieties
As far as the season ahead, the outlook remains positive, with a wetter than normal season predicted for mainland
southeast Australia.
DID YOU KNOW.....
Apples are more effective at waking you up in the morning than coffee!
Seedmark customers around the
world