Cutting edge marketing philosophies and the vision to understand the needs of international client requirements have earned Midlands Seed Ltd the prestigious Export New Zealand Canterbury region top exporter award.

The Ashburton based company took out the ANZ/Fesco Canterbury Exporter of the Year 2006 award heading a line up of high calibre finalists including leading technology companies Tait Electronics, Humanware and Mactec Aerospace.

Company directors Chris Green and Duncan Storrier said the award was a huge accolade for primary sector industry bringing prestige both for Midlands Seed Ltd and the agricultural industry.


“It brings us great satisfaction to see this award come back to the grass roots of New Zealand, recognising excellence in primary industry business,” Chris Green said.

“For the arable sector the award was deserved recognition of the innovation of both business and farmers who make their living in the agricultural industry,” Duncan Storrier said.

A commitment to research and development has resulted in the production of several market leading applied technologies and cultivars and contributed to the company’s position at the forefront of the New Zealand arable industry.

Mr Green said Midlands Seed worked in a close partnership with both its farmers and its export clients and without the commitment of both winning the award would not have been possible.

“A sustainable business must have everyone in the loop from our staff to our farmers and our international clients.”

A significant factor to Midlands success was the strong emphasis the company placed on research and development enabling it to secure plant variety and production rights.

An innovative approach to marketing that sees Midlands working in partnership with export clients for selling seed through to securing sale price for their final product was also a key factor in the company’s Exporter of the Year accolade.

Midlands sowed the seed of its success 16 years ago when the company was established to support and encourage the production and export of high-value arable crops.

Midlands Seed provides a full range of agronomic and managerial assistance in the production of international arable crops.

The company produces a wide range of forage, pulses, and grain and specialist crops suitable for maximum production by its farmer producer clients.

“When we started we aimed to create a range of applied technologies and cultivars that we could produce in Canterbury to meet international demands for niche high-value arable products. We have focused on key crops that have really come to fruition in the past four to five years,” Mr Green said.

More than 70 per cent of Midlands Seed’s business is aimed for the export market with major markets in Europe, Southeast Asia and Japan.

The company exports marrowfat peas to various Asian destinations for snack products and vegetable and herbage seed to several European countries. Other crops include borage and hemp for oil extraction and buckwheat for noodle flour.