A History Of Grass Seed Growing In Australia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) January 31, 2012 -- In the early 1960s, John Sutherland and his brother started growing pasture seed in northeast Victoria, making them one of the pioneers of Australia’s grass seed industry.

Prior to this, seed had to be imported from NZ and USA, and the brothers’ aim was to produce home grown seed more suited to the challenging Australian conditions. They successfully grew ryegrass, cocksfoot, phalaris and fescue around Mansfield until John expanded to Tooma Station in southern NSW in 1974. Sixth-generation farmer, Stewart Sutherland, joined the family business in 1983 and the Tooma enterprise continued to expand to encompass all stages of seed production. In 1993, the family diversified into cleaning and processing seed and established a cleaning plant just across the border at Corryong, Victoria.

The business now needed a sales and marketing arm as well as better distribution facilities. Upper Murray Seeds was established in 2004 and centrally located in Albury, NSW to provide these services.

Further diversification came in 2006 when Sheldon Agri Pty Ltd was established to handle the research work originally started by Upper Murray Seeds. Sheldon Agri owns the genetic material and breeds new varieties while working with breeders, researchers, universities and government bodies to access the best genetics available.

Seed varieties are then trialled and assessed to evaluate their market suitability and to ensure they will persist and perform under Australian conditions. We now market our own highly productive annual and perennial ryegrasses, winter and summer active fescues, phalaris and cocksfoots.


Upper Murray Seeds today

Our customers can now access a wide range of pasture and broad acre seeds derived from our own proprietary brands and public seed varieties. Upper Murray Seeds is a wholesaler so end-users purchase our product through local rural merchandise outlets.

Farmers understand that agronomic advice is vital to choosing the right variety - it is never a case of one product suits all. Resellers and end-users alike can benefit from the unbiased, professional advice of our experienced sales agronomists, whose scientific knowledge of broad acre cropping through to high-yielding, intensive grazing is vast.

Rapid despatch is vital to farmers who sow seed within tight timeframes. Our centrally located warehouse in Albury ensures your order is delivered to either Melbourne or Sydney overnight, with daily shipments to Adelaide and Brisbane.

Upper Murray Seeds has experienced a decade of rapid growth and development, expanding not only locally but also internationally. We have established both import and export markets and to secure our future seed is now grown in a variety of climatic regions, including the southwest slopes of NSW, northeast Victoria and Tasmania.


To know more about Upper Murray Seeds, visit http://uppermurrayseeds.com.au

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