Business Rural Autumn 2021

| 69 that is literally ... going to seed Seed Cleaning and export preparation of Spinach seeds; Flowering radish for seed production, Canterbury RURAL SERVICES » Ariki Seeds Arjen likens the intellectual power behind vegetable and flower breeding to the computer brain power based in Silicon Valley. “At least 50 percent of the brain power behind the breeding is based in the northwest of Europe in the west side of the Netherlands. They develop products for all over the world. So it may come to us then go to America or to Africa or wherever they want us to send it. The bottom line is that we offer them the optimal circumstances and climate to multiply their seed.” Clearly it’s not only about the machinery. Hav- ing identified New Zealand as a suitable place for the business he knew and loved from his native Holland, Arjen then saw that Canterbury offered ideal conditions for certain vegetables. Today they grow radish, spinach and brassicas in Canterbury because it has the optimal climate to successfully grow those crops. Onions are grown in Marlborough, where the warmer nights help its pollination, whereas the Wairarapa offers a better micro-climate for sweetcorn. “We stay away from requests for multiplication of seed for crops where we know the microcli- mate is not going to help us,” explains Arjen, “because we’ll never be able to achieve that 99 out of 100.” Since 1995 Arjen’s passion for the industry, his drive to develop his own seed multiplication com- pany, and his recognition of what New Zealand has to offer has resulted in a thriving network of growers and specialized contractors with special- ised machinery all combining to work at the level needed to meet their customers’ needs. “We work together to grow small scale, high input and high quality, demanding crops that can be scaled up as required for our international customers,” says Arjen. Flowering spinach and onion for seed. Taking a practical approach to accounting • Cashflowmanagement & budgeting • Business plans • Tax preparation & planning Agri-business accounting and advisory specialists • Succession planning • Payroll • Information technology Nexia House, Level 4, 123 Victoria Street, Christchurch P: 03 379 0829 · W: www.nexia.co.nz Chartered Accountants