44 | RURAL SERVICES » Egmont Seeds Egmont to carry on Dr Hammett’s lines Birds-eye view looking west. Kim Bowden side, its retail packets reach home gardeners nationwide via mail order and garden centres. In fact, most seed brands sold in stores are packed at Egmont’s facility. Around 17 full-time staff keep the operation humming, with numbers swelling during peak demand. Two high-output machines handle the bulk of the packing, dropping carefully weighed seed lots into foil sachets that are sealed, bundled and boxed for dispatch. Not every variety suits automation, however, and Last summer, rows of sweet peas stretched for six kilometres at a Taranaki business - 27,000 plants carefully trained, weeded, watered, and nurtured by hand. For Egmont Seeds, a family-owned company best known as New Zealand’s largest seed packer, this was something new. It was also something of a legacy project. New Zealand is home to one of the world’s foremost sweet pea breeders, Dr Keith Hammett, now in his 80s. While his cultivars are internationally renowned, he was struggling to find reliable long-term growers to continue his breeding programme. “There was this fear that no one was going to carry on all his lines,” Egmont Seeds’ marketing manager Sandy Powell says. “There’s the odd person that dabbles in growing his seeds, but they might not take that extra care in roguing or making sure the seed comes out pure and true to form.” At the same time, Egmont Seeds was facing its own frustrations. Even when the company managed to source Keith’s lines from overseas, too often the seed was compromised - contaminated with off-types, or in some cases misnamed entirely. For Egmont Seeds’ co-founder John McCullough, the solution was to grow the sought-after sweet peas locally - and grow them right. What began as a trial in 2018 has grown into a “1.2-hectare growing operation”, Sandy says. With support from family, a handful of staff, and seasonal contractors, the company harvested its first large crop in February. Seventy-five varieties were grown, producing vibrant blooms and seed of exceptional germination quality. Some of that seed has already made its way to China, with negotiations underway to enter the American market. “We’ve been through a whole season, and we’re doing it all again, but just not as big this year...as we have surplus seed still,” Sandy says. The sweet peas represent just a slice of Egmont Seeds’ wider operation. Established in 1996 by John and business partner Neville McFarlane, today it’s John’s son Johnny who helps run the company alongside his father, as the company’s general manager. Egmont Seeds’ customer base spans two distinct markets. On the commercial side, the company supplies cut flower growers, while on the consumer Unlock top talent with NZ’s leading recruiter 0800 JOBS 4 YOU | adecco.co.nz Rural Fencing • Wind Break Installation • Horticulture Covers Tunnel House Builds & Repairs • Shed Construction Reliable craftsmanship for every project — big or small
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=