70 | Moving from one generation to the next Volumes processed have increased to well over 10,000 tonne of seed product sorted, cleaned and stored for trading each year. Methven Seed Cleaning Ltd also processes cereal for food manufacturers. Sue Russell This is the second time in the space of just under a year that Rural South has had the opportunity to catch up with family run Methven Seed Cleaning Ltd. Craig Carter and wife Wendy, along with daughter Olivia and son-in-law Kerry, operate the company in a phase of its journey that can best be described as ‘transitioning’ from one generation to the next, something Craig and Wendy, who bought the company as a going concern back in 2010, are happy about. “We have worked very hard, investing large sums in infrastructure and seed cleaning technologies to put us in a solid situation and it is great the next generation are keen to be involved,” Craig says. Methven Seed Cleaning Ltd is located on Racecourse Avenue, near the small town approximately 95km west of Christchurch. The site it sits on extends over six acres and, with the building a year or so ago of a new 30m x 24m shed is now at capacity. “If we were to extend our plant we would need to move to a new site and that would be a huge investment. This is one of the reasons why we’ve just invested in a new Cimbria 106 seed cleaning machine. It’s future-proofed us in terms of our current seed processing volumes.” That new technology comes with an impressive price-tag too – at about $750,000. Built in Denmark the machine is designed to clean seed to a very high grade, demanded by MPI and export markets alike. “The standards we’re required to clean to are extremely exacting. All seed we process is assessed in Palmerston North, for any dirt or plant material and must meet stringent standards, or will be rejected. The term ‘dirt’ applies to any material that is in the process of breaking down. This is something, of course, that our growers are concerned about and that’s one of the reasons they send their seed to us to be processed.” Since last talking, volumes processed have increased by a further 20% to well over 10,000 tonne of seed product sorted, cleaned and stored for trading each year. “Each season’s production depends on a number of factors, so it’s good we have the new machine and the capacity we’re now operating at. In fact, we have 500 to 700 tonne of product still waiting to come in from our grower clients to be processed.” The year is punctuated with intake of broad beans in late December, the first crop to come in. RURAL SERVICES » Methven Seed Cleaning which starts the processing cycle. This is followed by all the grass seeds, clovers and peas which keeps the intake busy until end of March. “We start to get all the brown-tops and the intake finishes usually around mid-April and then we’re just into processing the volumes that have come in and those due to come from storage on farms.” Methven Seed Cleaning Ltd also processes cereal for food manufacturers, such as Hubbards, Mauri and Tip-Top. Craig admits it’s a competitive sector the business operates in. Prices negotiated with growers for processing their seed is kept inhouse. “When you’ve been in the game as long as we have, you build up a reputation for the constant quality of your processing. We enjoy many long-term relationships with our grower clients and understand how the market operates, so I’m pleased with what we’ve achieved these past nearly 15 years.” Another element to the business Craig really values is the hard-work his staff, including several permanent team members from Tonga, put into the business. “They’re tremendous people to employ. We just can’t get good local people interested in working for us so now the rules have changed and these workers from overseas can stay five years, it’s brought stability for them and for us.” 03 303 7266 admin@pmr.co.nz www.pmr.co.nz NZ Specialists in seed cleaning & processing plants. Agents for World Leading Brands
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