Breeder
PGG Wrightson seeds was formed in 2005 as a result of a merger between Rightson Seeds ltd, PGG seeds Ltd and Agricom Ltd.
Wrightson seeds is the largest seed company in New Zealand and one of the largest in the southern hemisphere.
Wrightson seeds is focused on delivering innovative forage technologies to selected customers in temperate regions to improve there profitability and sustainability.
Wrightson seeds have been heavily involved in the development of the New Zealand grass based dairy systems.
New Zealand has become one of the most cost effective milk producers in the world. PGG Wrightsons have many years experience of grassland management, utilising grass measuring and grass breeding to develop their grass based dairy system.
New Zealand Grass Seed Technology
New Zealand dairy farmers strive to improve the total milk produced on there farms. New Zealand’s competitive advantage on the world scene has been the ability of farmers to grow and harvest quality pastures in late winter and early spring.
To fill this gap the graph below shows the annual pasture production and annual feed requirement for a dairy farm. The circles demonstrate when feed deficits occur on most dairy farms, these deficits are normally filled by supplements but new “Cool Season Active Grasses” are used to fill a large amount of these feed deficit periods leading to better performance and lower cost of production.
“Cool Season Active Grasses” in an Irish grassland system
In Irish dairy systems the day for housing in late autumn and coming out in early spring is largely determined by pasture cover and growth during this time. Grazing later into autumn and getting out sooner (grazing on the shoulders of the season) reduces feeding costs and therefore lowers production costs. Increased growth in autumn and early spring can be achieved with “Cool Season Active Grasses” relative to traditional European type grasses.
