Ravensdown’s ability to bring you the best performing forage seed products available on the market today is based on a 10-year partnership with Cropmark Seeds Limited.

Cropmark Seeds is the only 100% New Zealand owned forage plant breeding and supply company in the country and has been operating in New Zealand for over twenty years, as well as exporting seed around the world. The longstanding partnership between the two companies has enabled Ravensdown’s farmer shareholders to access world leading advice around cultivars, endophytes, pasture renovation and forage cropping options.

Cropmark’s industry-leading cultivars are developed and tested through a rigorous trialling programme. It can take 10 years or more to bring a new cultivar to market. These trials help select elite performing grasses, clovers, forage herbs and brassicas which are suitable for use on-farm to maximize milk production and/or liveweight gain. The field trials are located across the country and are designed to identify individual traits of each cultivar and assess their use.

With the team at Cropmark Seeds continually trialling new high-performance cultivars, customers can be assured new cultivars brought to market have been rigorously assessed to withstand the pressure, regardless of farm type.

Cropmark’s plant breeding team oversees the development and breeding process to select and develop the right cultivar for the right situation, with strenuous selection criteria put on each new cultivar to perform - such as tiller density, resistance to disease and insect attack, heading date, aftermath heading as well as making sure it yields.

Cropmark Seeds are also members of the New Zealand Plant Breeders Association (NZPBRA), an organisation running forage variety trials on behalf of the forage industry. These trials are undertaken independently throughout New Zealand and compare the performance of forage varieties, reinforcing the value of the Cropmark portfolio.

For Ravensdown, having access to the latest plant genetics, means the agronomy team can select the most suitable cultivar to meet individual farmer and farm system needs. As no two farms are the same, the team are available to discuss what options will be most suited to your farming operation.

Ravensdown’s network of agronomists span the country, each of them experts in their own region. The highly qualified team understand the issues and variabilities of farming in their local area. From the upper North to the Deep South, each member of the team has access to world leading advice and products from the Cropmark Seeds portfolio, and as a result are able to implement that expertise on-farm.

If you would like to speak to your local Ravensdown Agronomist to discuss how we can work with you, on your farm, give the Ravensdown Customer Centre a call on 0800 100 123.