Partnership with local companies gets desired vegetable attributes into the hands of Australian growers

Date:09-09-2024

About two-thirds of agricultural products in Australia are exported to other countries, according to the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Potatoes, tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, onions and lettuce are some of the top vegetables grown in Australia. The vegetable industry in Australia supplies most of the fresh vegetables consumed in the country, making quality seeds important not only for strong yields, but also for consumer satisfaction.  

Fairbanks Seeds, an Australian owned company that also operates in New Zealand, partners with Syngenta Vegetable Seeds. Their passion for vegetable seed focuses on providing growers with a good variety of seed with best-in-class attributes that end up on the plates of Australian consumers, as well as consumers around the world.  

″We’ve been dealing with Syngenta for a while now,″ Andrew Ertler, product development for Fairbanks Seeds says. ″They are important to us. They realize that us having a win, is them having a win.″  

The relationship between Fairbanks Seeds and Syngenta Vegetable Seeds is strong due to many factors. For Ertler, the opportunity for one-on-one time with breeders is vital. It allows for a deeper understanding of each crop, allowing Fairbanks Seeds to make informed decisions and better support growers.  

″It allows me to be able to narrow down what I’d like to see in trials,″ says Ertler. ″And what could really have good potential for a market as well.″  

Syngenta Vegetable Seeds facilities around the world work to develop products that have attributes growers need. From resistance breeding, to yield potential and taste, the research and testing that goes into a new vegetable variety is tested and trialed to meet the demands of each geographic location it is grown. For Fairbanks Seeds, it is important to get these needed characteristics into the hands of Australian growers.  

″We are very passionate about vegetable seed,″ Ertler says. ″We’re about getting a variety to market because it has an attribute the grower is looking for and it is best in class.″