The
consumer's message to the plant breeders is clear and
unequivocal: deliver more significant improvements. Many in
the US turf seed industry saw the answer in pursuing
consolidation. AgriBiotech corporation was seen as the vehicle
to achieve this outcome but it failed in spectacular fashion.
The industry is picking up the pieces
and I am beginning to see signs that the lessons are being
learned. While it does not appear that breeders are breeding
for any more significant improvements, seed merchants and
marketers from the USA are looking at entering new markets for
grass seed varieties such as proprietary forage grass.
The key driver for seed companies
will always be sustainable profitability. Companies also need
to look at reducing the risk of un-budgeted high inventories
levels through overproduction. Australia and New Zealand have
suffered from the AgriBiotech failure. New Zealand was
producing some proprietary perennial ryegrasses for USA
customers and many growers were left carrying inventory. Some
of this inventory ended up in Australia and affected our
market.
