Delivering the latest technologies relies on research-business links
The pipeline that delivers the new endophytes, ryegrass
and clover cultivars featured in Inside Dairy requires
investment in basic science, product development and
field evaluation. Government, DairyNZ and agribusiness
all invest in this pipeline.
 New
Zealand dairy farmers lead the world in the uptake of
costeffective
knowledge, technologies and products to improve production,
profitability and to maintain environmental integrity.
Likewise, New Zealand research scientists are seeking
to provide knowledge, technologies and products to assist
dairy farmers in the same key areas – production,
profitability and environmental integrity.
However scientists rarely, if ever, sell technologies
and products directly to farmers.
This is most frequently achieved through commercial
companies which license the technology or product, then
manufacture and sell it to the farmer.
Grasslanz Technology Ltd, a subsidiary of AgResearch,
develops new products and technologies by partnering
and jointly funding research projects with seed companies
and investment organisations.
The seed company’s investment in new product
development is rewarded through joint ownership in the
resulting technology and/or exclusive distribution rights.
This relationship is win-win with both parties sharing
the risk and rewards of R&D investment.
Product development funded by Grasslanz Technology
results in proprietary cultivars, grass endophytes,
and outputs from plant biotechnology and genomics research.
These technologies are licensed to seed companies
which deliver them through seed to farmers.
New products are created by investing royalty revenue
in development projects, primarily with AgResearch.
In the case of forage cultivar development, the following
process (which takes at least 10 years) is followed:
- Concept development leading to plant breeding and
evaluation in a range of environments
- Plant variety rights and IP management of the finished
product
- Nucleus seed production – the first large
scale seed increase which is held for future larger
scale commercial seed production, ensuring genetic
purity of the cultivar
- Commercial seed production
- Market delivery and value creation.
John Caradus,
CEO, Grasslanz
Technology Ltd |
