Growers

We pride ourselves on developing long-lasting and committed partnerships with the retailers that support our products, the crop growers that supply their quality ingredients and overseas relationships for export.

The management of this part of the business is high priority, with a lot of long days during the summer harvesting period to ensure that every bale that we purchase is exactly what we have paid for.

Gary Ayling joined us in March 2009 as our crop procurement manager and his role is to ensure our suppliers have the best chance to provide us with the quality raw products we need for our manufacturing operation as well as the bulk raw product requirements for farmers who trust Annandale to get their feed budget requirements sorted. Gary provides support to our suppliers through personal relationships that endeavour to provide crop, harvesting and technology advice to support crop management programs that are productive and high yielding for our suppliers.

We source our raw products from growers and harvesters across New Zealand including as far South as Central Otago in the South Island. Our relationships are built for long-term supply. We are always keen to talk to growers who are interested in growing and harvesting great crops.

If you are interested in becoming an Annandale supplier and/or have raw product for sale that you think we may be interested in, contact Gary on 07 333-7113 or 021 508 739. Email: gary@annandale.co.nz

Lucerne Hay is just one of the many crops that Annandale requires for their production and client supply but it is the most important with it being the highest volume usage for Annandale products. With growers and suppliers all over New Zealand in key growing regions supplying Annandale with their harvested Lucerne crops it is paramount that a partnership is created where improved quality and yield, better economic returns for the grower and a reduced environmental footprint are focused on.

It is critical that lucerne crops are given the best conditions at establishment, so that they can produce to their full potential during the life of the crop which with good management should be between 6-7 years.

Fibre is critical to allow the animal’s digestive system to function properly and high quality lucerne hay is a sought after feed for its high digestibility, protein level’s and palatable qualities. Crop management programs used in line with Annandale’s recommendations should result in high quality lucerne that is green, leafy, sweet smelling, and without any mould, dust, weeds, chemical residues or other foreign material. The harvest of the lucerne crop needs to be well managed to provide hay that is of the correct moisture levels which minimises hay that is too dry resulting in dusty hay due to leaf shatter. There is commitment and skill required to maximise gains out of your lucerne crop and we are keen to help our suppliers get great results in yield, return and harvest.

Using a mower with a crimper to speed up the drying process to ensure the product is dried quickly to minimise the risk of bleaching and loss of colour. Moisture content of the stalk should be taken down to a maximum of 14% over a good sample of the crop before baling, which would preferably be done at night with a light dew on it to minimise leaf shatter.

Payment per kg of lucerne hay is determined by leaf content, colour retention, moisture content and overall quality.

Balage/Haylage is another sought after product for our bulk customers customers.

Meadow Hay is always in demand at Annandale for use in our processed products and the servicing of hay requirements into the stud and equine markets. The types of hay we source from our suppliers are Brown Top, Clover, and good quality pasture grasses. Hay we look for needs to be of good colour, texture and have a sweet and grassy smell.

We also source Oaten Hay, this crop is harvested with the grain in tact slightly prior to maturity to ensure the grain is retained on the plant as much as possible through the harvesting and processing requirements.

Peavine hay has great nutritional qualities and is a popular choice for horse owners who don’t want to feed Lucerne but want good protein and nutritional value in their fibre feed. It is also a sought after by our dairy and dry stock farmers. The Peavine crop should be green in colour and harvested carefully to ensure no dirt is raked up into the bales.

Straw is a by product of crops grown for grain or seed. It generally is a lot more fibrous and stalky due to the maturity of the plant at harvest and offers its own feeding value for bulk and fibre. Oat straw should be golden in colour, long cut, and clean.

Pea straw is a crop we source for garden product’s and can be of a lower quality as long as the product has been harvested at the correct moisture levels.

Due to risk factors like weather, sometimes the crop is not optimum for the further production in Annandale’s products but could be just what one of our dairy customers may be looking for.