seedEnergy Company Profile

Business Focus
seedEnergy focuses on the Production and Sales of Genetically Superior Orchard Seed for Plantation Forestry.

Business Achievement
For its five years of trading as a private company seedEnergy has steadily built a strong annual profit profile.

In the same five-year period seedEnergy has invested over $1 million to purchase high quality land for seed orchards.

Background
seedEnergy was established as a specialist producer of genetically improved seed in 2001 with its headquarters at Yahl near Mount Gambier in the southeast of South Australia. The business was acquired from the Southern Tree Breeding Association (STBA).
seedEnergy is licensed to use the STBA’s genetic material and intellectual property to produce high quality seed for plantation forestry.

seedEnergy is managed by a Board of Directors consisting of David Boomsma, Andrew Cameron and Peter Gore

seedEnergy Key Clients
seedEnergy’s key client companies are members of the STBA. The companies are the major plantation forestry organisations in Australia and are committed to sustainable production forestry.

Seed Orchard Estate
seedEnergy manages more than 30 seed orchards for Radiata Pine and Eucalypt seed throughout southern Australia to produce a range of genetically improved seed to suit your company’s budget.

seedEnergy's Office is located at Goodwood Seed Orchard on Hill Road Yahl (near Mount Gambier)

Tasmanian Blue-gum (Eucalyptus globulus)

In collaboration with research scientists at the CRCSPF, STBA and seedEnergy staff designed a new seed production system for Eucalyptus globulus called Mass Supplementary Pollination (MSP).

Our MSP seed production system uses the very latest in controlled pollination methods to produce large quantities of full-sib family seed for deployment. The very best families are selected for deployment from the Southern Tree Breeding Association’s advanced generation breeding program. This program, arguably the most advance in the world, tested over 200,000 trees collected from 1,300 native-stand parent trees in 49 progeny tests before selecting 600 parents for the production of second-generation families. Since 1995, STBA has established over 350 second-generation families in 17 progeny tests across Australia. The STBA breeding values, calculated using data from these progeny tests, are used by seedEnergy to select the best families for deployment in plantations. Using our MSP seed production system we expect to deliver genetic gains in the order of 35 percent gain for volume and 5 percent gain for wood density.

Shining gum (Eucalyptus nitens)

seedEnergy supplies genetically improved Eucalyptus nitens seed that is selected for superior volume production and wood density. Field trials were established in 1999 to evaluate the genetic worth of the seed orchard trees. Analysis of the data at age-three revealed an average gain in volume of 18% over natural stand seedlots. By selecting the top 25% of the seed orchard trees, gains in volume of 28% and gains in wood density of 1.6% are predicted.

Radiata Pine (Pinus radiata)

The breeding programs and seed production strategies for this species have developed rapidly over the past 40 years. The breeding work has culminated in an advanced breeding strategy for radiata pine developed a decade ago, by the STBA. As a direct result of this national breeding effort seedEnergy has substantial genetic and physical resources on which to service demand for seed orchard radiata seed.

Over 200 progeny trials delivered more that 2,500 selections from which 300 parents have been used to create a third generation of progeny.

Clients request the highest breeding value seed from both open pollinated and control pollinated seed production programmes. Open pollinated seed has predicted gains in volume of up to 25%, plus gains in stem form and branch quality. Control pollinated seed has predicted gains in volume of up to 40%.