Thousands of grain growers are set to benefit from a $2.6 million investment in new seed grading technology on the Darling Downs.
Pacific Seeds has begun the process of installing a new seed processing line that will have the capacity to double throughput of multiple varieties of seed and significantly improve the plant's efficiency.
Pacific Seeds processing and warehousing manager Angus Rathie said the line would enhance several key aspects of its high-grade seed processing capabilities, allowing the company to meet the increasing demand from customers for a high quality product.
"The new technology will be much gentler on a variety of seed types and will markedly improve the quality control process," Mr Rathie said.
"We're incorporating a colour sorter into the line and will have the flexibility in the line to not use it if we don't need to, but it will allow us to remove a whole range of different things that we don't want in a line of seed.
"The machine will do it by air rather than by mechanical means, and will give us a greater flexibility to remove material whether it's by colour, by size, or by shape."
Mr Rathie said the new technology would allow them to reduce the number of times they had to handle a line of seed while also enhancing workplace health and safety.
"It's not only about the farmers that are planting that product, it's also for our production farmers," he said.
"At the end of the day, it's all about getting quality product in the bag, so whatever we can do in the supply chain process to help that benefits everybody in the long run."
The PETKUS Technologies machine is currently enroute from Germany and Mr Rathie said it was expected to be installed during July, with the first batch of seed to run through the machine in the last week of August, if all goes to plan.
"The old plant had been here for 35 years; this is going to last 30 years, so it's a once-in-a-generation type of opportunity to make these changes," he said.
The new line will see the capacity to clean seed increase from four tonnes per hour to 10 tonnes.
Despite the widespread dry conditions, Pacific Seeds sales manager Brad Jamieson said they hadn't seen a shortage of seed.
"We'd really love to see some rain in the next week or so, and get some winter crop in," Mr Jamieson said.
"A lot of our business is summer crop, but we'd like to see winter crop out in the paddock to take the pressure off everybody.
"Right across the whole country, we have areas that have wheat and barley gone in the ground, some areas of canola have gone in, and some areas are still too dry to plant."
