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A century of seed services
Hannaford marks 100 years in 2025 of helping growers improve seed quality, reduce crop risks, and boost farm productivity with trusted local services.
A century ago, Alf Hannaford set out to tackle the age-old problem of fungal smut, a cereal disease that slashed grain quality and yield. His invention—a combined grader and pickler—sparked a business that still shapes Australian cropping.
In 2025, the company that bears his name marked 100 years, gathering franchisees from across Australia to celebrate a legacy of resilience and reinvention. A new centenary book, Since 1925 – Here Comes the Hannaford Man, traces stories from the field and shows how closely the business has grown with farmers.
For CEO Brett Heath, who grew up on a cereal and sheep farm on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, the milestone is personal.
“I remember the first time a Hannaford M20B machine rolled up on our farm,” Brett says. “All those moving parts fascinated me. Later, as I developed my engineering skills, that curiosity steered me into a career with Hannaford that evolved into leadership.” Brett points to the company’s ability to innovate: shifting from equipment sales during the Great Depression to a mobile grading service, then pioneering one of Australia’s first agricultural franchise models in 1987.
Today, locally based franchisees continue to deliver Hannaford’s service on-farm using the latest technology. Franchisees cover defined territories, working flat out from harvest to sowing before stepping back into their communities. Many franchisees stay more than a decade; some for a generation.
For Loddon Valley franchisee Byron Bird, who joined in 2021, the attraction is simple: “Hannaford is a proven brand with 100 years of history, and you’re your own boss,” he says. “But you’re never on your own. Support from other franchisees is just a phone call away.”
For farmers, the appeal is straightforward: grading delivers a cleaner seed sample, reduces weed seed carryover and ensures stronger crops. Victorian grower Marshall Rodda says he briefly tried doing it himself but returned to Hannaford. “It’s easier to get them to clean the grain properly and put the right treatments on. The franchise operators have always been good local people you know and trust.”
While grading still rests on separating grain by length, width, and weight, the technology has advanced. Modern machines—worth $1.5 million plus—run safer, faster, and integrate new seed treatments from Hannaford’s parent company, UPL Corporation.
“It’s the blend of global research and local know-how that sets us apart,” says Brett. “That’s why farmers trust Hannaford to give their seed, and their season, the best possible start.”
For franchise recruitment opportunities, click here.
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Trace minerals are required for optimal growth, reproduction, and immunity. Optimising trace mineral status relying solely on oral supplements across a herd may fail because of variation in individual intake and reduced absorption due to antagonism of other ration components and minerals. The use of injectable trace mineral supplements has been associated with positive reproductive outcomes including improved conception rate, increased odds of pregnancy and greater final in calf rate. A study conducted on 2,168 dairy cows, administered injectable trace minerals, four weeks prior to calving and again four weeks prior to the start of mating showed treated animals had a 3.3 per cent greater final in-calf rate, and a reduced time from start of mating to conception, compared to control animals 1 . The Importance of B12 Dr Carl Eden, Technical Services Veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim says “Vitamin B12 is sometimes referred to as a ‘super vitamin’ because it is only required in very small amounts but vital to many essential metabolic pathways. However, demand for B12 can vary considerably during the year and we see serum levels of B12 fall at critical times, such as the first few months after calving.” Vitamin B12 contains cobalt, so deficiency in cobalt can lead to deficiency in vitamin B12 because ruminants get most of their B12 as a byproduct of ruminal fermentation where the bacteria in their rumen assemble B12 from cobalt for use by the cow. Sub-optimal trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at calving, mating, and drying off has been shown to negatively impact growth, reproduction, and immunity. Using a trace mineral injectable containing vitamin B12 can improve trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at these critical times. Marks-Min with Vitamin B12 – The Evidence In the largest trace element study to date, Marks-Min Injectable Trace Mineral with Vitamin B12 demonstrated remarkable results when compared to a reference trace mineral injection. “Given the differences between Marks-Min and other products on the market, we wanted to generate a compelling data set to demonstrate how effective it was compared to the pioneer product. We entrusted this work to a third-party research company” says Dr Eden. “We chose farms that were at the top of their game from a reproductive perspective. We made sure that the farms had no evidence of trace element or vitamin B12 deficiencies or excess.” Across all outcomes of interest, Marks-Min demonstrated clear non-inferiority when compared to the reference product. Outcomes measured included submission, pregnancy and conception rates, and six week in-calf rate. Marks-Min demonstrated it is highly suited as an alternative treatment to the reference product. Reference: 1. Hawkins, D., and B. V. S. Franklin. New Zealand Dairy Veterinarians Newsletter 24 (2007): 12-16 Company website: livestockfirst.com.au Company email address: CustomerCare.Australia@boehringer-ingelheim.com Company video: https://vimeo.com/1138807630?fl=pl&fe=cm
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