Wrightson Seeds announcement today that they have mailed compensation packages to farmers affected by the swede seed mix-up is warmly welcomed by Federated Farmers.

"The Grains Council is satisfied that the process adopted is fair and reasonable," said chairman of the Grains Council, Neil Barton.

"Federated Farmers expects that the process will progress without delay, and that farmers will be satisfied with the final outcome," commented Mr Barton. "We will be carefully monitoring progress."

"We appreciate the efforts that Wrightson Seed has made to ensure that the mixing of swede with rape seed has had the least possible adverse effect on farmers. We expect that reasonable compensation will be made."

"It has taken considerable time to put the comprehensive package together due to the complexity of the situation. The Grains Council are very grateful to our members who have been patient and co-operative throughout the whole process."

"It is unfortunate that the seed mixing occurred, and I expect that steps have been taken to ensure that it does not happen again. Although farmers will be compensated, the unnecessary mix-up has caused a great deal of anxiety."

Federated Farmers involvement has been to reduce the adverse effect on its members. This has involved working closely with both Wrightson Seed and the affected farmers. Wrightson have been most co-operative, and have taken measures to ensure that technical advice has been available to assist with the management of the problem.

A thorough inspection of farms has established the species mixed, the nature of the loss incurred, and the impact on different farming systems in the regions. It is expected that there will be few disagreements between farmers and Wrightson Seed regarding compensation, due to the effort that went into those initial assessments.

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