Flying high on the seeds of success

• Published date: 27 April 2022
• Publication title: Central Rural Life

WHEN Greg Webster was growing up on a farm in rural North Otago, he vividly recalls his father, Jock, telling him never to be a farmer

It was the 1980s — an era that was ‘‘so tough’’ for farmers who were battling crippling drought and huge interest rates.

‘‘They were under the pump. Some of that probably rubbed off,’’ Mr Webster recalled this week.

As well as farming at Totara, Jock Webster was also an innovative thinker, establishing a birdseed business with his brother-in-law Ross Mitchell.

From humble beginnings, selling by mail order to bird breeders, Topflite, as it is now known, has grown to be New Zealand’s largest bird, rabbit and guinea pig feed provider.

At its helm as general manager is Greg Webster, who now owns half the business with his wife Carolyn.

He was proud to be the next generation involved with the family-owned business, and New Zealand-grown success story, factors which resonated with customers in the burgeoning pet industry, he said.

The Mitchell family settled at Rosedale, near Weston, in 1871 and become linked to the Webster family when Ainslie Webster — Jock’s sister — married Ross Mitchell.

After completing a degree in agricultural science at Lincoln in 1970, Jock got a job as a scientist at the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research but, after 13 months, he decided it was not for him.

He had several job offers, including one from Ross Mitchell, who was farming with his brother Bruce.

Mr Mitchell thought they might be able to help him into a farm, something Mr Webster had always dreamed of having.

In 1977, he achieved that dream of buying a property at Totara where he and his wife Helen raised their children Nick, Jane and Greg.

In 1974, the first sunflower crops were planted at Rosedale. The intention was to the seed for oil as the Mitchell and Webster families looked for a better return outside conventional crops.

Greg Webster said both his father and uncle had an ability to look at opportunities and be willing to try them — in this case, undertaking research on how to grow sunflowers.

Ross Mitchell travelled to the United States, visiting universities and learning about the equipment they needed.

They realised there was a market for birdseed and initially they were selling the seed in bulk, until the processor failed to pay the bills.

So they thought they would have a crack at doing it themselves, initially under the Mitchell and Webster name.

As well as selling by mail order, they had a few distributors who would...