GRASS SEED merchant Hunters of Chester is to be relaunched in England and Wales after an absence of 15 years.

The firm’s trading name was bought by Northern Irish seed business JA Humphrey Agriculture from breeding company Nickersons.

Hunters of Chester’s new forage brochure will be concentrating on supplying high quality sward mixtures in north-west and south-west England and throughout Wales.

UK sales manager Peter Schofield said its Northern Irish parent had successfully traded about 8000 acres of Hunters of Chester leys in the province and marketing would begin through agents and distributors in England and Wales.

“Hunters’ philosophy is not to tackle one element of forage, such as grass supply, in isolation.

“We’ll be proving new mixtures that perform well in temporary leys as well as renovation of older swards.”

The firm would also be selling some cereals seeds for wholecropping, primarily in the North Yorks area, he added.