About Us

Our Purpose

"Better Earth: Healing the land, feeding the future"

Our Aims and Mission

"To develop a full range of organic mineral fertilisers, herbicides, insecticides and animal health treatments, utilizing unused resources and by-products from a wide range of primary industries"

"To provide a replacement and alternative for imported agrichemicals with local, natural products, thus making New Zealand a leader in sustainable agriculture"

Our Values

- Thinking: Whole Earth Philosophy

- Communication: Listening to our customers

- Change: Acting as a catalyst for transformation

- Courage: To keep trying

- Honesty: Transparency and truth create positive relationships

Stonebread is committed to the environment, and to its people, embracing a “whole earth” philosophy within a solid business base. Steve Flynn, scientist and business architect, started the company in 2000, spending five years developing and testing the formulaes, obtaining Bio-Gro organic certification, and sourcing suitable local recycled components.

Steve has chosen his Stonebread team because of their clear commitment to these company values, and their thick skin! The health of our land and our soil is key not just to the health of our people and animals but has a major impact on climate, energy, water and waste issues. These ecosystem services are extremely valuable and in a world of constrained resources that value will only increase.

Stonebread’s aim is to close the loop on waste by seeking recoverable unused resources to return to the soil. This is a low energy intensive process and more efficient on every level. This will enhance and build New Zealand’s unique image as being a world class producer of clean and green, healthy organic foods. Also Stonebread will help primary industry and local councils reduce the amount of usable bio-matter currently destined for landfill.

Stonebread envisages 16 manufacturing plants nationwide and exporting this technology to other countries with similar agricultural needs and resources.

The Stonebread Team

Steve P Flynn
Founder :  
Steve founded the National Innovation Center in 1990, and subsequent inventor organisations and start up companies.  He holds Directorships of other Intellectual Property development companies within the food technology fields, including Military rations and disaster foods.  Steve also operates as an Independent Technology Development consultant and is a member of the Royal Society of NZ, the Food Science Technology Institute, the NZ Society of Soil Science and a former Churchill Fellow (1996).

Advisors

Professor Steve Weaver, PhD, DSc

Professor of Geology and Head of the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Canterbury. He has published more than 100 scientific papers on a wide variety of topics in geology and environmental science, specialising in the geochemistry of trace elements. He holds PhD (London) and DSc (Birmingham) degrees and is a Fellow of both the Royal Society of New Zealand and the NZ Institute of Chemistry.

Dr Tim Jenkins BSc(Hons), PhD

Soil Scientist and Microbiology Consultant, Connect Agriculture.  Experience in system design and soil management for organic and sustainable farming from intensive market gardening through to broadacre cropping, tree crops and pastoral agriculture.

Dr. Farhad Dastgheib, B.Ag.Sci., MSc., PhD

Weed Scientist and Agronomist, IWM Consultancy.  He has many years of experience in research and teaching in weed science and is the author of many scientific papers. He advocates proper use of different weed control methods as Integrated Weed Management. Through his consultancy, Dr Dastgheib provides expert and independent research in weed biology and control aiming to solve problems in organic and conventional agriculture.  

Rex Verity, MEIANZ

Currently Environmental Manager at Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology. Founder, member and inaugural Co-chair of Sustainable Aotearoa New Zealand. Member, management committee, Sustainable Otautahi Christchurch. Formerly Director of the Sustainable Cities Trust and National Co-Convenor of the Green Party. Organic farmer and active proponent of organics through the 1980s; involvement continues through roles in Canterbury Commercial Organics Group, Organic Garden City Trust and the Biological Husbandry Unit Stakeholders.

Research

Independent tests have been undertaken at the Biological Husbandry Unit at Lincoln. These tests confirmed the validity of Better Earth Reborn, and the Stonebread philosophy of soil remineralisaton. Further tests are underway to test Stonebread formulae on a wider range of products.

Scientific Analysis

Spectra Chem Analytical, Lower Hutt  
R J Hill Laboratories, Hamilton  
Cawthron Institute, Nelson  
Lucas Heights, CSIRO Sydney