Business Rural Autumn 2021

24 | MEAT & WOOL » Richard & Denise Martin Background in the Karen Phelps T he fact that Richard Martin did not come from a farming background but rather the meat industry has had a big impact on his stud and the type of cattle he produces. “The big picture is we’re not doing this to farm; we’re doing this to feed people. There is no point in producing something nobody wants to eat. Sometimes as breeders we can get consumed in our own bubble and lose sight of our purpose - New Zealand’s unique ability to produce quality grass fed beef,” says Richard. His grandfather William Martin, who brought his family to Wakefield, just south of Nelson, in 1909 after purchasing a meat company, has heavily influenced Richard. During this time, the family’s farming was limited to holding and feeding the company’s small abattoir. It was not until 1978 that Richard and brother Craig made their first foray into farming purchasing a small Angus stud. A year later they purchased a farm from one of the early pioneers of New Zealand Simmentals, which was the start of a long association with that breed. Richard says that crossing Simmental with Angus reaped real rewards by progeny testing through the meat company. After the purchase of two more farms he and Craig introduced the Herefords program in the early 90s due to demand and what the breed had to offer. After Craig sadly passed away in 2015 the Simmen- tals were dispersed and the operation substantially scaled down. Today Richard and wife Denise, with the oc- casional help of family, run a breeding operation called Martin Farming comprising around 200 registered females (150 Angus and 50 Hereford) on 330 hectares of predominantly steep hill country. Their annual on farm sale offers around 40 rising two-year-old Angus and Hereford stud bulls to the market and is set to take place this year on June 14. With so much of the region in pine plantation, coupled with diverse land use and limited cow numbers, half of the bulls sold leave the district so they have to be able to cope well in a variety of environments. The mission statement of Martin Farming is that its fundamentals and philosophies are centred on the breeding of functional and balanced hill country cattle that are capable of adding value to progres- sive breeding programs. Richard says this harks back to his background in the meat industry. “Our family used to be processing cattle weekly and I’d always go and look at all the carcasses and that’s given me a rare insight into how to produce good animals that produce good meat. The key word is balance. “It’s all about balancing breeding attributes of structural soundness, fertility, constitution, and longevity with predictive breeding of available proven science for optimums, avoiding extremes,” says Richard. Martin Farming was one of the industries earliest to carcass ultrasound scan, putting emphasis on recording muscle shape, evenness of fats, and in later years, is now conscious of intramuscular fat. “This is not specifically targeted but the correla- tion between intramuscular fat and eating quality is well recognized,” says Richard. “Through muscle testing of cattle Martin Farming has virtually elimi- nated unfavourable flat muscle cattle.” It’s a far cry from the days when Richard’s father used to have to judge the tenderness of the meat by pressing his thumb into the forequarter when the carcass was hanging on the hook. The use of genomics is another valuable breed- ing tool today as is AI so they have access to the best genetics available. “We are always striving to remove cattle carrying known undesirable genetic conditions and docility is paramount,” says Richard. “Plus with talk of farm- ers having to reduce cow numbers to meet climate change and environmental targets, if you’re going to have a cow it’s got to be a good one, one that’s able to add extra value.” PHOTO: Richard and Denise Martin will be offering 40 rising two-year-old Angus and Hereford bulls at their on-farm sale in June. Richard’s Grandfather, William Martin on the left, pictured with his father Dick Martin (baby) in front of the family’s butchery 1918. “The big picture is we’re not doing this to farm; we’re doing this to feed people. There is no point in producing something nobody wants to eat. Sometimes as breeders we can get consumed in our own bubble and lose sight of our purpose - New Zealand’s unique ability to produce quality grass fed beef.” 24HR - PH: 03 544 5723 MAIN ROAD APPLEBY, NELSON BRANDS - SERVICE - FINA CE Parts and Service for ALL makes 24HR Call Out Now the agents for Call Free | 0800 266 276 Visit | aon.co.nz AonAgri is New Zealand’s leading rural insurance broker, and proudly supports farming communities around the country. Talk to your local AonAgri broker today. Proudly local, proudly AonAgri. 03 544 1200 www.tcvet.co.nz Caring for “all creatures great & small”. Servicing farms across the Nelson/Tasman district We are very happy to support Martin Farming 35 McGlashen Ave, Richmond 25 Edward St, Wakefield