Hamish Marr has been in the room for some of New Zealand Agriculture’s key discussions, yet the moment that he is most proud of and one that has defined his career more than any other was when a young boy asked him if he could teach him to be a farmer.

Several years on from that initial conversation, Hamish continues to mentor and coach Fergus on his family's property on the South Island of New Zealand. 

“Fergus, he's a success story. He couldn't be farming, but now he is, and our industry is very lucky to have him. And I'm hoping in 20 years time, we'll still have him somewhere. I doubt he will be with me, because one day, he will be too good for me.”

One thing we’ve drawn from various conversations with kiwi’s is how they recall the connection to the environment around them when introducing where they are from.

“My connection to the land really comes back to the you know, thinking about the history of the people that have gone before us and the legacy that they have left” 

That view towards the future is rooted in his families generational connection to the land they farm today.

“We live an hour south of Christchurch, and land under the Southern Alps. So we're on the right at the top edge of the Canterbury Plains with 1200 mil rainfall 450 metres above sea level.

And we live in a nice part of the world. But it's a very challenging part of the world, our weather comes at us from all directions…that makes farming here quite challenging, coupled with altitude and rainfall." 

After graduating from New Zealand's Lincoln University he bagan his career as an agronomist, crediting the vast network made at uni as being pivotal to broadening his perspective of New Zealand’s agriculture sector.

“It opened my eyes to a lot of different ways that things can be done, a lot of different techniques of things, but also got me in front of a lot of different people. So that when I eventually came home here a few years later, I had quite a network of people or business associates that I've met in an agronomy role.”

Beginning a Nuffield Farming Scholarship in 2019 looking at the topic ‘Can we farm without glyphosate’, opened Hamish’s eyes to the world.

“We were looking at farming systems talking to people in supermarkets, talking to doctors, talking to people, anyone that would listen to me on a plane, in an airport, on a bus, I started talking to them about what they thought about agriculture, about food production. And then, you know, we just round up foot in amongst all that. It's a very, very complicated story.”

Hamish recalls his proudest moment has been connecting Fergus to a life and career in Agriculture. 

 “The proudest thing for me, you know, outside of my own family.. A young guy with no future to be able to be a farmer, wrote me a letter and said, I'm 14 years old. I'd like to be a farmer. Can you teach me? and so I rang him up straightaway and said, yes, you're hired. 

“So where are we four years later, he's our number one guy. Now he works for us full time, there's probably only one thing on this farm he can’t do. And I'll get him to that very shortly. But he's a success story. And, you know, I don't know where he'll end up in his life. But if everyone had the work ethic that he has got, and the attitude that he has got, then there would be no problems in the world.”

Listen to Hamish’s full episode below, or wherever you get all your podcasts.

Hamish Marr is a 2023 Syngenta Growth Award recipient, in the category of Community and People. “The goal of the growth awards is to recognise growers and advisers who are making a difference to the Industry through leadership, best practice and innovation”.

Hamish’s story is one of several we are sharing in partnership with Syngenta Australia, where we are featuring the stories of the 2023 Growth Award recipients. You can learn more about the Syngenta Growth Awards and the 2023 recipients HERE.