“If you can see it, you can be it”

- Marty Lovegrove

Growing up, Martin Lovegrove, who is most definitely a ‘Marty’, dreamt of being a shearer, just like his Dad.  

By his mid teenage years with plenty of time on the boards of the woolshed, Marty’s career aspirations would shift from fleece to fields. A pathway mapped, to finish school and proceed to tertiary education.  

“I went [to University] to meet people, which is the biggest part of agriculture, probably.” 

Like many young adults, returning home was a drawcard, however it was the encouragement of his father that would see Marty move further afield, securing a job with  the Department of Agriculture on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula.   

After several years on ‘The Peninsula’, the ‘big lights’ of Adelaide lured Marty and he commenced a role with the South Australian Research Development Institute (SARDI) working with Barley breeders. 

“Mum and Dad rang up one day and said, Marty, there's a farm for Sale down the road. If you're interested in coming home, this is your opportunity.”

The dream of farming became a reality as Marty returned home in partnership with his parents.

“We went three ways, Mum, Dad and I. We bought ‘Hillside’ in the Warren Valley. I still had to work off farm as well… So I came home to Cleve and started working doing agronomy part time, and farming part time, so we took on the new chapter there”. 

Balancing his time on farm with an agronomy role, Marty came to the realisation that he was most definitely a farmer first, and an agronomist second, 

“Agronomy was ingrained in what I was doing, [but] I saw myself as a farmer because I was still farming. And working flat out on the farm, people would have recognised that perhaps I was an agronomist and doing agronomy, that's what I did. But deep inside me I still recognise that I'm a farmer… I'm a farmer first and an agronomist on the side.”

Marty’s career turned from farming and agronomic advice to business ownership when the opportunity to own a local agronomy business presented itself. 

“There was an opportunity for me to buy a business. I guess I created my own opportunity to buy into the business”. 

Marty and his wife [Em] went on to purchase Cleve Rural Traders just before the COVID-19 Pandemic hit, a baptism by fire, and one that they are better off for experiencing. 

 “Growth is expensive. And any business owner knows that. And so when it's expensive, and then you put the COVID premiums on everything, it was SUPER expensive”. 

Through sheer hard work and a committed dedication to clients, Marty’s business became a top 10 supplier in Australia, and ultimately expanded the business with several new team members.

“We were kicking some pretty big goals. And it was tough. It was really, really tough. It was a lot of work. And I guess in a way, this is where our relationship with Syngenta started as a business. They recognised straightaway, out of all of our suppliers that we were onto something good. We weren't talking rubbish. We had some serious growth about us.” 

Reflecting on how the business growth impacted Marty and his style of operating,

“It feels like I've been better at letting people do their jobs. The business was originally a big part about me, the growth in the business. So the business going forward isn't about me. It's about the guys I work with, It's about the other agronomists in the store and their growth… And I think that's taken a bit of the mental load off of me”.

“I have no doubt picked the most stressful life I could have picked. There's no doubt about that. But you know, without stresses there's not great reward. And nothing easy is worth fighting for. And nothing fighting for is ever easy.” 

Listen to Marty’s podcast episode on your favourite podcast app, or in the link below 🎧

Martin Lovegrove is a 2023 Syngenta Growth Award recipient, in the category of Productivity. “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”.

Martin’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.