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Natural Selection
Marto Farm’s Unforeseen Challenges
Life on the land comes with unforeseen challenges
Across Australia, farmers are facing a new range of challenges – rising input costs, labour shortages, climate volatility. The list goes on and on. Farmers at the forefront of these challenges are using technology and innovation to constantly adapt and to face adversity head-on.
In the sweat-inducing heat of tropical Queensland, farmer Andrew Martens has learnt that pragmatism and practicality are key to keeping operations going and feeding the mouths of Australians. Located in Bundaberg, Marto Farms is a family owned and operated business run by Andrew with the help of his brother Paul, and their parents, Keith and Karen.
Marto Farms is a vast horticultural operation, stretching across 2,000 acres of property and producing a variety of crops, including seedless watermelons, zucchinis, macadamia nuts and pumpkins.
“It’s an interesting mix of produce, that’s for sure, but we take pride in delivering quality, topnotch products,” Andrew explains. “At the end of the day it’s our name on the box, so we work hard to do the best we can.” Juicy, sweet and a hero of the summertime, watermelons are the flagship product grown at Marto Farms. “Dad planted our first watermelons decades ago, and we’re very proud of the longevity and success we’ve had with the crop,” Andrew reflects.
“It’s what we’re best known for around these parts, and I think that has something to do with the climate. There’s nothing like a delicious slice of watermelon when the weather is stifling hot.
“We get our fair share of those days up here.”
In early 2011, devastating torrential rain and flooding in Queensland saw the entire watermelon crop at Marto wiped out. Andrew needed a solution to keep their workers employed and prevent the farm from going under. “The sheer volume of rain sat us back on our heels. We knew we just had to dig deep and work hard,” he says.
Pivoting quickly, Andrew brought in a zucchini crop to help the farm recover. “After the watermelon crop failed, we knew we needed something to keep the farm going. Here in the subtropics, zucchinis make an excellent winter crop, so we got planting.”
The move was such a success that Marto Farms now works on 600 acres of zucchini plants each year. Seeing the value in diversification, Andrew made another swap. With the value of sugar cane through the floor, the team at Marto decided to switch out their sugar cane crop for a macadamia orchard.
“Macadamias are a native tree across Queensland and they grow fantastically up here in Bundaberg, so the change just made sense,” Andrew exclaims. “We’ve always believed that in farming, you’ve got to be sensible, pragmatic and not afraid of diversification.”
Thanks to continued demand, Marto’s macadamias are a success. “I’m a farmer first. I’m not an expert across all crops or even in running a business. But I’ll have a crack at a lot of different things to get through the testing times. That’s what we do.”
Challenges haven’t made Andrew overly cautious – in fact, the opposite. He continues to innovate and experiment with new technologies to help improve his farming, packing and distribution operations.
In a bid to remain on the cutting edge, Andrew invited robotics experts to the farm to implement autonomous technologies that aid in produce packing, grading and plant nursing.
“It’s an impressive piece of machinery that can grade our crops by size. It also registers the density of produce to detect if it’s ripe. We still have a packaging team on the line, but it helps with the sorting process and it’s a time saver. I wouldn’t say I’m an innovation and technology driver, but I’m open to exploring ideas when it comes to making life a little bit easier on my team,” says Andrew.
“Not every invention or innovation is going to dramatically change our on-farm operation, but if it makes someone’s day a little easier, I’m on board.”
"I WAS TOLD IT COULDN’T BE DONE... BUT IT CAN BE DONE"
Andrew also understands the role that technology plays in promoting the Marto Farms brand. In late 2019, Andrew partnered with traceability and consumer technology company FreshChain Systems to roll out a program helping consumers learn more about where their food comes from. Using blockchain technology, the FreshChain system tracked Marto Farms’ watermelons, allowing customers to follow the journey from paddock to plate and consumers to learn more about the farms their food came from.
“I think consumers want to know where their food comes from. Technology projects like these help Australians think local and support home grown,” he speculates. While technological advances are changing the face of modern farming, the basic goal of nurturing produce remains the same. This is Andrew’s passion. As far as he’s concerned, everything else is secondary.
“No matter what whiz-bang contraptions are invented, I’m a farmer through and through. “What matters to me is growing and processing quality produce. But you’re going to get challenges from every angle, and you have to learn to evolve or get left behind.” Recognising the importance of equipment and technology that delivers on-farm efficiencies, Andrew needs machinery he can rely on. Which is why he made the switch to Kubota.
In 20 years of working on the property, Andrew has never stuck to one brand, but today the vast majority of his fleet is bright orange. “Growing so many different crops at such a large scale, I need machinery that is reliable and versatile,” Andrew explains.“Funnily enough, when we bought our first farm there was an old Kubota tractor that came with it. Since then I’ve sold off all the old equipment, but I’ve kept the Kubota. It hasn’t broken down once in 20-odd years.”
Andrew is practical when it comes to his machinery; more than anything, he chose Kubota due to their reputation for reliability.
“With so much going on, I want a machine that can constantly deliver. No gimmicks, no nonsense. Just a good, hardworking piece of equipment,” says Andrew. “After seeing some of the newer model tractors on display, it made sense to go with Kubota. “I’m so thankful for the team at Formatt Machinery. They’ve helped make the transition to Kubota as easy and seamless as possible. They know what we need out here at Marto, and they constantly deliver.”
Andrew Martens is a farmer first, and a practically minded one at that. He and the team at Marto Farms will always honour tradition in their practices, but they won’t shy away from ways to evolve and tackle the ever-changing nature of farming in Queensland.
