Today I met Hamish Marr by Erin

Today, we had the pleasure of meeting a farmer named Hamish Marr. Hamish owns and operates Longfield Marr Farms Ltd. along with his father, Graham Marr, his brother, Stuart Marr, and their families. Hamish and his brother are the fifth generation of the Marr family to operate the farm. Hamish does not believe his children have any interest in continuing the family farm, but he says he has other relatives who would. 

Hamish is a very kind man, whose passion for farming is unmistakable. Throughout our visit, several questions were asked about his farm and he was very eager to answer every single one. The University of Delaware Study Abroad program has been visiting his farm for so many years, that he even provided us with a sheet of facts about his farm upon arrival. This sheet included the breakdown of crops on the farm, why he farms the way he does, a bit about his family, and where he’d like to be in the future. Hamish stressed that in order to be successful as a farmer,  you have to enjoy farming. He said “you cannot force a man to farm, he simply won’t do it.”

Hamish graduated from Lincoln University, where our class is staying, in 2000 with a Bachelor of Commerce in Agriculture. Despite his interest in returning to the farm after University, his parents insisted that he pursue other opportunities prior to returning. Hamish spent 4 years in Ashburton as a field officer with Ravensdown, which he says was an invaluable experience. Hamish is a Nuffield Scholar who recently completed his study on glyphosate, more commonly known as Roundup. His study dove into the benefits of using glyphosate and the impacts that the agricultural sector would face if glyphosate were to be banned. He aimed to find equally effective alternatives but did not find anything comparable. Hamish said “if I can’t use Roundup, I have to pull weeds by hand,” stressing the lack of alternatives available to the agricultural industry that would have the same outcomes as glyphosate. 

In addition to being a Nuffield Scholar, Hamish has also earned a number of awards and scholarships over the years. His most recent award was the 2022 New Zealand Small Seed Grower of the Year award. In 1998, Hamish received the Grasslands Association Scholarship for a degree at Lincoln University. He used this scholarship to help attain his Diploma of Farm Management from Lincoln University, also in 1998.