S2 Ep4: Mark Ferguson, neXtgen Agri

Genetics play a vital role in our industry and Mark Ferguson is leading a team at neXtgen Agri that aims to bring genes to life.

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neXtgen Agri chief executive Mark Ferguson

A self-confessed sheep tragic, originally from across the ditch, Mark first came to New Zealand almost a decade ago after successfully pitching for a merino genetics review for the New Zealand Merino Company. He says it was a pivotal moment writing the application, as it led to him moving to New Zealand to run the production science component of a Primary Growth Partnership for the company.

At neXtgen Agri, the focus is on the pastoral livestock industries. It is a consulting and innovation business, predominantly genetics consulting, helping sheep and beef breeders breed and buy the best animals.

Mark grew up on a farm in north west Victoria. He and his brother were keen on breeding from a young age, starting with birds, moving into Angora goats and eventually starting a Poll Dorset stud. “We were breeding tragics forever really, and it got more intense over time. I’ve always loved the opportunity to create new things by getting the gene set right,” Mark says.

“I’m a passionate believer in the power of genetics to improve the welfare of animals.”

He was inspired to take a leap of faith and start neXtgen Agri after attending the Stanford University leadership programme as a scribe.

“A lot of my career I’ve been doing what I do now, but working for other organisations. I worked for Government for a long time in Australia, for universities and then for the New Zealand Merino Company, and a lot of it has been helping farmers navigate change. I guess I was in roles where my services were provided for free to farmers and paid for by somebody else.”

It was while with the New Zealand Merino Company that he attended Te Hono, the leadership forum for CEOs at Stanford University, as a scribe.

“We got the same experience as if you were a CEO and there were some really inspirational speakers. That process of being in a group with amazing people and surrounded by New Zealanders who have done great things, I got inspired to come home and hand my resignation in.

“It really highlighted to me what was coming in terms of machine learning and that the future was a very different one than what was current, and if you want to make a difference then you have to forge that future yourself.”

Mark says, as far as he can tell, the only way you lead is through private business. He convinced his wife they didn’t need his salary and could replace it with consulting. With his experience and networks, he felt he was well placed to start a Trans-Tasman business, and that the timing was right.

“It felt like there were a lot of people that used our services for free… I believed we could take people a lot further if we had the opportunity, and the only question was whether people would pay for it.”

As it turns out, they will. He is proud of how quickly the company has grown and now neXtgen Agri has four staff in Australia and seven in New Zealand.

He says most farmer clients are people who understand the power of genetics and that they may not be capturing potential gains. Mark points out that for every ram or bull buying decision, the impact is far reaching, yet the purchasing decision may have been given little serious thought.

“For a ram it’s 10-15 years the impact of that ram and for a bull it can be up to 40 years if you play the maths, so we’re talking almost generational impacts of a decision and yet they are made often at a whim and trying to get that cheap bull or ram…Often we get employed because people know they’re not making good decisions but they don’t want to break a relationship and it’s easy to blame a consultant. People get us in to make the hard decision.”

Mark says they hope to become part of the team, understanding what clients want to achieve. “It’s important for us not to try to change your philosophy on breeding, it’s more about super charging what you do.”