Description
Ranch Broker
Licensed in: NM
Robert Martin grew up on the family farm in Curry County near Clovis, New Mexico. His great grandparents were homesteaders in Curry and Roosevelt counties, and his grandfather ran the horse auction in Clovis for 50 years. Robert attended Texas Tech University and received a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering. After working for ARCO Oil and Gas in Midland and Odessa, he returned home and managed the family farm for 15 years. Watching the Ogallala Aquifer decline rapidly over those years, Robert and his father made the difficult decision to sell their irrigated farm while it was still highly productive. When the farm sold in 2000, Robert followed his childhood dream and went back to college, earning a master’s degree in biology from Eastern New Mexico University.
Robert worked as a wildlife biologist on research projects in Eastern New Mexico and later as a high school science teacher. He went on to join the staff of The Nature Conservancy in 2008 as a Stewardship Ecologist. His duties at TNC included land stewardship, conservation easements, wildlife education, wetland restoration, government programs, energy issues, amphibian conservation, and landowner outreach.
Robert’s love for native wildlife and the outdoors has always drawn him to the West’s rivers, streams, playas, and riparian areas. And this attraction is part of what led him into ranch sales. Robert’s background in wildlife biology coupled with his extensive farm & ranch experience gives him an excellent foundation to manage for optimal wildlife habitat or a holistic working livestock operation. His experience with farming and ranching allows him to take a skilled hands-on approach to land management. Robert is exceptionally familiar with government assistance programs available from NRCS and USFWS, as well as conservation easements and their tax incentives. He considers these useful tools to help landowners become better stewards.
Robert joined his friend and business partner, Greg Walker, in founding Walker & Martin Ranch Sales in 2014. With his keen interest in wild places and experience as a real estate investor, this has been a natural fit. Robert lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and he and Greg primarily sell ranches in Northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. The team recently joined Fay ranches in October 2020 to expand their marketing platform to benefit their clients.
Robert is driven by his love for the wildlife, landscape, and people of the southern Rocky Mountains. His passion for the outdoors is evident every day in the way he conducts his real estate business.
Walker & Martin Team Bio: Friends since early childhood, Greg and Robert have owned and operated a working cattle ranch together in Guadalupe County, New Mexico, since 2004. Their ranch is enrolled in the Conservation Stewardship Program, much of which focuses on the restoration of aquatic and riparian wildlife habitat on over five miles of Pecos River.
When it comes to discussing “recreational value”, Greg and Robert have been hunting, fishing, and exploring the backcountry of New Mexico and Colorado their entire lives. They really get it. And beyond a shared attraction to the Southwest’s most fascinating places, they share solid character and work ethic. Doubly robust when combined, their personalities and backgrounds make them very effective ranch brokers.