Wayne Martin grew up in SE Iowa on a diversified family farm, raising crops and livestock. He later joined the Peace Corps and served as an extension educator in Ecuador.  Since 1999, Wayne has been at the University of Minnesota, first with the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, and currently with the Minnesota Extension Service. He is an Extension Educator with a focus on alternative livestock systems, both in production and marketing. He works with farmers and others interested in pasture and/or deep-bedded production systems, and urban farmers interested in backyard poultry production.

Wayne provides outreach/educational programming for all species of livestock production and marketing in diversified, alternative agricultural systems. He has taught short courses in Bulgaria and Poland, and has spoken on alternative livestock production in China.