About
The Numat story
NumatAGRI’s aim of improving animal comfort and health by protecting their hooves with high tech rubber matting has roots going back almost half a century. It began with Mike Judd who co-founded the company with his father Peter. An animal lover since childhood, Mike dreamed of being a farmer and poured that passion into nurturing animals of all kinds in his backyard from a kid goat to pigeons; guinea pigs to actual pigs.
Mike may not have ended up on a farm but after time as a stock agent, following in his Dad’s footsteps, he and Peter established a multi-generational company that has helped revolutionise farming.
It was the rise of dairying in New Zealand which brought the Judd family to the rural South Island town of Oamaru, along with running an auction firm, they established a company which manufactured rubber matting from locally-sourced chips.
The mats were an instant success with local playcentres and kindergartens. One day a local farmer, John Chalmers, knocked on the door looking for help.
He’d noticed his herd were slipping and damaging their hooves exiting his rotary shed, and thought the mats could offer a solution. It took Mike full-circle, back to caring for animals.
He’d noticed his herd were slipping and damaging their hooves exiting his rotary shed, and thought the mats could offer a solution. It took Mike full-circle, back to caring for animals.
NumatAGRI’s journey in Australia started in 2015 when they were approached by Grassdale feedlot in Queensland to solve their slipping problem. The NumatAGRI team, who were already known in New Zealand for their innovative rubber matting solutions, was up for the challenge.
Their first attempt at rubber matting for cattle using mats designed for dairy cows was a complete failure, but it led to a breakthrough. This failure inspired the NumatAGRI team to develop the YoungStar mat – the world’s first one-piece rubber mat explicitly designed for beef cattle.
The YoungStar mat was a huge success and has since been growing in use in Australian feedlots, sale yards, and anywhere where cattle hooves encounter concrete. It’s helping to reduce slipping and injuries while lifting well-being and productivity across the beef industry of Australia.
Farmers and livestock handlers have noticed a significant improvement in the health and comfort of their cattle thanks to the YoungStar mat. It’s a testament to NumatAGRI’s commitment to improving animal comfort and health, and their determination to revolutionize livestock handling worldwide.
NumatAGRI continues to evolve and innovate, and now offers a range of products in Australia for stables, milking sheds, feedlots, and sale yards.
Left: Today, we manufacture and supply the largest range of agricultural matting products in Australasia from our NZ-based factory warehouse.