The Country 05/03/26: Phil Holden talks to Jamie Mackay

We find the chief executive of the NZ Shearing Contractors Association on day two of the Golden Shears and World Champs in Masterton, where he’s just launched the “Live Well, Shear Well” campaign, featuring Rowland Smith and Sam Whitelock, in association with Farmstrong.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Day two of the Golden Shares and World Sharing and
Wool Handling Championships in Marsterton. Really looking forward to broadcasting
the show live there tomorrow. But before we do that,
let's set the scene with Phil Holden. He's the chief
executive of the New Zealand Sharing Contractors Association. And today,
Phil at Masterton, you have launched the Live Well, Share

(00:22):
Well program. Now you've got a couple of stars fronting
this for you, none other than a guy who could
be the World Sharing Champion, Roland Smith. He's representing the
sharing industry, and of course the association is with farm Strong.
Who better than farm Strong Ambassador Sam Whitelocke.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Good afternoon, Hey, good afternoon, Jamie. Yep, we've got a
couple of icons representing us. No question.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
Aw tell me a wee bit about your background, Chief
Executive of the New Zealand Sharing Contractors Association. I take
it Phil that you're a gnarly old former sharing contractor.
What's your CV on the handpiece?

Speaker 2 (01:00):
I have no handpiece of CV at all. In fact,
the last time I was probably in a wool shed
was from a cousin's twenty first at writes Blosh Himselfland,
So I'm just the guy. I'm the guy in a
suit that tries to kick the wheels gun.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
Haven't we crossed paths before? Weren't you involved with TALMA,
the Tractor Machinery Association.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
Yes, we have. We've had a chat about that and
I still I am involved in that. So again, it's
very similar to the sharing contractors, a very small part
time gag in the primary sector. And I really love it.

Speaker 1 (01:34):
You're a guy in a suit a gun for hire.
Tell me about Live Well, Sharewell, Roland Smith, Sam Whitelock.
What's happening well, I mean the driver, the genesis behind it.
We've been working with Farmstrong for a number of years
to try and find a program or project that we
could really hold hands on together and launch, and that's

(01:56):
been the genesis behind Livewell, Sharewell. There's been a lot
focus lately on animal.

Speaker 2 (02:01):
Welfare, particularly given some of the issues that we were
dealing with early in twenty five, and the focus of
this is on the people, because at the end of
the day, behind every handpiece, every rowsy on the floor,
the person in the pen, that there is a human aspect.
And so we've decided and we've been able to focus

(02:25):
our energy on this program, to put our focus in
on the people, to make sure they've got they're looking
after themselves in the right way, they're thinking about the
right sort of things, and they've got some little tools
and skills and techniques to help their own well being,
particularly when they're under a pressured situation.

Speaker 1 (02:44):
I must say I've got a bit of a background
on a hand piece as a farmer sharerer, did enough
of it pail to know I wasn't keen to do
it full time for a job. It was too hard,
it was too hard to work. But I'd have to
say the sharing industries changed a lot over the years
that I've been involved. It's much more professional now. Sharers
and wall handlers for that matter, look after themselves physically

(03:04):
a lot better than they used to. Ditto with animal
welfare in the shed.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
Yeah, a hundred percent. And so this is just about
providing a bit of a toolbox and a reference point
for those our people to access and just you know,
take them to the next step and support them in
a way that they may not have had access to
in the past. So, and you're hundred percent right, I

(03:31):
mean the professionalism in the set there is first class.
There's no doubt about that. In New Zealand is still
high regard and internationally. I guess we'll find out a
little bit more about that over the next couple of days.

Speaker 1 (03:43):
Yeah, exactly. And we're launching a podcast. Hamish Mackay, my
offside of fill in here on the Country, has just
launched the first on their podcast series about being farm Strong,
with none other than Roland Smith.

Speaker 2 (03:58):
Yep, well there's he is the man, right, so, a
former world champion, eight time Golden share winner. The irony
is that he was Sam Whitelocke sharing contractor when Roley
had his run in the Hawks Bay. So when we

(04:18):
shot the material for all the resources that are available
on the farm Strong site, I mean they knew each other.
So there's one there where Roland is teaching Sam how
to share a sheep. It's quite quite quite quite quite cool.
So you know, he is an icon, there's no question
about that. And he's in the New Zealand team.

Speaker 1 (04:36):
And he's every chance, he's every chance to win that
world sharing title again. I hope he does or he doesn't.
Tell Henderson.

Speaker 2 (04:43):
Yeah, well that's right, yep. Let's hope someone from New
Zealand does still.

Speaker 1 (04:46):
Holden, Chief Executive of the New Zealand Sharing Contractors Association.
Good to catch up. You've launched it today, Live well,
Share Well at the Golden Shares. I'll see you there tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (04:55):
Look forward to it, Jamie. Take care,