The Country 14/10/25: Matt Holden talks to Hamish McKay

Director of Kelso Genetics Ltd, and Hawke’s Bay farmer, on his Mates of Mates for Mates initiative.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yeah, but a hall of not it's night how big
and the Hawk's Bay back in the eighties when Matt
Holden would have been in its absolute prime and he
joins us now, young man, how are you?

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Yeah, good, Homoss, thanks for the opportunity to have a yarn.
And it's raining.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
It's raining because things were getting parts of the Hawks Bay,
or much of it, getting pretty dry.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
It was a real well it still as a real concern, Homish. Yeah,
parts are really dry and soiled, moisture levels well behind
where they should be for the summer year. But look
it's raining now, so we'll take that and long mate continue.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
Yeah, excellent, of course, mates of mates for mates. Now
you've got a big event coming up not too far away.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yeah, Thursday week at the hawks Bay Show, and we
call it the the Rural round Up, Homiss, and hope
to round up a few locals and a queue from
further afield, you know, hopefully they'll take a day off
docking and come down off the farm and just enjoy

(01:11):
some some good old fashioned hospitality and also listen to
a couple of inspirational speakers that I've got lined up.

Speaker 1 (01:19):
Ever to Camaraderi, a bit of hospitality. So who's going
to be speaking at this day? So it's on the Thursday,
twenty third of October three to five thirty I get
is that a hard finished time or can people actually
kick on and do things afterwards? That remains the million
dollar question. Who you got lined up by Matt who's
going to be speaking?

Speaker 2 (01:36):
Well, so look it's going to be the afternoon is
going to be m feed by Toddy David Todd from
Toddy Talks and he's a bit of a local legend.
Toddy in a former facilitator for the Royal Hawksbay's Royal
Support Trust, So Toddy will he'll be running the afternoon.
And then I've got Sarah Donaldson who's a well being

(01:57):
consultant and she's actually the facilitator for the Royal Support
Trust and the wire Rappa And I've heard Sarah speak
before a few times actually, and she's amazing. I mean
also she's a farmer, she's a mother, and she's a
rugby coach too, so she's well qualified in a lot

(02:18):
of areas. And then Wayne Forrest. Wayne's an amazing human
being Hamish and these were his words, and he's just
celebrated this year thirty years in the chair and that's
thirty years in a wheelchair after a rugby accident at
Pronger how when he was twenty five. And Wayne is

(02:41):
just so inspirational and look he's a life coach, a
ted X speaker and also an author. He's written an
amazing little book called In a Warrior. So it's going
to be a great lineup. And then, of course, you
know there's that time afterwards just to enjoy each other's
company and that sort of social connection which I think

(03:03):
is always that's the value, the really valuable part of
the of the afternoon as well.

Speaker 1 (03:09):
That's what mates of Mates for mates is all about,
isn't it That That contact, That's what you've always pushed hard, Matt.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
Well, look, it's all about it is all about your mates.
And that just reminds me that there is a Mates
of Mates from Mates T shirt strapped to a carrier
pigeon on its way to your mailbox as we speak.

Speaker 1 (03:29):
Oh fantastic, I'll look sharp in that. But you know,
I need my mates and I need my T shirts
as much as I mean my mates sometimes too, oh.

Speaker 2 (03:37):
Excell exactly, And we all need our mates, and I
think you know sometimes it's just it might be direct
contact with a mate, but it might be from or
via another mate that actually just helps, you know, join
the dots to say, hey, look, just you know of

(04:00):
old Bob. Just get in touch with Bob, you know
what I mean. And that's what it's all about. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (04:05):
I was just going to ask you, is Sarah Donaldson?

Speaker 2 (04:07):
Now?

Speaker 1 (04:08):
Would she be of an age where she was possibly
coached by me when I was coaching the iron Maidens.
Did she go to Massy?

Speaker 2 (04:15):
Look, I don't know how much. Yeah, yeah, look, you
can find that out for me. Matt.

Speaker 1 (04:23):
They've given you your task for the day because there
was a Sarah Donaldson who was a good footy player
who I coached, and the iron Maidens at Massi University,
the Carpetsuckers, if you remember righting in that documentary mid
nineteen nineties. It was a terribly tough time in my life. Matt.

Speaker 2 (04:40):
Oh, look maybe maybe so. Well, Look I'll ask Sarah
when I see her next suit. Yeah, okay, one of
the iron Maidens.

Speaker 1 (04:49):
Yeah, there you go. Hey, you have a great day, next, Susan.
And how's everything with business with you in general? The
everything else you do in the world.

Speaker 2 (04:57):
Yeah, well, look, you know it was sort of there's
been obviously plenty of tails getting cut off the length
of the country and what that means is that's one
one season's lamb crop sort of out of the way,
and that means there's going to be another one coming
up next year. So for that to happen, there's obviously
going to be a few rams sold. So we're sort

(05:17):
of gearing up for another busy November December famish with
ram selling for Kelso. So that's always an exciting time
of year and also, you know, just a good time
year to connect with our farmer clients.

Speaker 1 (05:32):
And absolutely, yep, there you go. Yep, Kelso Rams outstanding.
There we go. That is our man, Matt Hold and
there mates of mates for mates