Meet the farmer: Sandra Faulkner | EP 96

Sandra Faulkner has spent decades giving back to rural New Zealand. Now, she's stepping into one of the biggest leadership roles in farming as Federated Farmers' new vice president.

In this episode, Sandra talks about how growing up in an extremely isolated part of the East Coast shaped her passion for disaster preparedness and resilient rural communities. She reflects on her time working in the UK and Australia's Northern Territory before returning home to New Zealand to take over Wairakaia Station with her husband, Rob.

Sandra also shares what motivates her, the mentors who've shaped her leadership, and what she hopes Federated Farmers can achieve for Kiwi farmers over the next few years.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:07

G'day everybody and welcome back to the Federated Farmers Podcast. I'm Ben Chapman Smith. Last week we met the new president of Federated Farmers, Colin Hurst, and this week we're getting to know the organisation's new Vice President, Sandra Faulkner. Sandra and her husband Rob farm on the coast, just south of Gisbon, running everything from sheep and beef through to citrus. But when she's not on the farm, you'll often find Sandra talking about wool, local government, disaster preparedness, or the future of rural New Zealand. So what makes Sandra tick? Where did she come from and how does she end up in one of the biggest leadership roles in New Zealand farming? And what does she hope Federated Farmers can achieve over the next couple of years? Let's find out. Hey Sandra, thanks very much for joining us on the podcast and congratulations on becoming our new vice president. You've been in the role for a couple of weeks now. How's it feeling and what's changed for you?

SPEAKER_00 1:03

Well, it's busy. Um, probably uh in just an increase in the busyness, I think, when you are even a board member with Feds, it's um it's a lot more of a job than you probably think when you walk into it. So uh yeah, it's busy. But it's busy, but it's great. I'm actually loving it.

SPEAKER_01 1:25

Before we get into talking about uh you know some of the advocacy stuff that you're really passionate about, I want to start with talking about you and the farm that you're on. Can you tell us a bit about that piece of land, uh, where you are exactly, what the country's like, and what your business looks like today?

SPEAKER_00 1:45

Sure. So Warukai was uh first developed or or bought by my husband's what was it, great-great-grandfather. Uh and so Rob is fourth generation here at Wairakaya, our boys are fifth. Uh and that was that that purchase happened in 1905. So the family have been here for a wee while now. Uh the land itself, um, Warakaya is about 600 hectares. About a hundred of that is highly fertile cropping land, um, 80 or so that you know that we that we grow arable crops on, and another 20 or so at least that we would grow um fat lamb forage crops on each each year as well. So uh you know, your clovers and plantains and the like. The balance uh is very steep coastal country. Uh I always say that um, you know, the the hill country out here on the coast of Gisborne has a complex, it spends all its time wanting to be flat, so highly erodible. Uh and as a result of that, and and partially because of their um tendency towards beautiful timbers, the Faulkner family have planted extensively across generations now. And uh we here at the homestead, along with my in-laws' homes, um, have all been built out of timber, um, planted, grown, and milled here at Wairakaya. So there's this beautiful thread that runs uh through the family from that point of view. And um yeah, so it's it's um it's a special, special little piece of the world, and uh and we're just really lucky to be its caretakers for this generation.

SPEAKER_01 3:33

I had a look at Wairakaya before we uh, you know, when I was planning this interview, and uh I found some great photos taken by what did it maybe Rob's maybe grandparents, uh grandfather of pumpkins and this and that. It looks like it's always been a reasonably diverse operation. Is that right?

SPEAKER_00 3:54

Absolutely. So um they they have been as a family um thinking farmers, they're innovative, um, they have this tendency to you know just get out and try things. Uh I think that's probably a a real thread that that flows through the generations here is uh you know, there's been there's been apple orchards, and as you say, there's been all manner of different um forage crops, and and I think each generation's had the opportunity to grab what really lights their fire and run with it. Uh, and this land has allowed for that. So yeah, it's it's a fascinating um, as I say, this thread that that runs through the family, even to the extent of of the homestead itself. Um, Rob and I had the uh post-in earthquake in 2007 when we um sustained some damage here, have modernized the homestead now, but it it was actually built around two rooms originally um when Muriel Williams first uh married AJ Faulkner and shifted up here from Teati in Hawkes Bay. Um and then it was across various generations, sort of immediately post-wars and the like, the house itself uh in the 20s was built to house two families, and the common rooms being the kitchen and the dining room. Uh so you ended up with bedrooms either end. It was all a wee bit bizarre when you walked in and you were like, oh, this this layout's really weird. But then you realised, of course, that you know, families, especially through depressions and uh and the and when the families were supporting one another, men away at war and the like, um, it was just easier to all be living under one roof. But uh yeah, so fascinating history. It's um it's a lovely spot.

SPEAKER_01 5:37

Has it always been 600 hectares? Have you and Rob acquired any neighbouring land?

SPEAKER_00 5:43

No, um it was originally um four uh three three stations um as what bought as one property. We from what I can understand, um two brothers, uh the Williams brothers plus Muriel, um Rob's great-grandmother, uh were settled up here uh by her father from TiRD. And the farms split into three uh and then Wairakaya itself was actually split in half again between two brothers. So um, so there's you know, like like so many farming families, uh as generations have flowed through, uh those boundaries have shifted and and the like. But uh for Rob and I, it's always been 600 hectares.

SPEAKER_01 6:29

So that that thread you've said that runs through, you know, run through the generations of trying different things and being open-minded. How have you and Rob evolved it since you've been on the farm?

SPEAKER_00 6:40

Well, for us it's more about uh sort of reaching back into the industry. We were beef and lamb innovation farmers, um, you know, we're we're keen for uh from the likes of the of the timber aspect, um, you know, where the uh crops have been exotic, you know, or or English types of trees or or radiata, uh, we've gone back into more natives and things like that. So probably more subtle. Um for the cropping, we're actually just currently looking at an idea of um because we produce seed crops, seed corn crops, generally speaking. Um, and you know, so we're currently looking at, you know, do we do we look into some of the smaller seeds or um, you know, what are our options there? We're constantly always looking for the options. And uh, but then equity, you kind of go, um one of my big projects right at the moment, and it's something that I've sort of been sitting on for, well, we've been married 25 years now, all that time. You know, how do we um take advantage of um you know some of the tourism opportunities that we have? Because from my kitchen window, I look at the Gizbon airport. You know, we're 25 minutes from the airport, uh, we've got cruise ships coming and going into the Gizbon port now. Uh, we're on the main road. You actually drive through the middle of us anyway, so we're farming in a goldfish bowl. Um, and that's that's sort of um now coming to life as we uh build a new wool shed, which is I think something that we might talk about a bit later on.

SPEAKER_01 8:13

Back in the day when I was driving from Gizbon down to Mahia to go surfing, would I have gone through your farm? Cool. Hey, so it that that new wool shed that you're building, what's the story there? Because it's um it's quite quite an interesting one.

SPEAKER_00 8:27

Yeah, so my father-in-law, uh, who we lost back in September, um, he built 48 years ago from Timber on the Farm a wool shed in covered yards, which became almost a hub, uh, a gathering point for a lot of the community here, likely. You know, there were 21sts and New Year's parties and wakes and drought breakers and you know, you name it, if there was a party to be thrown, it probably could be found um here. And uh, you know, I we all have these wonderful memories of of the great parties held at the Warakaya Woolshed, along with field days and you know, more sensible stuff, but you know. And uh November 2024, we lost that building in a fire, and um it was absolutely heartbreaking. And I think it was yeah, there was the loss of the building and the facilities because we lost all our covered yards and all our sheep handling facilities all at the same time. So that yeah, obviously the farming impact was significant enough on its own. But what we lost, I think, was actually, you know, the place where so many of those memories um lived as well. And you know, the messages that we got afterwards from people that we had no contact with whatsoever, who said, Oh, I remember coming to the Warakaya wool shed and and you know, probably yeah, Rob's grandparents and his and his parents, they were all fabulous hosts. And uh, yeah, the the messages from far and wide uh were were quite extraordinary. So so what we're looking to do is um build back better. Uh it's always a a um uh one of our uh driving things is always if you're building, build it better. And um so beautiful shed designed uh not just to share and handle sheep through, uh, but to welcome our community back in as well and create that function space. It'll have a yeah, beautiful um uh a utilitarian, if you like, uh stainless steel kitchen so you can get the caterers in. Um Rob's a fabulous cook. He loves, he's got a huge smoker that we built back in COVID when we were all in lockdown, and so he can, you know, he can feed about 200 people out of that without breaking a sweat. Um, yeah, just and the other thing that was unique in our old wool shed, and we will have again, uh, is a sprung um soligna floor for dancing. So a tongue a tongue and groove eucalyptus saligna floor, and and there is nothing better to dance on, I can tell you that right now.

SPEAKER_01 11:10

Yeah, very cool. Now, Sandra, this podcast is about getting to know you. Uh so let's just go back a bit. Where where did you grow up?

SPEAKER_00 11:19

So I grew up at the end of the Willow Flat Road, um, on a uh property called Tehoy Station uh up in the Mangaharu Ranges, we had the Mohawka River as three sides of the boundary. So we sat in an oxbow of the Mohawka River. It was a sort of country. Oh, back in the day they used to have this saying about that about it where um the ducks flew black backwards to keep the dust out of their eyes. That's tiger country, it's pumice country, a lot of native bush, um, very quick to regenerate um scrub. Uh, you spend all your time making sure that the scrub stayed at the back of the farm rather than marching down the hills and down the down the creeks. It's rather ironic, isn't it, that uh yeah, we grew up trying to keep vegetation out of creeks and and uh and off the farm, and now I'm spending all my time planting more. So um, yeah, generational change, it's it's a fascinating thing. Um it took us uh well, yeah, the better part of two and a half hours to out, you know, half of that was on a on a winding shingle road to get to Napier, which was um which was the hometown. Um my grandparents were on the farm with us uh when I was growing up. And um I was yeah, it was it was a charmed childhood really. It was uh it was pretty special. I still now um go up there and breathe deeply, and the scent of uh carnoca on a hot breeze is um is something pretty special. But uh yeah, it was tough. It was um yeah, for the women in my family, um it was a tough place to to raise a family. Um my great-grandparents my grandparents obviously my parents. Um you know, for for my mother and grandmother it was it would have been challenging. There were times when it would have been downright frightening, being that far from anyone, you know, when when children are sick or men are injured or, you know, for whatever reason. Um yeah, my grandmother talks about the 1931 or talked about, um you know, she's been gone for a while now, but she used to talk about the 1931 earthquake and standing on the river flats and hearing the roar of the gorge collapsing into the Mohawka River and watching the ripples of the earthquake come across the the fields of grass towards her and getting flung on the ground. Um, yeah, how how do you even begin to process that? Uh without reaching out to a community around you. So um so there's that, and and yeah, my mum talks about times when we as kids were, you know, probably horribly unwell, running huge fevers back in the day when, you know, you would have torn down to you know, nowadays we'd break out in a suite if the kids even even get a bit warm, right? Yeah. So, and that was before they had power, they had you know no phone. Uh my grandmother, well, my father was carried in there as a baby uh in a sling in his father's arms, you know, on the back of a horse. That's the sort of life that I grew up on. And I remember my mum, yeah, one of my earliest memories I used to obviously we've all rode ponies, was packing hot scones into the saddlebags behind me, you know, on a on a pony, and me riding out to where my father in a bush gang was working, um, you know, felling massive native trees, and and he would have been out there boiling the billy and waiting for smarkotter or so, you know.

SPEAKER_01 14:54

Yeah, yeah. And did you did you head off to boarding school?

SPEAKER_00 14:58

Uh we le I left home when I was nine. Um there was there were no options for schooling beyond that point, beyond, you know, um correspondence school and mum had already I I obviously was uh So my heart my brother is um five years older than me, so I sort of grew up um almost solo child, but not really. Um and he left obviously uh when school ran out for him locally. So um being a bit of a pest obviously as a child, my um my mother taught me to read very young, so uh as a four-year-old I was doing correspondence school then and it made me probably a a bit of a challenging student by the time I actually got to primary school. But yeah, so from the age of nine I was gone um yeah, down to St. Matthew's and Masterton initially for my intermediate years and then and then to Wadford House after that. So um I think Mum was hoping that Shay were going to turn me into a lady, but uh, you know.

SPEAKER_01 15:58

Were you one of those kids that was um you know, you like when you were back in the school holidays, you loved being out on the farm and mucking in?

SPEAKER_00 16:06

Oh, absolutely. I was my father's shadow. Um my mother you know, she barely turned around and I was gone. So um yeah, yeah, it was um farming runs very deep in my soul. Yeah, the land the land sits there, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:23

And so where did you go f after uh when you left school? What how did how did you go from there to living where you are now on the farm with Rob?

SPEAKER_00 16:32

I went to school with Rob's middle sister, so um, so I've been sort of coming here to Waraka since we were at uh high school together, so so that's um sort of how I met this family. But I um I started working with polo ponies when I was at university as a summer job, and um after a season of doing what I loved way better than than being at varsity, I was offered the opportunity to head to England uh working uh within a a partnership there where we we flew horses up from New Zealand um at the end of every season and and I'd go and and do a summer season in the UK. Did that for several years. So that was just summer after summer after summer, and we would spend a couple of weeks between seasons just you know traveling around Europe and the like. So um just brilliant, a brilliant way to to spend your twenties, or the the early parts of them. And then I um uh was given the opportunity via um again via my polo contacts to um start working with um cattle in Northern Australia. Uh started out in the territory and uh and then um ended up working on big stations up in the Gulf of Carpentaria, uh chasing cattle up there and and again uh the most extraordinary life. And um, and there is nothing I would do differently. It was just brilliant. Uh came home in 2000 for the millennium um celebrations here in Gisborne, actually, watched Kerry Decano sing the sun up out of the sea for the for the millennium celebrations, and um and thought, oh you know, it's probably about time I came home. Um so I went away for another year just to prove that that was the case. Yeah, and then came home for Francie's wedding and the rest is history, basically.

SPEAKER_01 18:22

So you you you and Rob have two boys, is that right?

SPEAKER_00 18:25

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:26

Yeah, whereabouts whereabouts are they?

SPEAKER_00 18:28

So William's in Australia with his partner Jade and their wee girl. Um so uh Lexi's a year old in September, so we're actually grandparents now, which is pretty exciting. And uh yeah, so Will's um started out with a friend of mine on a big cropping operation over there, um, worked through the fabrication of a huge grain store and dry operation um on farm, and has now um shifted on to uh working in the mines as a um conveyor belting um uh apprenticeship. So um so that's what he's doing there. Um he's in parks, which is about four hours west of Sydney. Um George um he has been down south, he's our younger son. He's um uh been variously doing pest destruction and beekeeping and a few general hands job jobs down south. Um, loved Otago, but uh has actually just made the move back north again. So um so he's uh for the winter he's working here and and helping out on some other properties around the place, just picking up his general hand um skills. Uh yeah, so so both of them have a hand in on what happens on the land. They're both very different. Um George is very, you know, very much the probably the livestock guy. Um and Will has a has a real talent with the machinery. So um, so yeah, they're they're out there living their lives at the moment and and uh doing what we always wanted for them, which was you know, go and go and be you. And uh the farm the farm will be here. It's been here for 120 plus years, so we'll be here.

SPEAKER_01 20:14

Sandra, you wear a lot of hats beyond the farm, obviously. Uh you're on the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, a trustee for Campaign for Wool and other governance roles. What draws you to those opportunities?

SPEAKER_00 20:29

This was a little bit of a hard one when I when I thought about it because it I've never actually consciously gone that is what I do. But I think there was always a sense of responsibility, and bearing in mind that a lot of this um community involvement is probably genetic. Um, you know, uh both my you know, I had I had my great-grandfather was the mayor of Picton at one stage. My grandfathers were both involved with, you know, farming industry bodies, you know, feds included. I followed my father into Federated Farmers. So, and and you know, my grandmother was a founding member of Rural Women, uh, well, back in the day it was Women's Division of Federated Farmers in Hawkes Bay. Uh my mum was always involved in, you know, school boards and you know, church groups and you know, you name it, uh, yeah, for Mum, a lot of it was horticulture. She's a fabulous gardener. She's uh not something that I inherited at all. Is um yeah, but she has the ability to grow everything and everything that she touches is beautiful. So um, so yeah, so I think there was a I don't I don't actually ever remember a time when I consciously did it. It just kind of comes second nature in a way.

SPEAKER_01 21:42

That sort of giving back to your community, that's just part of the DNA, right?

SPEAKER_00 21:47

It is. And I think um, you know, as you evolve into these roles, uh, you know, you take what comes naturally, uh, and you go, Well, you know, I've been really lucky with some of the training opportunities I Had uh you know through Rotary GSE exchanges and never mind my own travels, uh of course, but um Calog's rural leaders and uh and I'm a Nuffield scholar as well. And those are very privileged opportunities uh where you are basically given the world and you know, go and discover it and come back and let us know what you find out. But it comes with a sense again of you know you need to remember that that uh that there's there is a giving back component of all of this, and uh and I'm very conscious of that. And what came from that was uh the driver that I have around enabling farmers to be heard. It's just so important and and right at the core of what I do.

SPEAKER_01 22:49

Yeah, and that leads into your involvement with Federated Farmers. How did that come about? And what made you put your hand up for leadership roles?

SPEAKER_00 22:59

Well, as I say, it was it there was never a time when when feds weren't in at the kitchen table, effectively, you know, so uh so yeah, um genetically engineered to be there, really. Um, you know, I have photos of my dad and I um both in Wellington when George was a really wee baby. Um, yeah, we were the meet and wool chairs respectively for our districts at the same time. And and uh so yeah, so um feds has just kind of already always been there, it's been part of the family. Um yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:33

You've been on the board for I think four years, is that is that right? What are you sort of most proud of being involved with uh and helping to achieve for farms in that time?

SPEAKER_00 23:45

Probably a lot of it is actually organizational, and when I say that, um it's been a real pleasure working alongside, well, first Andrew, but then of course spending three years with Wayne Langford as as the national president. Wayne had this uncanny ability for um engaging people in the organization, and that was across the generations, you know. He's he's got this very special ability to to welcome people in. And I think it's something that as federated farmers, um, it it ebbs and flows, uh, but it's reflective of the people in those roles. And so working alongside Wayne and and the board across uh the last four years is as you say, it's um for me it's about creating that community focus for feds, and that flows probably from the work that I do uh in adverse events and you know emergency management roles. So so a lot of that is is very much around um supporting our communities. Uh but the other side of um of what we've achieved over the last little while is this celebration of federated farmers. Yeah, we've been around for uh over 125 years now. That in New Zealand is rare. Uh, and there is something that legacy is really important to me. And it's actually about bringing, you know, because gosh, we've got some spectacular young leaders coming up through the ranks of federated farmers now. And and uh, you know, I look at that and I go, the the the future of federated farmers is so exciting. Um, but the responsibility lies with us now to make sure that the organization stays in not just in good heart, but in great heart amongst the communities that we serve.

SPEAKER_01 25:33

You mentioned the adverse events, preparedness and emergency management planning. Why is that such a passion of yours?

SPEAKER_00 25:41

Probably goes back to where I grew up, um, you know, and understanding what true isolation looks like. You know, we were my generation of women were told that we could do anything. And you've probably heard me say this before, but that uh yes, we might be able to do anything, but that doesn't mean that we have to do everything. And there is this expectation now that um, you know, families, particularly those with young young children and the like, um, in those more far-flung parts of our rural hinterland, um, there's this expectation that somehow they're just going to manage. Uh, and I'm really conscious of um just how how heavy isolation can feel. Um, and so when Mother Nature throws her toys or whatever happens, I'm very quick to say to, you know, I need to know who is looking out for those people at the end of the broken roads, on the other side of the bridges that have been washed out. You know, who who is making sure that, you know, there is some form of communication. Because the the most em the the the most debilitating thing you can have is to be cut off from people uh and to not be able to reach out, to not be able to tell people that you're okay or even know if they are okay. Uh, it is such an extraordinary weight to carry. And I think that's what drives me in that space is um is knowing what that feels like.

SPEAKER_01 27:20

On that note, we're like the the weather events of 2023, because it wasn't just Gabriel, was it? It was hail as well. You guys had a horrible time. Can I just ask, like, what's the mood in the region now? Obviously, there's better returns for most farmers and things, but is the damage from those weather events still, you know, is it still something people are working through?

SPEAKER_00 27:44

Yeah, well, I think um, yeah, it's it's boring with rain as I talk to you now, uh, and I know that there will be families out there that are feeling anxious. There's this new term called rain anxiety that's come out of Gabriel and the likes. But but uh, you know, the generations before us dealt with all of those things as well, and and didn't have um anywhere near the support uh that's in place now. So with regard to Tarafati, the challenge lies in the access, the loss of access, um, loss of calms, loss of power, any of those things that that um compound the isolation of this community. And so you're right. Um, you know, from 2018 through 23 and even through till now, this region just is reeling. It's just punch drunk every time we turn around. Um there there is a challenge. But what always shines through is a the strength of community, but the fact that this beautiful corner of the world is ours, and we're incredibly privileged to be here, and we love it.

SPEAKER_01 28:57

Another area of advocacy that is sort of synonymous with your name is local government reform. All things local government. That's not a topic that lights a whole lot of people up. Why does it for you?

SPEAKER_00 29:10

Well, government, be it central or local, is a silent partner in all our businesses. Well, actually in our lives, full stop. But um I have uh served as a Gisman district councillor and so probably have that sense or a little bit more understanding of of what it is that councils are trying to achieve up and down the lengths of the country. And and when you um have this what I consider to be a generational opportunity to open the hood on it all, you know, ask the questions around whether this model is working for us as a country or not, or for us as a community or not. I just see that as I say, I just see it as such a huge opportunity to uh take a model that was um last looked at seriously in 1989. I mean, there's there's you have a whole bunch of listeners who weren't even born when it was last looked at, you know? And um they certainly you know wouldn't have done local government reform by via uh a uh podcast, right? So um, so when you think about the world that we now live in, the world that we do business in, that our that our children are inheriting from us, you know, the reform of those silent partners in our lives is really, really important. And we can't afford to miss this opportunity. So yeah, there's there's a few key things that that I really want to make sure that uh those that are making the decisions here, it is deeply important that our representatives going out the other side of this reform understand uh what our needs are as rural communities and as farmers and and rural businesses, and then equally are accountable for their part in it. So um, so those are sort of the key things. As I say, who makes the decision really matters when it comes to these silent partners in our lives.

SPEAKER_01 31:13

Sandra, who are some of the people who have had a real influence on you, uh, mentors, people you've looked up to, who have helped shape who you are as a person and as a leader?

SPEAKER_00 31:24

Oh wow, I have been so blessed with the people in my life that have um encouraged me to just keep walking through open doors. And and I actually hesitate to to name too many because I know I'll forget somebody amazing, but um probably some of the key ones, um Damingrid Collins, uh here in Tatarapati, she's uh yeah, uh just the most extraordinary lady who has always said to me that um, you know, keep walking through the doors. You know, she's been been there as a sounding board when I'm sitting there going, I have no idea what I'm doing. Um she makes everything make sense to me. Um Murray McPhail, uh, the principal of Leaderbrand Produce, when I came home from Australia, um, you know, basically a a a bit of a uh rough round the edges um, you know, ringer, uh uh stockman, if you like, from Northern Australia. And I mean, Crike, I better get a job. And um, yeah, I actually went into Leaderbrand thinking I was going to get a job driving, you know, trucks or forklifts or something along those lines just to to uh bring in some extra income and um ended up quite by accident became uh Murray's EA for want of a better term, but but I never typed us words. I just spent a lot of time um yeah, organizing stuff for him and and uh and meeting and greeting people, and and it was just the most extraordinary opportunity to learn from somebody who has this intense drive, who's failed and picked himself up and brought people along for the ride and this ability to just inspire the people around him. So again, really lucky there. Our own Bruce Wells, past president, past national president of Federated Farmers. So Bruce actually stepped into my dad's role uh in Hawke's Bay and then went on to become national president. So Bruce has been a fantastic sounding board for me across the years, and then the late John Bailey, um, from um Cracklewood and and farms like that, the Bailey group, another one who, when I couldn't see it in myself, obviously saw something that was worth encouraging. So, you know, but as I say, that's that's just a really small snapshot of some extraordinary people I've met across the years.

SPEAKER_01 33:55

Fantastic. And what sort of leadership style can people expect to see from you as vice president?

SPEAKER_00 34:03

There's a there's a few attributes that I'd like to think that I bring to this role. Um one is courage. If you um if you scratch too deeply below the surface uh amongst a lot of leaders, you will find that we're we're not naturally extrovert. Quite a lot of us are are quite introvert, and it takes a lot to actually just push the door open and walk through, figuratively speaking, um, and sometimes realistically. I think empathy is one that's really, really important, especially in today's day and age. You know, when you when you listen to the the anxiety and the frustration and the and the fear and the anger that you are seeing and hearing across communities these days, um, you know, I would suggest probably driven by the fact that we constantly had bad news uh in our hand when our you know all our algorithms are telling us about who's bombed who and who's had a you know had a crazy meltdown in other parts of the world or there's natural disasters and all the rest of it. Um it can be really hard for people out there to, you know, just see the joy in life. And I think sometimes that's our job as leaders is to just remind people that this world is the most extraordinary, fascinating place, you know, and the people in it are something pretty special. So um, so I guess too that that leads into the last one, which is a tenacity, which is that I refuse to be on that side, uh, you know, on the you know, I I am a bright side of the street person. Um, and I will always go looking for the joy and the sunshine in life.

SPEAKER_01 35:45

Awesome. I went looking to try and find out what sort of hobbies Sandra Fortner has, what you do um when you're not advocating or farming. And it seemed to me that your favorite thing to do to unwind is actually just a head up on the farm. Is that is that about right?

SPEAKER_00 36:03

Absolutely. Well, you've probably been on the receiving end of some of the beautiful imagery that um yeah that this place affords us. And uh yeah, I I often talk about the champagne moments in life that can be really quick to miss. Uh, and sometimes it's just taking that time, be at the end of the day, first light, yeah, when whenever you see it, and going, oh my god, that's gorgeous. Taking a photo sometimes, and sometimes taking a photo is actually even even sacrilegious. You just have to stop and let nature heal you sometimes. Yeah, as I say, with this place here, it's it's pretty easy to find those beautiful spots. You know, when you've got the sea and and the land at your feet, um, and the light can be so beautiful. Um, so yeah, so yeah, it's uh it's that. Um when when I'm not farming, I love to travel. Um, yeah, that goes without saying, given my background. I think I was born under a wandering star, and I, you know, there's just something around the next corner it just needs to be explored. So so there's that. And and uh and the other thing with travel, of course, is it it affords you this ability to, or the opportunity rather, to see the world through the eyes of other people. You know, um and and you come home and go, geez, we're lucky. We really are.

SPEAKER_01 37:29

What sort of legacy would you like to leave behind you um when your time at Feds is up in terms of being on the board um whatever capacity? What would you like to sort of look back and see that you'd you'd left for farmers of New Zealand?

SPEAKER_00 37:43

Yeah, well I think like um, as I said, because I'm genetically engineered to be here, I think I've got a microchip in the back of my neck somewhere that just says that I'll never not be part of Feds in some form or another. However, all of that said, um I'd like to think that feds have um stayed active and engaged in our farming communities, that we've stayed responsive. Um I'd like to think that we're reflective of modern farming in New Zealand, as well as paying homage to the legacy that's brought us here. Um when we need to stay straight shooting. Uh we have to be practical. We have to be able to voice the implications of decisions that are made outside of rural communities, because those real-world implications matter to our families and and to the farmers and their businesses. And I'd like to think that uh future governments, be they local or central, can see federated farmers as a trusted advisor that they can come to and know that there will be no uh political slant, um, that there's no commercial slant involved in that, that they can trust what is being said does reflect those practical implications.

SPEAKER_01 39:10

Hey Sandra, thank you so much for giving up a whole hour of your time just to have a yarn about your life and about you. Really, really cool. I know that, you know, for me that's probably the best I've got to know you. Um, just to know about where you come from and what motivates you and all of that sort of thing. And I think for farmers listening, I think that they'll be really stoked to get to know you better too, as their vice president. So thank you very much.

SPEAKER_00 39:32

Oh, it's been an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much, Ben.

SPEAKER_01 39:41

Thanks for tuning in to today's episode. If you've enjoyed it and you'd like to hear more, subscribe to the Federated Farmers Podcast on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you listen to podcasts so that you get notified when our new episodes drop. And if you have any feedback or podcast suggestions, we'd love to hear from you. Please drop us a line podcast at fedfarm.org.nz. That's podcast at fedfarm.org.nz. Catch you next time.