6 | RURAL PEOPLE » Mount View Farm: Alastair Neville Farming brings community together Alastair Neville on the farm. Photo: Amanda Fitzgerald. Richard Loader The small rural community of Reporoa has been built around agriculture, says 50/50 sharemilker Alastair Neville, who is the third generation to farm the land in the Golden Springs locality, which sits between Rotorua and Taupo. “We have a Fonterra factory here and we have Fiber Fresh Horse Feeds here, and there a good number of other agriculture related businesses that have arisen as a result of Reporoa’s farming families. Farming also gives the younger generation the ability to grow up and appreciate the outdoors, animals and livestock and even the social side of life.” Alastair says, at some point, farming families and the people who work on the farms need to get together and have a cohesive, welcoming community. “It’s farming and the wider industry as a whole that brings the community together. The risk is that farmers work in isolation, and that stigma still exists. But I look at communities like Reporoa and there’s no reason to be isolated. There’s plenty of opportunity to join a local group. There’s something out there for everyone. We have good strong sports clubs.” Alastair points to the local rugby club which featured in a doco/movie made by the New Zealand Film Commission a few years ago, studying manhood through the rites and rituals of rural New Zealand rugby clubs. “The local squash club is quite strong, but I also recognise that not everyone plays sport. I was involved in New Zealand Young Farmers when I was at Massey University. When I came home, I gave the local club here a bit of a push and was the Chairperson of that club for a few years. “Getting the local Young Farmers Club up and running brought different people from all sorts of backgrounds together. We had teachers, engineers, rural professionals and your grass roots farmer. It was a good way to connect people to the farming community. You don’t have to be a farmer to join.” Alastair studied Agri-Science at Massey University from 2008 to the end of 2011. His intention was to become a rural professional for a few years before returning to the family farm in his 30s. Having taken the opportunity to buy his parents’ herd midway through his studies Alastair found the draw of farming too great and returned home at the start of 2012, easing himself into the running of the business. “The great thing about farming is the flexibility,” says Alastair. “There are hours that you spend behind a desk but you also have the ability to go out on the farm and have some variety to your day. You work with the livestock, and work out in the open amongst the environment. No two days are the same that is what I enjoy the most. There are just so many opportunities with farming. It’s a profession that you can see payback with the decisions you make on a day-to-day basis.” With prominent views of Mount Ruapehu, Mount Tauhara and Mount Tarawea, the aptly named Mount View Farm is home to 320 cows, milked off 150 hectares. “We’re a full autumn calving operation, and supply Fonterra with a winter milk contract,” says Alastair. “The risk is that farmers work in isolation, and that stigma still exists. But I look at communities like Reporoa and there’s no reason to be isolated.” AGRICULTURAL CONTRACTORS Miers Contractors(1995) Ltd • Harvesting • Cultivation • Supplements for sale & supply • Undersowing (all pastures & crops) • Earth moving • Truck cartage • Balage & Hay • Effluent Management 198 Butcher Road, RD2, Reporoa P 07 333 8259 | Gordy 021 593 163 | Mark 021 948 472 E mierscontractors@farmside.co.nz STEPPING BEYOND THE NUMBERS MORE THAN ACCOUNTANTS BDO ROTORUA (07) 347 9087 BDO.NZ/ROTORUA Rosewhare TEXELS Rams available December through until February 06 370 9269
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