44 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Tamzyn Coady and Alastair Neville Tamzyn seeing impressive gains this season Richard Loader Mountview Farming Trust in Reporoa is seeing impressive gains this season, thanks to a combination of strategic farm management and enhanced nutrition. The autumn-calving dairy operation, run by Alastair Neville and fiancée Tamzyn Coady, has recorded a 14 per cent increase in production despite milking around 15 fewer cows than last year. “It’s been pretty cool seeing the impacts of nutrition on the farm,” says Tamzyn, who also works as the Central North Island consultant for Agvance Nutrition. “We’ve made some key changes to feed and mineral programmes this season, and everything combined has seen a notable lift in productivity.” Alastair has been using Agvance Nutrition since 2012 but with Tamzyn joining the Agvance Nutrition team the farm has adopted a more consistent mineral programme. “We’ve got more regular use of minerals now,” he says. “Vet costs have come down as a result, while mineral spending is up, we’re investing more in prevention rather than dealing with issues that cost us more time and money.” The couple have introduced several Agvance Nutrition products this season. Their autumn-calving herd has benefited from a custom transition blend, decided by blood and pasture sampling, which they began using in February last year. They also used a zinc and facial eczema blend over summer and a milkers custom premix with all the essential minerals and trace elements throughout the season. The Agvance Nutrition seaweed-based Ascocool has helped mitigate heat stress, keeping production steady on hotter days. “Consistency with the cows’ diet throughout the year has been a real game-changer,” explains Tamzyn. “The cows are transitioning smoothly, hitting the ground running and we’re seeing the benefits in production and reproduction.” The farm is also trialling MyCow, a new app designed to interpret milk, cow wearable and farm data by displaying trends against targets and using AI to give practical on-farm solutions alongside vet and nutritionist oversight. “It gives us an early warning system and helps us stay ahead of problems rather than reacting to them,” says Alastair. The Agvance Nutrition seaweed-based Ascocool has helped mitigate heat stress, keeping production steady on hotter days. Mountview Farming Trust is actively refining its herd genetics and now has a fully DNA-tested herd. “We want to be in the top 5 per cent of New Zealand for breeding worth and this year our calves were in the top 10 per cent,” says Tamzyn. “We’ve set some ambitious goals and we’re achieving them. This season we aim to finish 15 per cent ahead of last season and we’re on track to surpass that.” Their work with Federated Farmers continues to provide valuable insights for the farm. Tamzyn is Sharefarmer Chair and Alastair serves as Dairy Chair for the Rotorua/Taupo province. “It gives us good insight into what happens within the industry nationally,” he says. “We get to hear other farmers’ ideas, successes, and challenges, which we can apply at Mountview.” The couple peak milks 330 Friesian cows under a 50/50 sharemilking contract on the Neville family farm which has been in the family since the early 1950s when Alastair’s grandfather received it as a Not just residential building... From milking, implement and pole sheds to effluent systems, feed pads & bunkers, and vat silo stands. Trust the builder with extensive rural build experience. WW2 ballot farm. Alastair took over the farm while he was studying for his Agri-Science degree at Massey University. The couple, who are parents to one year old Alastair Junior, are looking at future ownership opportunities. “Leasing the farm next season will pave the way before we purchase it outright,” says Tamzyn, “which is the next step.”
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