Niche Products Produced From Water Buffalo Milk

2017 - Volume #41, Issue #3, Page #39

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Water buffalo may seem out of place in Nova Scotia, but they provide milk for a welcome niche market in the region.
  “They give less milk than dairy cows but it has almost double the fat; and the milk is very white. It makes mozzarella cheese that is very soft and milky,” says Desiree Gordon, a food scientist, who has learned to make yogurt as well as ricotta and mozzarella cheese from buffalo milk.
  She and her husband, Stefan Kirkpatrick, purchased two pregnant females and a bull from an Ontario farmer in 2015. The Canadian entrepreneurs wanted to create a value-added product to compliment their baking business, but were dissuaded with Canada’s expensive and bureaucratic process of operating a traditional dairy farm. After years of research they traveled to Italy where water buffalo farms and making mozzarella cheese is common. They did their homework before purchasing the three animals for $3,000 to $4,000 each.
  “Learning how to milk a water buffalo was a major learning curve,” Gordon says. “They can hold their milk and not let it down.”
  Despite their wild appearance and horns that require caution, they are basically gentle animals that require loving attention specific to them, Kirkpatrick explains. Mia needs lots of neck and tail scratching to get her in the mood for milking, while Cora just needs a little scratching.
  He uses a portable milker for once-a-day milkings and gets between 1 and 2 gal. a day. The calves take care of the second milking. It provides enough milk for Gordon to make yogurt and cheese that the couple sell at farmers markets and to restaurants along with the sourdough breads, French pastries, and croissants they bake. Some of the buffalo milk is also used in chocolate truffles.
  Having their own milk and making their own products is worthwhile, Gordon notes. One gallon of milk makes 2 lbs. of mozzarella cheese worth about $30/lb.
  Water buffalo produce milk well into their 20’s, and they process feed efficiently to get the most out of forage. Caring for them is slightly different than dairy cattle. The couple built a sturdy pole barn with 6 by 6 beams because the 1,500 to 2,000-lb. buffalo like to scratch. The animals respect electric fences, Kirkpatrick notes, but they are shrewd at opening gates so they need to be built carefully.
  The buffalo stay in the barn during cold weather, and wallow in a pond in the hot weather because they lack sweat glands. The buffalo thrive on hay and a 16 percent dairy ration when they are being milked. With a heifer born last year, the couple is slowly growing their herd, and they plan to remain a small operation. They will milk twice a day as they develop markets and increase yogurt and cheese production.
  “I want to make and sell it within two days so it’s fresh,” Gordon says, noting that so far the demand for products has been good.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, West Dublin Buffalo Dairy, 44 Huey Lake Rd., West Dublin, Nova Scotia, Canada B0R 1C0 (ph 902 693-2059; Gordon_desi@hotmail.com; Facebook: West Dublin Buffalo Dairy; Instagram: Ploughmans.lunch).

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Niche Products Produced From Water Buffalo Milk DAIRY EQUIPMENT & IDEAS Water buffalo may seem out of place in Nova Scotia but they provide milk for a welcome niche market in the region “They give less milk than dairy cows but it has almost double the fat; and the milk is very white It makes mozzarella cheese that is very soft and milky ” says Desiree Gordon a food scientist who has learned to make yogurt as well as ricotta and mozzarella cheese from buffalo milk She and her husband Stefan Kirkpatrick purchased two pregnant females and a bull from an Ontario farmer in 2015 The Canadian entrepreneurs wanted to create a value-added product to compliment their baking business but were dissuaded with Canada’s expensive and bureaucratic process of operating a traditional dairy farm After years of research they traveled to Italy where water buffalo farms and making mozzarella cheese is common They did their homework before purchasing the three animals for $3 000 to $4 000 each “Learning how to milk a water buffalo was a major learning curve ” Gordon says “They can hold their milk and not let it down ” Despite their wild appearance and horns that require caution they are basically gentle animals that require loving attention specific to them Kirkpatrick explains Mia needs lots of neck and tail scratching to get her in the mood for milking while Cora just needs a little scratching He uses a portable milker for once-a-day milkings and gets between 1 and 2 gal a day The calves take care of the second milking It provides enough milk for Gordon to make yogurt and cheese that the couple sell at farmers markets and to restaurants along with the sourdough breads French pastries and croissants they bake Some of the buffalo milk is also used in chocolate truffles Having their own milk and making their own products is worthwhile Gordon notes One gallon of milk makes 2 lbs of mozzarella cheese worth about $30/lb Water buffalo produce milk well into their 20’s and they process feed efficiently to get the most out of forage Caring for them is slightly different than dairy cattle The couple built a sturdy pole barn with 6 by 6 beams because the 1 500 to 2 000-lb buffalo like to scratch The animals respect electric fences Kirkpatrick notes but they are shrewd at opening gates so they need to be built carefully The buffalo stay in the barn during cold weather and wallow in a pond in the hot weather because they lack sweat glands The buffalo thrive on hay and a 16 percent dairy ration when they are being milked With a heifer born last year the couple is slowly growing their herd and they plan to remain a small operation They will milk twice a day as they develop markets and increase yogurt and cheese production “I want to make and sell it within two days so it’s fresh ” Gordon says noting that so far the demand for products has been good Contact: FARM SHOW Followup West Dublin Buffalo Dairy 44 Huey Lake Rd West Dublin Nova Scotia Canada B0R 1C0 ph 902 693-2059; Gordon_desi@hotmail com; Facebook: West Dublin Buffalo Dairy; Instagram: Ploughmans lunch

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