(Having Set Sail for) Hot Days Ahead

The terrible summer, all around us, continues. We send love and hope to every dairyfarmer, and to everyone, being affected by these devastating fires. We too, are working on the premise that this summer is the new normal. Every summer prior to this one, we have been putting actions and intentions in place, so weContinue reading “(Having Set Sail for) Hot Days Ahead”

Obsalim Takes the Cake

Every week we prepare a cake for our staff meeting. But this cake isn’t for morning tea – it’s a poo cake. This poo cake, together with a milk curd test and specific herd observations, forms the basis of our Obsalim practice and is helping us to produce consistently high quality cheese every day, everyContinue reading “Obsalim Takes the Cake”

Finding your vocation

Review and reflection is key to how we farm at Holy Goat. We review, reflect and then make well considered change. From the small (how best to sweep the dairy) to the large (implementing a new milking line, or installing a triiion to convert from 2 phase to 3 phase power) making a change onContinue reading “Finding your vocation”

Nothing backward about these producers

The only thing backward about the winners of the delicious. Produce Awards is the video that highlights their produce as it travels from the plate, back to the land, or sea, or dairy, or … You can take a look here at the goats ‘backing up’ as well as some great overhead shots of ourContinue reading “Nothing backward about these producers”

Holy Goat Dynasty

We’ve just had another successful kidding. Kidding is always a stressful time, but this season was so much easier for us all, thanks to our repurposed shed and refined management systems. The new shed has a concrete floor – its thick layer of straw bedding can be quickly and easily cleaned out and replaced. TwelveContinue reading “Holy Goat Dynasty”

Up on the new line

It’s been 15 months since we upgraded our dairy and it’s made a big difference for everyone. We have gone from 12 goats up on the line and eight milking cups, to 12 cups with 24 goats up. More space for everyone and a better feeding system – more ergonomic and efficient for humans, less stress and standing about for the goats. Watch our newContinue reading “Up on the new line”

More than gut instinct

We have been managing our farm at Sutton Grange for over 17 years now. Before that we’d spent many years developing our apprenticeships with dairy goats, both in Australia and overseas. We are still learning. It’s very exciting to see things anew and to see new things, even after this stint. The recent visit fromContinue reading “More than gut instinct”

Sunday arvo on the farm

It’s been a while since we posted a blog, but things have been busy on the farm. Sundays are no different. A typical Sunday at Holy Goat involves milking early morning and afternoon (just like every other day) cheesemaking (just like every other day) and the usual farm related chores (and farm related things/events/surprises that happen when youContinue reading “Sunday arvo on the farm”

Managing Mastitis

We get many queries from farmers and cheese-lovers alike about animal health. How do we manage specific issues? What are our treatments and protocols? How do organic farms differ from conventional ones? We will cover a few of  these questions through these blog posts and have created a page dedicated to animal health on our websiteContinue reading “Managing Mastitis”