Brave New (Cheese) World

The only lockdown that our goats are experiencing now is their usual one – being permanently locked out of our tree plantings and remnant bushland paddocks. Otherwise, for the goats at least, life goes on, with the rising and setting of the sun and the moon. Milking twice a day, rumination time, grazing time andContinue reading “Brave New (Cheese) World”

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”

Finally, a winter for growth

We have been persevering with our pasture cropping for some years now. Knowing the theoretical returns, only ever seeing some evidence of it. Finally, here’s a winter approaching the average and we’re seeing great results. Our farm has still many vestiges of native grasses. Broad swathes, including wallaby, kangaroo, spear and microlaena. Long-lived perennials, they are most active duringContinue reading “Finally, a winter for growth”

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”

Safe and Secure

“If it can move, it can carry diseases, pests and weeds.” * Last week we met with Tristan Jubb, a Bendigo based vet,  who also specialises in biosecurity issues, working in export marketing and with national livestock bodies. When you think of ‘biosecurity’ do you think of apples and New Zealand, or frozen berries andContinue reading “Safe and Secure”

Who’s Kidding?

We are coming up to our most intense time on the farm – kidding. Our pregnant does are due to start birthing on 9 August and it’s an expectant time for us all on the farm. The natural breeding season for goats is March to September; young females reach puberty at around five months andContinue reading “Who’s Kidding?”

Insiders

At Holy Goat, as much as we farm the land and the goats, we are also aiming to cultivate farmers. In Australia, the average age of farmers is around 53 years of age (compared with 39 years for all other occupations – the latest ABS stats make sobering reading). Agriculture is faced with an agingContinue reading “Insiders”

The Line Up

Twice a day we milk our goats – at 6am and 3pm. The goats are more routine than us; well before it’s time to bring them up to the dairy, the herd will have made their way towards the milking shed – unless they’ve found a particularly luscious spot of feed, or a cool spotContinue reading “The Line Up”