4/12/2013 – Start my internship at Sutton Grange Organic Farm (Holy Goat Cheese)
25/07/2016 – Decide to make the jump! Start putting the wheels in motion to start my own micro dairy.
8/08/2016 – Following the Bendigo Food Hubs Conference, I text Katie Finlay to ask if I can start my business on their farm.
15/04/2017 – Begin my 6 month sabbatical traveling up and down the east coast volunteering on dairy farms and factories. I visit 10 businesses whose generosity and knowledge gave me huge insight into running an organic, small, calf-at-foot dairy and processing milk, yogurt, butter and cream to sell direct to customers!
25/06/2017 – First meet Berta and fall in love. In late June I make an offer to buy her and I pick her up late October. Shit gets real.
26/2/2018 – Break ground at Harcourt, begin the long build.
8/5/2018 – Begin milking
7/8/2019 – Dairy Food Safety Victoria licences Sellar Farmhouse Creamery
1/11/2019 – We bottle our first batch
6/11/2019 WE START SELLING MILK!
Tomorrow marks the launch of the Castlemaine Farmers Market Weekly where we will be selling out first bottles of milk. We are so excited to have this weekly market as a sales avenue, offering a direct transaction between farmer and customer. We will have a very limited number of bottles (43) to sell tomorrow so come on down to get one along with all the other fantastic local produce.
While continuing to sell at the Farmers Market Weekly(CFMW) we will be launching our CSA in the next few weeks. The Community Supported Agriculture model connects customers directly with their farmer to share the joys and risks involved in farming. People will be able to purchase a subscription. They nominate the quantity of product they require on a weekly basis, where they would like to pick it up from (currently CFMW – Wed, farm shop – Fri, Fryerstown – Mon). A pre-payment will be required and customers get a reasonable discount for helping the farmer have security in their sales. Subscribers will also get access to the perks like farm tours, first option on extras and exclusive access to specialty products like butter. Subscription will be offered through the waiting list below so get your name down and we’ll let you know as soon as product becomes available to fill your orders.
On the farm we’ve had the birth of Stella, the first heifer for the year and the last calf I’ll have sired to Satellite, the remarkable bull. While her mother Luna has been very sick post calving, she’s making an excellent recovery. Next to calve is Quartz, so the milk supply will only build from here.
As always, thanks to everyone who’s helped make this all possible. From the farmers who’ve shared their knowledge and time to the people who’ve kept us fed and loved. Thanks.
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