G'day from WA

[Dinahmite]

Hello everyone,

I found your wonderful site whilst roaming around looking for cheesemaking recipes. What a great place you have here to share ideas. Thankyou for having me.
I live in the South West of WA in a fruit growing and dairy region so I am in my element as far as getting hold of everything I need. We have a property that used to be an orchard but is now a lifestyle block. My partner is a builder and we both share an interest in getting back to how things used to be and selfsufficency. We grow our own vegies and fruit but can obtain much more from friends and neighbours. I have access to a dairy and can get fresh milk but am looking at getting a house cow so we can also have meat in the freezer as well.
I grew up in the country and my mother was a great cook and was always preserving something or making jams. I didnt realize as a child how I would remember so much of what she did.
With food these days so full of preservatives and artificial stuff it is a wonder we are all still alive. What ever happened to fresh clotted cream ( oh yum... I so remember mum making that..) home made butter and cheese, Now that I have found your site I know that these arts are not dying out.

Thankyou again and I look forwartd to sharing lots of fun things to do.

Dinah

[minnie]

Hi Dinah,

Welcome.

Looks like Jo has a neighbour nearby.

It seems more and more people are realising how bad so much of the commercial food is these days so we really are a growing bunch.

Look forward to getting to know you.

Vicki

[Dinahmite]

Hi Vickie,

Thanks for your reply. Yes, after reading some posts here I gather that Mojojo may well be moving down from the big smoke and enjoying the wonderful community we have here. Its a great place to live down here, but cold. I think we have had a frost every morning for weeks.
You guys will be green with envy when we tell you about all the local produce we have access too.

Dinah

[Mojojo]

Hi Dinah and welcome, lovely part of the world isn't it.
I'm also a fan of clotted cream, butter, and cheese.

Lots of great help, ideas and sharing in here.

[Shadowgirlau]

Hi Dinah,
Lovely to see you have stumbled across us. Another southerner too
I am assuming you live over towards the coast though as you say you have access to a dairy and lots of produce as well.
My folks live over in Cookernup so when IO go to visit them if it is fruit time then I will drive over via Donnybrook so I can collect a few cases of this and that. Eventually my orchard will be large enough to keep us in our own fruit but for now this suffices
A couple of milking cows had been on my list of animals to add to our collection until I decided that in reality I just don't have enough land. I am now considering goats for milking to meet my cheese purposes though I am not so sure about butter?

Love my self reliant lifestyle and always striving to improve it (aren't we all)

Cheers
Kathleen

[Dinahmite]

Hi Jo and Kathleen,

Thanks for your welcome.
We used to live in Margaret River with a dairy right across the road and that was so wonderful for all the milk I wanted. Then we moved further north a bit west of Donnybrook and again right next door to another dairy. I so loved going over at milking time with my stainless steel billy can and dipping it in the big vat for all that lovely milk. Now in Donnybrook there arent many dairies but I drive back over to near the old farm (about 20ks)and get my supplies there. But the fruit and veg here are just great. My crop of broccoli this year was the best I have ever had and each head was about 6-8 inches across. They are all nicely tucked up in the freezer now along with my turnip crop.

I just love all the sharing of ideas here and what works for you all. I didnt know forums like this existed. What did we ever do before the internet.
Some of your recipes and ideas on cheesemaking are great. Although we have now moved down to a smaller property we still love to do everything for ourselves and you dont need hundreds of acres either. In fact our bigger farms ( we raised beef cattle) were so much work I didnt have a lot of time for the more time consuming things.

I too have been weighing up the pros and cons of getting a dairy cow. I looked in the paper the other day and a dry cow was $1000. Another with calf at foot was $1200. That is a big outlay. I would still put the cow to a beef bull to have meat in the freezer but the AI costs $130 plus the cost of the frozen sperm, then the preg test and maybe even a repeat performance... All this costs a lot. I know I could sell the calves but even so it would take a long time to recoup that sort of outlay. At the moment we will just go up to the sales at Boyanup and pick up a pen of maybe 3 beef steers to raise for the freezer and see how we go from there. I dont mind the milking everyday but I have to be realistic about cost.

Just going for a short drive to get milk for nothing is far easier. The only thing is that most dairy cows here are freisian with a low cream content and I have to save up lots of bits of cream just to make some butter. I really would love to have jersey cow. Maybe I could find someone who has one and has milk to sell. The difference between the two types of cows is enormous. I would love to here of others experiences with owning a cow as against buying fresh milk.
Interestingly I saw some goats for sale and they were $50 and $80 dollars. I have no idea what sort of quantities you get from a goat , nor the cream levels but would love to hear about it.

Di

[Mojojo]

Before the internet, why, I believe they were things like.... CWA!

Di there were a couple of registered dexters in the quokka at Lowden recently, 1 pregnant, and the other with calf at foot, $700 - 900 each. Not sure if they were in last week. Dexter milk is similar in composition to jersey. Vicki can tell you all about them!

The ad said they had previously been shown, so must at least be halter broken.

We were thinking about them but decided its too soon for us to any cattle on our place, will leave it and spend a season working on the pasture and soil.

Bu then, like you said, a short drive (out upper capel way?) is pretty good! I might have to tag along with you on that one one day... Once I have a house and kitchen to make cheese in!

Wow, broccoli your sounds amazing. Its the produce and the nice rolling hills that drew us to the area. We are out at Yabberup, 18 ks along the boyup brook road, I stop at the roadside stalls between there and Donnybrook all the time. There's one guy who grows all manner of things, lots of passed down through the (italian) family heritage varieties.

[Shadowgirlau]

Jo, I didn't realize you were moving to Yabberup. I drive through there when ever I go over to visit my folks.

Gee my memory is getting bad but I seem to recall something about a Bauxite Mine development happening over there. From memory the mine location is yet to be decided upon although I seem to think there was a town meeting about it earlier this month.

According to the paper there is going to be a big bash at the Yabberup Hall Saturday (okay yesterday) to celebrate it being listed under National Trust. Lots going on over there

Kathleen

[Mojojo]

Oh wow, about the hall, it deserves to be listed its a great old building.
I don't really get the paper up here at work, pity we missed it. They also have a 'sundowner' there once a month through the warmer months.
A bauxite mine, now that would be interesting, maybe I could get a job closer to home... Just did a bit of a google and it looks like the recent news is just for exploration, and even thats a long way off right now. No job for me.

[minnie]

Yes the dexter butterfat content is almost if not as good as a jersey, taking into account the individual jersey and individual dexter.

The milk has a smaller fat gobule so people with digestion of milk problems find they can drink dexter milk.

Lots of pluses for the dexter, because they're a good meat breed as well with decent sized cuts, not huge brahman steaks!

Have a look over on www.dexter.com.au

Vicki

[Dinahmite]

by Mojojo » Sun Jul 25, 2010 1:30 pm

Before the internet, why, I believe they were things like.... CWA!

Thats very funny Jo... I love it.

Thanks on the info re dexters too. Interestingly the lady from across the road came over yesterday. She has 3 dexter purebreds, one of which is a purebred calf from last year but she did not milk the mother. She wanted to know if I was interested in helping her milk if she breeds this year. I said I would help for sure. I only have to walk 30 metres across the road, brilliant. She is a school teacher and would love to hand milk but doesnt have the time. If I do the morning milk that would suit her fine and she could do the evening one.
Thankyou Vickie for the info on Dexters. I always thought they had a lower cream content. Oh wow, this could be brilliant for my cheese making.


Jo, I have PM'd you

Di

[Shadowgirlau]

Jo it might be awhile off being it is exploration at this time but maybe something to keep an eye on just the same.

Di, how exciting for you if your neighbour goes ahead with her milking plans.

Kathleen

[Mojojo]

That would be handy, right next door. I think I've seen some dexters listed at beelerup in the herd book. (You can search it online)

[dggoatlover]

Hi Di from me as well! Although I am over the other side of the country. However if I did move somewhere I would love to live in WA around Perth. I visited there a couple of years ago and I loved the area so much! I am hoping to visit again in another couple of years to show my husband around! Good luck with the milking - sounds like a wonderful share arrangement and a wonderful community.

And Kathleen - it does take a bit longer to collect cream from goats and is even better if you have a separator - but it can be done and yes you can make butter - its yummy yummy yummy! I just put my cream in a jar and shake away while watching telly And if I did already have my goats I would definitely be looking at Dexters as well But my girls have stolen my heart