Saturday 26 May 2012

Community Supported Dairy's


This is an old photo - it's a younger Trev and Possum, our lovely old four litres a day harridan from Queensland. It adds up we've been drinking goat's milk for the majority of the past ten years. A wee pause when we first got here, and another now as we've dried off Peg and Tilly. So it's cow's milk until they're freshened again with new kids. I don't mind cow's milk, it's gluggier than goats milk but the only place I notice the difference is in a cup of tea. But the thing that gets to both Trev and I is milk containers. Wouldn't we love to buy milk in glass bottles that you return for a full one!

We're not going to be able to get up early and milk goats forever, when we're older we'd like the option of a local, sustainable, organic milk in a glass bottle.

We've read a lot about Community Supported Agriculture and watched the 2005 movie The Real Dirt on Farmer John. An interesting take including a bit of crossdresser while driving a tractor. Novel. But I wonder about the possibility of a Community Supported Dairy. I've been talking to an interested councillor in the area about the possibility. I wonder, does anyone know of one in Australia? A place where local milk from a variety of suppliers is processed in the area and sold directly to retailers, no middle men, in glass bottles, which can be returned?

8 comments:

Lucy Valenta said...

Hi Linda

Sorry to point this out, but I think you meant "Dairies" and not "Diaries" in the title... First time commentor, but I've been reading your blog for about 3 years ;-)

Lucy

Linda Cockburn said...

Ahh, um... I like to think of this as my online diary and would hope it is supported by the community? No, I guess it doesn't quite wash. I own up. I muffed it. Thanks for pointing it out Lucy.

Jo said...

Hi Linda, I remember reading this blog post here http://cookingfromtheheart.com.au/2012/02/09/udder-delight/ about a dairy farm supplying the local area and using glass bottles. cheers, Jo x

Darren (Green Change) said...

I live in the middle of some of Australia's oldest dairy country, and I'd love to see something like this start up here! I can't help thinking that regulations and food inspectors would quickly crush it, though. And it'd have to be pasteurised :-(.

Rebecca said...

I know of a dairy farmer in the Adelaide Hills who supplies unpasteurised milk to people (by word of mouth only I think). I think they get around the food inspectors etc. by getting people to buy a 'share' in a goat or cow rather than the milk itself. I'm sure if there were something similar in Tas you could just visit every few days and fill up your glass bottles. I can ask for more details about how it is run. Our family hasn't got milk from them as we can so easily get the local biodynamic cows milk and use rice/almond milk for the non dairy consumers.

Linda Cockburn said...

We used to buy unpastuerised milk from a farmer in QLD this way - before we had our own goats. At one stage a local man tried selling milk this way as bath milk, Cleopatra's bath milk - pet's milk etc but eventually they legislated him out of the race.

I'm hoping something like Jo mentioned. Openly available for all to access easily. There is a mobile milk processing unit in NZ that sterilised bottles and processes it all at something like 1000 litres an hour. Needs more looking into...

Anonymous said...

Hi Linda

Believe this dairy sells cows milk in glass bottles and they're in Tassie, not sure if it's available near you... http://www.elgaarfarm.com.au/

Linda Cockburn said...

Oh yes Anonymous. Exactly what I'm thinking of. I might have to go for a wander one day!