Water Buffalo Yogurt
Made from 100% Natural Milk!
Our naturally thick yogurt has only two ingredients :
Water Buffalo milk and active bacterial culture.
Our award winning yogurt is made in a traditional, small batch kettle using 100% grass fed water buffalo milk and culture.
The yogurt is placed in the container and left to incubate for 5 hours in the Balkan style. Buffalo milk is very different from cow’s milk as it is naturally homogenized, higher in calcium and protein and lower in cholesterol. The fat molecules are much smaller making it easier to digest. The protein is different as well making it suitable for many people who have intolerances to traditional cow’s milk yogurt. The yogurt is naturally thick without any thickeners, cream or skim milk powder added and has a mild, smooth, great taste.
We are a 100% grass fed dairy
Grass fed means that our buffalo are out grazing in the fields from about April until the grass stops growing in the fall. In the winter months, when they cannot be outside, they are fed grass silage. We do not feed any grains and all of our feed is non GMO. This reflects the natural diet of a water buffalo.
Why Water Buffalo?
Water buffalo became an important part of our farm after we purchased 15 young females from Fairburn Farm in Duncan, BC and a male from the Ontario Water Buffalo Company in Stirling, ON in December of 2010. We designed and built a barn which was completed in the fall of 2011 and retro-fitted an older building to become our milking parlour. The milking parlour was completed the night of March 7th, 2012 and our first buffalo baby was born the morning of March 8th, 2012 and we started milking!
In the past 5 years, our herd has expanded to a total of over 120 water buffalo and we have learned a lot! We strongly believe that our animals deserve to be cared for with kindness and respect and we strive to provide a healthy, natural, stress free environment for them. During the spring and summer months, roughly from April through until October, the water buffalo are on grass pasture. We bring them in to be milked twice a day, but the rest of the time, they are free to graze in the fields. During the winter months, the water buffalo are housed in a loose, sawdust pack barn. We group them in small, social groupings as they form strong bonds with their herd mates and mixing unfamiliar animals is very stressful. They prefer to sleep huddled together, often with their heads resting on each others backs. By using a sawdust pack barn, they are able to rest comfortably and lie down together.
Water buffalo have been domesticated in Asia for thousands of years. They are incredibly docile, curious, and friendly animals. Both the males and females have horns. Water buffalo have a gestation length of 10.5 months and can live up to 25 years. Their milk is pure white, mild tasting, high in milk fat (our herd is about 7.5%), protein and calcium but lower in cholesterol than cow’s milk. It is more easily digested and makes excellent yogurt and cheese.