If we don’t look after the earth, we don’t have a business — it’s that simple. And while we do have a business, we want it to have a positive impact.
Positive Disruption
We are always looking for innovative and creative ways to find no-waste solutions that honour our sheep and the environment. For example, before shipping, we wrap our cheese in frozen sheep wool to keep it cold, rather than using the chemical ice bricks you’re probably used to seeing. We’re also working towards completely compostable packaging. We’ve got the boxes, labels and tape down pat and we were the first cheesy in the country to use 100% certified HOME COMPOSTABLE cryovac bags.
The pinot paste we sell is made from old pinot pressings and surplus local apples. Our Gin Herbalist cheese gets its unique flavour from the used botanicals from our award-winning gin at our on-site distillery. For a unique gift offering, we put unwashed sheep wool into our gift boxes, to give their lucky receivers a sensory experience that transports them to the farm their items came from.
The Sheep
Our sheep are our livelihood. We love them and we look after them. All of them keep their tails and live out an idyllic life on our beautiful farm. But in the great circle of life etc., the best way for us to respect them is to make sure that nothing’s wasted.
Unlike the poor rams at a lot of dairy farms, ours have a chance to enjoy a peaceful existence. From birth, they’re offered to our local community as state-of-the-art organic lawnmowers. If they’re still unsold after a couple of years, their lives are ended humanely and their meat is used in our on-site cafe’s Kranskies for some exceptional farm-to-table eating. The sheep whey from our cheesemaking process (thrown out by most cheesemakers) goes over to Hartshorn Distillery to be made into award-winning spirits. Any milk that isn’t high enough quality for cheesemaking is shared with Ewe Care and made into beautiful, organic body and skincare products.
The Land
It’s no secret that we have terrible soil on our farm, but it would be a monumental (and hugely expensive) undertaking to reverse the effects of 165 million plus years of natural development, so we make the best of what we’ve got. And, sure, the grass might be greener on the other side but our ladies love to lunch on weeds.
We also grow eucalypts and other natives to add to their foraging diet that have a huge range of benefits for our sheep, our land and business. The girls are provided with grub that hosts a range of immune support and anti-parasitic properties, and we get an in-house weeding service. Nature then obviously takes its course and we’re provided with free, organic, nutrient-rich manure that we compost and turn into fertiliser.
