Pecora Dairy feeds Aussie hunger for boutique cheese
This sheep-farming couple are paving the way for dairy farmers across Australia to join the cheesemaking movement.
CRESSIDA and Michael Cains may have been novices when they first threw their hats in the cheese-making ring a decade ago.
But the fastidious sheep farmers certainly started the way they meant to go on.
Before they had sold even one wedge of blue or mould-ripened round, the pair devoted six years of hard graft and research to building up their dairy flock at Robertson, in NSW’s Southern Highlands, and learning the craft of cheesemaking.
Then, before launching their sheep dairy business they took a big leap and entered their Jamberoo Mountain Blue in the 2011 Sydney Royal Cheese Show. Judging nearly 1000 cheeses that year, the tasting panel were so wowed by what one judge described as the “exquisite” floral flavour and creamy mouthfeel of the Jamberoo, they awarded it a gold medal.
“It was a bit of a cracking start,” says Cressida, thinking back on the astonishing achievement that marked the start of their commercial operation.
“We were completely unknown at that point. We wanted to go to market with beautiful cheese, rather than something we were still working on. We felt very passionate about that.”
Ten years on, Pecora Dairy can certainly tick that box. They have a raft of gourmet awards, a well-established flock of 150 East Friesian ewes built on carefully sourced genetics and have worked with some of Australia’s and the world’s biggest-name chefs.
The couple farm 80 hectares at Robertson, nestled in lush rainforest, where they receive more than two metres of rain a year. Their gentle approach to the land, animals and cheeses is a magic combination.
They make nine tonnes of cheese a year, in five varieties, plus pot-set yoghurt. High-end is their niche, with about 40 per cent of Pecora Dairy’s output going to restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne, and the remainder selling through two farmers’ markets, up-market retailers, online and in their own recently opened cheese shop at Robertson.
They are working hard to pass on the knowledge they have gained about making cheese, rearing dairy sheep and launching a boutique brand, so other dairy farmers can benefit from their experiences.
“We hope that we can give back to the industry that we have gained so much from,” Cressida says. “It is our offering – our work for the industry.”
RAW MILK INNOVATORS
CRESSIDA and Michael say they still have plenty to learn about the craft of working with their nutrient-dense dairy, particularly using raw milk, which is their newest endeavour. They launched Australia’s first non-cooked raw milk cheese – called Yarrawa – in 2018.
Clearly the couple are leaders in Australia’s booming boutique cheese sector.
Cressida was named AgriFutures NSW Rural Woman of the Year last year for spearheading a program called Dairy Cocoon, to help other family-run dairy farms tap into resources to create successful value-added products including cheese, yoghurt, gelato and bottled milk.
Michael, meanwhile, has been working with NSW and Victorian food authorities to produce a model by which Australian cheesemakers can safely make raw milk cheeses. Regulation changes in 2015 opened the door for this development in the industry, but as Cressida explains, there was no framework for doing it safely and meeting the expectations of regulators.
“We were the first cheesery in Australia licensed to make a completely uncooked raw milk cheese,” Cressida explains. “Without any heat treatment, you have all the indigenous microbes in the milk. It makes an incredibly exciting cheese with almost a taste of the landscape of our farm.
“We are very excited to share the knowledge with other cheesemakers and welcome them on board to move the Australian cheese industry forward.”
FOCUS ON EWE
BUILDING Pecora Dairy has been a labour of love for Michael and Cressida, who 16 years ago gave up jobs in the wine industry in Sydney to raise their sons in the countryside. Hugo, now 16, and Darcy, 14, help out on the property.
Initially they lived on a small mixed farm within commuting distance to the CBD, and Michael travelled to Sydney while Cressida spent her time on the farm as a young mum, milking a house cow and getting to grips with a variety of livestock.
“We did have some goats at one point, but they ended up in the freezer because they climbed fences,” she says, with a laugh.
In the end, their shared affinity for sheep triggered the brainwave about sheep milk cheeses, which are lauded in Europe – think Greek feta, French Roquefort, Italian pecorino and ricotta – but not commonly considered an enterprise option in Australia.
“Having landed on the idea of sheep milking, it took us from there about six years of research and development to source the genetics that were suitable for dairy sheep,” Cressida says.
During that time, they bought the property at Robertson, built all the infrastructure – from dairy and shed, to cheese-making kitchen – and learned to make cheese, then started selling at farmers’ markets “to build our name and talk to people”.
“Sheep milk at that stage was a little-known thing in Australia. It was very important for us to be able to explain to consumers what sheep milk is, and why it is different,” Cressida says.
The real selling point, they explain, is that sheep milk, particularly from East Friesians, is nutrient dense and like the “Rolls Royce” of milk for cheese-making.
Their 150 ewes are run on pasture throughout the year, with a bit of supplemental hay added during the colder months and grain in the bale to encourage ewes to come into the dairy willingly.
Sheep are milked 10 months of the year, with a two-month break in June and July when heavily pregnant. Lambs stay with their mothers for the first two weeks after birth, to receive vital colostrum.
“It makes for calm ewes in the dairy and it makes for healthy strong lambs having been raised on their mums,” Cressida says.
Ewes are milked twice a day for six months, reducing to once a day from Christmas until the end of May. Ewe lambs are kept on the farm, while ram lambs are either sold as stud animals or to restaurants.
“The ewes are in a beautiful routine, and amble to and from the dairy every day,” Cressida says. “That very seasonal rhythm makes a particularly nice way of life.”
SUSTAINABILITY AND ONLINE PIVOT
LAST year’s coronavirus-induced hospitality shutdowns wreaked some havoc on the business.
“It was very challenging because not only did we lose our biggest farmers’ market, but all those restaurant sales overnight,” Cressida says.
“We did a quick turnaround – a pivot. That word has been so overused, but it is the one that describes what we all had to do in small business.”
Online orders were quickly launched, and the couple put effort into selling as much as they could through the small artisan shop they opened in Robertson in December 2019. In addition to their own products, the shop stocks hard, soft, blue, curd and everything in between from the best cheesemakers across Australia and gourmet produce from other farming businesses.
While the welfare of their sheep and the quality of their cheeses are top priorities, so too is the health of their land and environment.
A solar power system has just been installed, to make the farm carbon neutral.
“Buying a piece of cheese from us will be positive for the environment,” Cressida says.
“We do have some of the only cool climate rainforest left in Australia on our farm, which is incredible – it is very important to preserve and we are so grateful to be looking after this patch of beautiful dirt while we have it.
“With that comes an important ecosystem and biodiversity. We have incredible animals. Echidnas, lyrebirds. We have the most diverse number of insects and birds.
“So, while there are discussions around how we are producing food into the future, we hope that through our offering and our sheep milk cheeses, that we can make a positive impact.”
DAIRY COCOON
Cressida is working on the final layer of resources that will be available on her not-for-profit Dairy Cocoon online hub. Designed to help small dairy farmers find new ways to remain viable, the hub pulls together resources about developing value-added products such as cheese, yoghurt, gelato and branded milk, and connects producers with education, training, their peers and experts.
She knows the service is not a magic bullet to solve all the challenges dairy farmers face, but she hopes it can be part of a solution for some.
“Throughout my years in the dairy industry, and particularly in this area of the Southern Highlands, it is actually a very old dairying area … as I drove around I would see dairy sheds littering the landscape as dairies closed one by one,” she says.
“I decided to look closer at those statistics to find out what was going on in the dairy industry.
“In 1980, there were 22,000 dairy farms, and today there are just over 5000.
“In 2019, there were 486 dairy farms that closed according to Dairy Australia.
“That is the largest annual exodus ever.
“On one hand we have a situation where small dairy farms are unable to make a profit and being squeezed with the current model of selling milk to the large processors.
“And on the other hand have a situation where we import a huge amount of cheese into this country.
“In 2019, we imported 105,000 tonnes. That is growing by an extra 4000 tonnes every year.
“We have an appetite for artisan cheese in this country. Currently that need is being met by overseas supply. My idea is to help willing small dairy farms transform up the value chain.”
FARM FILE: PECORA DAIRY
Cressida and Michael Cains run 150 East Friesian dairy ewes on 80 hectares in NSW’s Southern Highlands. They milk 10 months of the year, to make nine tonnes of cheese in five varieties: Yarrawa, Jamberoo Mountain Blue, Curly Red, Bloomy and curd. They sell through markets, retailers and to restaurants.
Where: Robertson, NSW
More info: pecoradairy.com.au
MORE
SHEEP CHEESE AT ROBERTSON MADE OF THE WHITE STUFF
PROM COUNTRY CHEESE DEVELOPS VICTORIA’S FIRST RAW MILK CHEESE
McClaren family’s pastured meat chicken business takes flight
Starting with a small flock of 100 meat chickens, this Graytown business has grown dramatically into a profitable poultry operation that also focuses on the health of their land.
Peek inside Australia’s first mobile abattoir
Provenir has given Farm magazine an up-close view of the slaughter process inside their groundbreaking mobile on-farm unit.