There’s always something happening at Apostle Whey Cheese. Keep an eye on this page for all the latest news. Here you will also find delicious recipes using our fabulous cheeses.
Looking forward to a good spring
We are back into full swing as far as calving goes, and like a lot of others enduring another wet winter but all should auger well for a good Spring. We are looking forward to some interesting adventures in the next few months and will keep everyone posted as to the outcomes.
Winners at the DIAA Awards
Two of our cheeses have just won medals at the DIAA Product Awards.
Southern Briez won a gold medal in the Brie section and then went on to win Champion Cheese of the competition. Our Garlic Havarti style semi-hard cheese won a silver medal.
Autumn calving
We got through a very wet winter and spring by managing to the conditions – the making of silage was delayed to protect paddocks from too much pugging damage from cows hooves. The quality was down but there was plenty of it and with the good summer rains we are only now starting to feed it to our autumn calving cows, normally we would have been using it from mid December, so it has been a good money saver.
The autumn calvers are in very good condition and milking well. With international milk prices on the way up things are looking reasonable for the coming season.
Now is the time (through to about the end of April) for those young families wanting to see calves or even to pet one or two!
On the cheesemaking side, our long time head cheesemaker Melanie Pollock has resigned to take up a new career as a chocolatier – having bought out GORGE Chocolates. Melanie has been an integral part of our operation from the start and we would not be as advanced as we are without her input and great knowledge. We wish Melanie all the very best in her new career, knowing that with her talents she will be hugely successful.
I will be a full time cheesemaker now and, together with Marie Thomas our other cheesemaker, will devote all our energy into it and we look forward to the challenges ahead.
The farm is running very smoothly under Luke’s management and we look forward to what could be, weather wise, another very challenging year.
Ballarat
We have recently become involved with Wilsons Fruit & Vegetables in Ballarat.
A lot of our cheeses have been delivered to outlets recently by Natures Cargo, who are based in Wendouree. If there are any interested outlets who would like to stock our cheeses please give us a call.
A Wet Winter
We are in the midst of winter and have had a very wet season so far. Our cows are starting to calve and will do so through to the end of September.
Like most farmers we have had to adapt to the wet conditions to try and lessen the damage to the paddocks.
We’ve put hay rings on the track near the dairy for the cows to get some roughage rather than put it in the paddocks with the tractor and cause damage to the soil structure.
The cows aren’t locked in the paddocks but are allowed to roam to get to the hay – this saves them wandering around the paddocks and causing further damage. Sometimes they will bunch up at the dairy on really cold wet days to keep warm and save their energy.
As cows come out of the paddocks, we spread Urea fertilizer to increase feed growth, for when the cows return in about 24 days time.
The dry cows (ones that are going to calve) are being fed hay on a strip of grass in the paddock we’ve earmarked for cropping in the spring. This approach will help break up the couch grass root matter that we’re trying to eliminate, as well as add some fertility for the upcoming crop in spring.
When the cows get to within 14 days of calving we put them on the calving pad and feed them a special grain designed to prepare them for calving in the “Mooturnity Ward”.
On the farm
Our son Luke has come home to run it for us after 15 years away working on other farms in Ireland, Western Australia and locally, as well as working for agricultural contractors. It’s great to have him back.
At present we have dried the cows off and they start calving again from the first of March, so it’ll be a good time for families to come and visit over the next two months – the kids may even get to pet a calf!
Heytesbury Settlement Golden Anniversary
The Heytesbury Settlement is celebrating 50 years since Sir Henry Bolte opened it up for development in November 1959. Celebrations are planned for the Labour Day weekend March 6-7.
Apostle Whey Cheese will be there on the Saturday at the market to be held at the Recreation reserve, from 11am to 3pm.
As a prelude to the golden anniversary, Apostle Whey Cheese relaunched Old Bitey Blue as a commemorative cheese to honour Sir Henry Bolte for his involvement in getting the project up and running.
The blue vein cheese is now know as Bolte’s Bonanza and was launched on Australia Day at the Simpson historical park. Geoff “Jeff” Hook, the much admired cartoonist formerly with the Herald Sun, drew a caricature of Sir Henry for the label of the cheese. He, along with Mr Hec Fisher who was project manager for the Rural Finance Commission who developed the project, unveiled the caricature.
Pictured left to right: Julian Benson, Hec Fisher, Geoff Hook & Peter Bolte – a nephew of Sir Henry.
Gold Medal for Old Bitey Blue
Congratulations on your gold medal in Adelaide for your Blue Vein. It was a superb example of a well balanced cheese. Certainly one of the best blues I have judged this year. Well done!
Regards,
Russell Smith
Deputy-Chief Judge CheeseFest
Chief Judge RNA Brisbane
Gold Award for The Grotto
Once again Apostle Whey Cheese has been successful in gaining a Gold Award for one of its cheeses. The Grotto, our washed rind cheese, has come up trumps at ASCA (Australian Specialist Cheesemakers’ Association) annual conference held in the Palladium room at Crown Casino on Saturday 22nd of August 2009.
The Grotto is a camembert cheese that has been washed in a special solution so it develops a lovely orange rind. It has a rather pungent odour but is a delight to the taste buds, rich in flavour and a lovely creamy texture on the palate.
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(closed Christmas day)