Being a farmer in New South Wales requires dedication, good management of resources, a\u00a0strong connection to the community and most importantly a passion for the animals under\u00a0their care.<\/p>\n
For traditional livestock like cattle, sheep and pigs there are countless resources on the web\u00a0as well as experienced farmhands that could teach budding farmers how to take care of\u00a0their animals and maximise their productivity. But for Michelle Phillips, the owner of\u00a0Muswellbrook Camel Milk, that is a New South Wale\u2019s first camel dairy farm, it was\u00a0considerably more challenging to start this business.<\/p>\n
Michelle decided to start a camel farm both because of her love of animals, describing\u00a0herself as the kind of person who would \u2018pull over on the side of the road and get a turtle to\u00a0safety\u2019, and due to the nationwide culling of feral camels in Australia between 2009 and\u00a02013. While Michelle was happy that the major culls have stopped and acknowledges the\u00a0damage that they caused to the environment, she was still disappointed by the treatment of
\nthe feral animals in Australia.<\/p>\n
Feral camels that are captured by farmers have two options available to them, be rehomed\u00a0and work for the tourism industry, or be slaughtered. Ordinarily most Australian camel\u00a0farmers capture their stock in the wild and domesticate them, but for Michelle her first\u00a0addition to the farm was a group of camels that were being sent to an abattoir in South\u00a0Australia.<\/p>\n
\u2018It was just such a shame that these beautiful creatures were being destroyed.\u2019Since 2013 the dairy had grown from just the handful of camels that were saved from the\u00a0abattoir to just over one hundred strong, the two herds grazing and frolicking in a spacious\u00a0paddock. Getting to that stage wasn\u2019t easy for the passionate farmer. Because few people in\u00a0Australia raise camels as a primary export finding adequate resources and training to care\u00a0for camels was difficult, even on the Internet.<\/p>\n
\u2018It was daunting to buy something that you don\u2019t know anything about.\u2019The first time she acquired meaningful experience and a true appreciation for the animals\u00a0was a humble camel ride tour in Coffs Harbour, much to the surprise of the people who ran\u00a0the tour.<\/p>\n
\u2018There heaps of people were ring up wanting to do some work experience but they\u2019ve never\u00a0turned up.\u2019- Michelle recalled.<\/p>\n
In spite of these difficulties starting up, she\u2019s managed to become a strong member of the\u00a0community, with her hosting tours of the farm for the local schools and nursing homes in Muswellbrook and Denham. Dairy products have also been recognised for their substantial\u00a0quality, with her farm winning gold in the 2017 Queensland Food &amp; Wine Show for\u00a0Cheese and Dairy Produce with their milk and silver for their camel haloumi. On top of being\u00a0a high quality product in its own right, camel milk has the potential to help those with\u00a0physical or mental disorders.The passion for her unconventional herd, the dedication to understand her livestock on her\u00a0own and her connection to the community gave her the opportunity to make a product that\u00a0could make a lot of people\u2019s lives easier.<\/p>\n
To learn more about the surprising health benefits of camel products, tune in to 100.1FM
\non the 17 th of July from 12:00am.<\/p>\n
Listen our show<\/p>\n
https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/mind-for-life\/the-surprising-benefits-of-camel-milk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Being a farmer in New South Wales requires dedication, good management of resources, a\u00a0strong connection to the community and most importantly a passion for the animals under\u00a0their care. 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