THE WINSTON CHURCHILL MEMORIAL TRUST OF AUSTRALIA

Report by Margaret Thompson 2009 Churchill Fellow

Maleny Buffalo99 Cooke Road

Maleny QLD 4552Phone 07 5494 4420Fax 07 5494 4252

Email – malenybuffalo@yahoo.com.au

To study buffalo genetics, breeding and husbandry techniques - Argentina, USA, U.K., Bulgaria, Italy

I understand that the Churchill Trust may publish this Report, either in hardcopy or on the internet or both, and consent to such publication.

I indemnify the Churchill Trust against any loss, costs or damages it maysuffer arising out of any claim or proceedings made against the trust in respectof or arising out of the publication of any Report submitted to the Trust andwhich the Trust places on a website for access over the internet.

I also warrant that my Final Report is original and does not infringe thecopyright of any person, or contain anything which is, or the incorporation ofwhich into the Final Report is, actionable for defamation, a breach of anyprivacy law or obligation, contempt of court, passing-off or contravention ofany other private right or of any law.

Signed Dated

Page 1

Contents

Introduction and Acknowledgements (written by Anne Thompson) Pg 3.

Program/Itinerary Pg 4-5

Executive Summary Pg 6

Report

Argentina – World Buffalo Congress Pg 8

Argentina – World Buffalo Congress Post-congress Tour Pg 9

Canada – Vancouver Island, Fairburn Farm. Pg 10

Canada – Quebec, Buffalo Vermont Pg 11

Canada – Ontario, Ontario Water Buffalo Company Pg 12

Scotland – Puddledub Water Buffalo Pg 13

England – Langford Water Buffalo Pg 13

England – Laverstoke Park Farm Pg 13

Bulgaria Pg 14-18

Italy – Northern Italy and CoFA Semen Collection Facility Pg 18-19

Switzerland Pg 20

Southern Italy Pg 21-23

Conclusion

Photos

Links to websites

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Introduction and Acknowledgements

My name is Margaret Thompson and I am a 2009 Churchill Fellow.

So why Buffalo and why apply for a Churchill Scholarship? I was born and raised on a dairy farm in the Hinterland region of the Sunshine Coast of Queensland. I married my husband and we continued the family tradition of milking cows on the same farm that has now been in my family for over 100 years.

After deregulation of the dairy industry, and by now in our early 60s, we started looking at other ways of earning a living off the farm. Someone threw an offhand remark in that we should milk buffalo and make mozzarella. Our daughter organised for airfares to Darwin and a visit to the buffalo research centre. My husband jokes that it cost us $90 to get into Darwin and $20,000 to get out because, of course, we bought our first heifers on that trip.

The initial 5 heifers bought have grown into about 80 head. After a hundred years of milking cows twice a day, cows are no longer milked on the family farm. Now, twice a day water buffalo make their leisurely way to the bails to the command of “Come home Girls” and the turning on of the ABC on the radio.

During the intervening years, we have done a lot of research into buffalo. It was frustrating to try to piece together bits and pieces from everywhere and make sense of it all. My husband had been making noises about applying for a Churchill Trust for a number of years. So after researching, talking to past fellows & asking for advice and opinions from people I respected and trusted it became a matter of “why not, we have everything to gain and nothing to lose”. And so the process began, my application was accepted and I, along with my daughter-in-law & grandson, have had the trip of a lifetime.

During the course of our tour we collected so many knights in shining armour who made our trip easier. I won't start to mention names because I will surely leave someone out and cause offence. But I will say a huge thank you to the following people who definitely deserve special recognition.

- Mal & Michael Thompson who let their wives go gallivanting off overseas while they stayed home and milked.- Professor Stuart Barker who was instrumental in providing advice about our animals and encouragement for me to undertake the trip- Paul Lucas from Qantas who did all our travel bookings & dealt with sudden changes of plans.- All the staff at the Churchill Office who helped us hold it all together or picked up the pieces.

We saw & learnt so much and our passion for these wonderful animals & our enthusiasm for the industry is greater then ever. The following report is a summary of our trip. Needless to say that there are a lot more photos, videos and ideas & snippets we have that we just couldn't put into this report but we are more then happy to share these with anyone who asks.

And a particular note to anyone who thinks they are too old or too young to travel, just read our story to know that you can do it too. Margaret Thompson

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Program/Itinerary

AprilSunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday18

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24Fly out of Bris 7:35 AM

25Rest day. Staying at Americano Suites

26First day of the congress.

27Second day of the congress

28Last day of the congress. Checked out of motel. Leave on bus for post congress tour at 11PM.

29On post-congress tour in northern Argentina.

30On post-congress tour in northern Argentina.

MaySunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1Post-congress tour.

2The last day of the tour. Travel back from northern Argentina to BUENOS AIRES.

3 Rest day in BUENOS AIRES

4Fly out of Buenos Aires @ 21:35 PM

5Vancouver. Arr 1255 local time.

6Rest day in Mission Canada with Uncle Roy & Aunt Helen.

7Rest day in Mission Canada with Uncle Roy & Aunt Helen.

8Travel to Duncan on Vancouver Island to visit Archer's farm. www.fairburnwaterbuffalo.com

9Fly out of Vancouver on Canadian Airlines @ 1115, flight AC150. To Montreal Arr 1631

10Visit Buffalo Vermont in Quebec. www.buffalovermont.com

11Visit Lori & Martin in Ontario. http://ontariowaterbuffalo.com/index.htm

12Fly out of Montreal on British Airways @ 2210, flight BA94. Arrive Heathrow 0935.

13Start to drive to Scotland. Visit Blenheim Palace

14Continued to drive to Scotland, drove through the Lakes District

15Drive to Scotland, drop in to see Steve at Puddledub. Stay the night at a B&B.

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16Visited Steve & toured his farm. www.puddledubbuffalo.co.uk. Drove to Northallerton, North Yorkshire to visit the Langthorns.

17Visited the Langthorns. www.langthornes-buffalo-produce.co.uk. Started to drive to Laverstoke Farms

18Visited Laverstoke Farms www.laverstokepark.co.uk Drove to London

19Leave Heathrow @ 0830 on British Airways to Sofia, Bulgaria, flight BA890. Arrive 1335

20Sight-seeing around Shumen with Sonia.

21Tour of Buffalo Farms & the Agricultural Research Institute

22Visiting farms in Bulgaria

23Visiting farms in Bulgaria and a quick trip to see the Black Sea.

24Flew out of Bulgaria to Milan, Italy. Drive to Cremona

25Visited Buffalo Farm and CoFA collection centre

26Drive to Switzerland

27Rest day

28Visit Biosphere & buffalo farm

29Visit Cheese & Chocolate factories

30Drive back to Milan, fly to Rome, catch a train to Conserta

31Visiting farms in Southern Italy

01/06/10Visiting farms in Southern Italy

2/6/10 Day in Rome sight-seeing

3/6Fly out of Roma @ 1240 to Hong Kong, flight Qantas QF3860.

4/6Fly out of H/K @2315 on Qantas QF98 to Brisbane.

5/6Arrive Brisbane @ 9:55AM.WE ARE HOME!!!!

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The Buffalo Industry world wide is poised on the brink of rapid expansion. This is the most powerful message that I have found from my Churchill Trust sponsored trip that we have just returned from.

We visited a lot of farms, spoke to a lot of farmers & saw many animals. By in large, Australia is not that far “behind” in the buffalo industry as what we had come to believe. Many producers in other countries are at the same stage, ie, herd build up & genetic selection, infrastructure adaptation or building & marketing. The amount of money that some producers have, are and will spend of setting up their operations is a very good indication of the optimism in the industry & the future potential. Buffalo can literally be found around the world, and this is what makes it so exciting. We found massive herds in Argentina, were told about large holdings in other South American countries. There are farms in Switzerland & Norway & Scotland and we found them without really looking for them. Of course it goes without saying that buffalo are common place in some parts of Italy & Asia.

In the western world, all producers have the same problem, educating the consumer to think of the animal as both a source of meat and milk. Mozzarella is still king of the buffalo world but I think that the reign might be coming to an end as producers experiment with other products & the public are encouraged to embrace this wonderful resource. There are producers who are working on adapting products for buffalo milk with its higher fat and protein content and also on producing a better quality meat animal.

The buffalo ticks a lot of boxes as far as the changing awareness that the Western consumer has for their food. The health benefits for both meat & milk is very well known but the buffalo also has a “reduced carbon footprint”, to use the latest catch phrase. The smaller carbon footprint comes from the reduced transport costs for both the raw product to the point of manufacture as by nature & “tradition” buffalo products are manufactured either on or close to the farm of origin and also products to market as well as fodder transport costs. The animals don't require the same high quality fodder as other sources of protein so there is reduced energy for producing the fodder as well as transport costs.

An unexpected result of our trip has been the networking we have been able to do. Not networking in the traditional sense but the people we have been able to put in touch with each other as we have seen that each could have something to gain from the introduction. We underestimated the impact this would have. We see ourselves now as conduit, connecting people who otherwise would not know each other for the benefit of many. The best example of this is promoting a semen collection facility that we visited to producers who are having trouble finding bulls, who have in-breeding problems or who are having trouble finding a reliable supplier of semen.

We don't yet know the end result of our trip. Without a doubt, the contacts & knowledge we have gained from the trip will be huge boost to the Australian Buffalo Industry. The roll on effect from around the world is unknown. There have been invitations to travel to other countries to talk to producers about what was learnt. There is a push for the use of technology ie Skype, to allow international experts present information at meetings where otherwise this information would not be shared. 2016 may see the World Buffalo Congress held in Australia, a wonderful opportunity for our industry to show what we have accomplished in such a short time.

Yes, this is a very exciting time to be part of the buffalo industry.

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Churchill ReportWe have just returned from a wonderful exhilarating and informative round the world excursion to

study Buffalo Genetics Breeding and husbandry techniques in a number of countries. These

included the 9th World Buffalo Congress held in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 25-28 April 2010.

The Congress dictated the start of the study tour and although we didn't realise at the time of

planning the most beautiful time of the year to visit the countries in the northern hemisphere.

Spring had already woken, crops had been planted and new life was everywhere.

Of course the trip actually started months before with more contact being made with the people

and groups we planned to meet and discuss all aspects of buffalo farming. We were overwhelmed

by the willingness of Professors, Researchers and farmer to share their knowledge and experiences

with us and learn more about the Buffalo Industry here and Australia in general.

Because my husband became ill before it was time to leave my travelling companions were my

daughter in law, and 9 mth old Christopher. In fact, taking a baby turned out a very good move

because people would approach us to talk to the baby (it helped that he is cute with a lovely smile

that he bestows on everyone) and from there the introductions were made and the networking

began. We know that we would not have met as many people as we did if it wasn't for Christopher

drawing people to him. He was a huge hit, especially in South America but these stories might have

to be left for another time.

We set up a Skype a connection so we could be in contact with Mal (my husband) and Michael

(Anne's husband & my son) most days as we took a laptop with us. This allowed them to share in

our daily doings and meant they had much of the information almost as soon as we had gathered it.

Anne also added interesting bits to Facebook so others could share in our travels and activities.

QANTAS had organised for us to fly from Brisbane to Sydney to Buenos Aires direct on 23 April.

We arrived over South America in the daytime and flying over the Andes left me speechless.

The Congress opened on Sunday evening. If you ever though the Buffalo Industry wasn't very

important throughout the world just attend a Congress with over 400 delegates from 30 countries

throughout the world.

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Much of the Conference was taken up with technical Papers from various researchers throughout

the world. The proceedings are contained in a book almost 5 cms thick. These papers will also

appear on the web. There is a great deal of research being carried out in a number of countries

which just shows the importance of the Buffalo Industry globally. Brazil is doing ground breaking

work on Reproduction.

Pakistan and India are breeding high milk producing animals within the Nili-Ravi breed as well as

concentrating on Education for their small landholders. They are strongly promoting the sale of

semen. However, this genetic improvement is not available to many countries because of

Quarantine Regulations. Much was made of a Nili Ravi cow which had produced 30 litres of milk

in a day. However, the components in the milk were considerable reduced compared to cows

producing less milk. I feel it is important not to reduce the percentage of components that make the

buffalo milk special just to have high litreage milk production.

With so many farmers there, to serve the buffalo industry best, I feel congress should be a more

practical stream as well as the highly technical, academic side. Buffalo enthusiasts from around the

world only gather once every 3 years to exchange information. Therefore, it is important that there

is time for discussion on everyday topics.

Some of the most well attended sessions were to do with nutrition and feeding, avoiding stress in

the animals, including cow/calf separation and the affect on milk production. In particular, the

effect of parasitic disease in very important in many of the tropical and subtropical countries. As

more and more countries establish viable diary Industries, milk production throughout the year,

instead of seasonality, will feature more predominantly.

The long lunch breaks allowed an opportunity for discussions between delegates. The fact we had

shirts with Maleny Buffalo, Queensland, Australia on them and an album of photos invited people

to speak to us. Most of all, having Chris with us opened up many discussions with people who,

because of either cultural or language reasons would not have initiated discussions with two

women. People working with Buffalo are so passionate about what they do, it breaks down many

barriers. For example, we found ourselves exchanging results of blood tests done on a sick animal

with a vet from Pakistan.

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Semen sellers from Italy had stands advertising their wares. One announced they now had sexed

semen available with the other one will be releasing their product shortly.

After 3 days of Congress, we left about 11PM one night on a convoy of 3 double decker sleeper

buses for an all night all day journey to the Province of Formosa in the north of Argentina to visit

Buffalo farms. These buses are everywhere and surprisingly comfortable, except the toilets.

Milking buffalo is a new enterprise in Argentina so we only saw one dairy. Most of the producer

have started running buffalo in their swampy lands which are unsuitable for cattle. The buffalo do

very well and every herd that we saw were very quiet and easy to handle. The gauchos herded the

buffalo on horses, splashing chest high through mud & sludge. Some even had dogs to help with

the herding. We didn't witness any aggression towards the horses or dogs by the buffalo which was

surprising to many there who had firmly believed that buffalo can not be herded by horses or dogs.

We were introduced to the traditional Argentinean BBQ which is basically an open fire with whole

sides of beef speared with metal posts cooking on the side. Without exception, the food was suburb,

buffalo loves slow cooking and they way of cooking suited it just perfectly.

Leaving Argentina we travelled to Vancouver, Canada. The flight from Dallas was in daylight as

we could observe the large expanse of agricultural land including huge central pivot systems. The

sort of perspectives you would only get from the air.

Onto beautiful Vancouver, we had organised to go to Fairburn Farm, a property on Vancouver Island

with Bulgarian Murrah Buffalos. The original herd had been intended for Victoria but were

prevented from entry to Australian with Quarantine Regulations were increased due to foot &

mouth/mad cow disease in Europe, despite being in quarantine in Denmark and passing all the

required tests. Not long after entry was refused to Australia, the Archers from Vancouver Island

were looking for buffalo and were told about these animals, just sitting in limbo in Denmark so they

bought them and moved them to Canada.

The animals we saw were the progeny of the original animals as these cows were slaughtered by the

Canadian government because not long after they left Denmark a bovine cow as diagnosed with

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Mad Cow disease. Even though there has never been a case of Mad Cow in Water Buffalo and after

numerous court cases the cows were destroyed, but the Archers were allowed to keep their progeny

who were tested Mad Cow free, just like their parents were Mad Cow free, but that is politics for

you.

These Bulgarian Murrah Buffalo are very important to the genetic diversity of the breed as they are

the only purebred Bulgarian Murrahs outside of Bulgaria that we know about. Darrell & Anthea

Archer and their daughter run a farm stay as well as milk water buffalo and are passionate about

their animals and introducing them to as many people as possible.

We then flew across the continent to Quebec to visit Vermont Buffalo farm to the north. This herd

is a large herd of milking Buffalo with the intention of expanding to 500 milkers. It has a modern

purpose built dairy with room for expansion.

Each cow has an electronic leg band and production for each milking is recorded directly to a

computer program. Luis, the herd manager, can pull up the production of any cow at any time. In

an operation this large, being able to monitor herd health is extremely important.

They employ synchronised mating with Artificial Insemination as well as bulls to ensure continuity

of milk supply. When the calves reach a certain age they are sent to another farm for growing with

the heifers returning to the farm at about 36 months when they are ready to start milking and the

steers onto a finishing property to be fattened and slaughtered.

Here we met a remarkable herdsman, Luis Morales, whom we had corresponded with on a Buffalo

Chat group. By far the most impressive part of our visit to Vermont Buffalo was meeting Luis. His

amazing ability to recall the production benchmarks, family history & health details of individual

animals was just amazing. His has astonishing knowledge about health & husbandry of managing

buffalos under intensive system and we were able to speak about some problems and how they

maybe overcome. Some of his theories, such as clover maybe the cause of prolapses occurring, we

were able to discuss with other breeders as we continued our travels.

We have since had contact with Luis informing us he has ten maiden heifers averaging 10 litres a

day. This is especially welcome news to us as we have a bull by the same sire. One thing we found

in our travels is it is difficult to get good reliable production records of of a large number of

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producers which makes it difficult to gauge reliability.

We then travelled to a farm in Ontario. Marin & Lori had been at the conference so we had a great

deal to talk about. They have purchased some progeny of the Bulgarian Murrah cows on Vancouver

Island. They are also using Italian Mediterranean semen and had some calves on the ground by the

same bulls we are using.

They have a different milking system as it is an older style converted dairy. This is a stall system

were the cows remain in their stalls and the machines are moved to them. Being spring-summer,

these cows were fed green chop while being milked and then moved out to the yards. The cows are

herd recorded each month. As with the other farm, the milk is transported quite a distance before

being made into various cheeses & yoghurt.

Martin & I stayed up till 2AM in the morning discussing buffalo conference & breeding programs.

He would like to be able to feed his production records ectera into the Australian registers as there is

no similar program in America or Canada. This would certainly add to our information base and

assist in our Bull proving scheme even though they are farmed under different conditions. This

would broadened our information considerably.

We also discussed how if he imported semen from Bulgaria he could maintain the purity of the gene

pool with the animals he has purchased from the Archers in Vancouver. To me, this is very

important. Martin has another theory about prevention of prolapses and that is to give a calcium

supplement to his springers about a month before calving to address a calcium phosphorous

imbalance. That nights discussion was very stimulating as it always is when you meet someone

enthusiastic about searching for answers.

The amount of fodder that has to be grown and stored just to keep the farm going is immense. In

the case of the farm in Quebec, mostly off farm and contract growers are sourced. Quantities and

quality are very important and silage pits are huge and well maintained with mostly corn silage.

Besides the knowledge gained from visiting these enterprises, it enables us to better visualise the

animals and the farms and share information as we maintain contact.

From Canada we flew to London, arriving in daylight able to see the patterns of the fields and

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hedges. Canola was in flower and the contrast in colours and patterns of brown soil green pastures

and hedgers was delightful as we flew in through wispy cloud.

On the way north to Scotland and the Buffalo farm near Edinburgh we visited Blenhiem Castle and

grounds. It seemed important to somehow pay tribute and soak up the atmosphere of the origins of

Sir Winston Churchill.

As we journeyed north the scenery changed from the beauty of of the Avon Valley to the harshness

of the mountains as we headed to Scotland. There we moved back into green rolling hills, beautiful

pastures, daffodils along the roadsides and yellow grorse weed in bloom. The days were clear with

wispy clouds, just beautiful.

Steven has built his business on sales of Buffalo meat made into barbecue burgers and steaks at

market such as Edinburgh Farmers markets & others. We were very interested in how he goes

about his business. He is very professional and presents a very good image. We spoke about

improving his stock to give a better dress out percentage and earlier slaughter age. Although we

farm predominately for milk, we all need to make the most of our male animals.

As we came back down to the Midlands we stopped in to visit another enterprise that also accesses

Farmers Markets for their business. The Langfords have built their own abattoir as it was proving

difficult to get their animals slaughtered. This is a huge investment. They also have two purpose

built caravans as selling points that have hot plates installed and they sell cooked hamburgers as

well as fresh meat. There are good sales both for fresh meant and hamburgers. I'm sure the smell

of cooking patties & snags attracts a lot of potential customers. We bought home photos of their

set up for anyone interested in doing the same. They package various flavours of sausages which

are popular and give out recipes and advice on cooking buffalo.

The last visit we made was to an organic enterprise about an hour from London. This business ins

owned by a former racing car driver who has invested an enormous amount in establishing their

business. It is not only buffalo but also has an operating jersey dairy, sheep & buffalo dairy and

buffalo meat as well as other types of meat & organic vegetables.

The buffalo milk is made into delicious ice-cream, ricotta and drinking milk. The products are sold

through an on site shop as well as over the internet & selected outlets in London. It is a very large

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operation overall and the management has changed hands in the past 12 mths, both overall and in

the buffalo dairy.

As we showed our collection of photos and spoke about the conference and who and what we had

seen we found ourselves being the purveyors of information, not the other way around. We

inspected the milk herd and calf rearing facilities as we had in other diaries we had visited. All very

modern with electronic tagging etc. However, the herd has been using the same bulls for a number

of years and suffering from prolonged in-breeding. Some of the outcomes being slower maturing

animals with not very high yielding or attractive carcasses. The slaughter age was 42 mths but that

had been dropped to 36 mths by the current management while most other producers in other

countries aim for 18-20 months slaughter age. We actually visited a fattening enterprise in Italy that

was turning off 450kg, liveweight animals at 18 mths of age so we know these weight-for-age ratios

are achievable.

The calf rearing shed was airy, spotless and the calves healthy and well grown. We were impressed

be the enthusiasm of the dairy manager, agronomist and other people involved with the buffalo.

Because it is an organic operation, the emphasis is on alternative remedies and prevention so our

discussions ranged from making good compost, fertilising pastures, alternate remedies and much

much more.

It was refreshing to be able to also bring them information from our travels such as availability of

bull semen from Italy & other useful information.

From England we flew to Sofia, Bulgaria, and from there we were heading to Shumen and the

Buffalo Department at the Agricultural Institute. Shumen is about 350kms north west of Sofia.

As we emerged from customs, we were met by Dr Pencho Penchev who is one of the Buffalo

researchers at the Institute. He travelled from Shumen that morning and was going to escort us to

Shumen. Thank Heavens (and Professor Peeva) for organising this English speaking knight in

shining armour. The start of our problems was that we needed two taxis to take us and our luggage

to the bus station, much to the amusement of everyone standing around us. The taxis are really

small & are gas powered so the boot space was non-existent. We were quickly loaded onto a bus for

a three and a half hour trip to Shumen. Only, the gods were not smiling on us and the bus developed

engine troubles so a replacement bus had to be sent from Sofia after only about 45 minutes into the

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trip. Unfortunately, despite starting our trip in daylight, full of eager anticipation of seeing the

beautiful Bulgarian country side, most of the trip was undertaken in the dark and we made it to

Shumen about 11PM that night.

Next morning, Professor Peeva, Head of the Shumen Agricultural Institute, arrived to go over the

itinerary that had been planned for our visit We had an easy day the first day, full of sight-seeing

and enjoying some wonderful Bulgarian sights & learning some of the local history, definitely a

highlight of our trip.

The Institute is involved in selection and breeding systems for the newly recognised (since 2002)

breed of Bulgarian Murrah Buffalo, a number of hybrid pigs and sheep for both meat, milk &

fleece. It then follows that researchers are involved in developing various nutritional systems and

breed various varieties of crops.

The Institute is then involved in extension work encouraging uptake of new ideas within the

farming community. As with any country, Bulgaria has a diversity of farmers, some more willing

and able to embrace new thinking and put into practise then others. There are extensive farms and

small farmers with small herds farming very much in old or traditional styles. We were given a

presentation of the activities of the Institute & the amazing work they are doing for their country.

We were very fortunate to meet some of the researchers with so much vision for the future of

Agricultural Production in Bulgaria. We have learnt so much about how you can communicate with

gestures, smiles and sketches

Our trusty collection of photographs and the article of Buffalo in the Australian Outback magazine

allowed us to make an impromptu presentation on buffalo farming in Australia and in particular our

plans for the future. We were also able to show them video footage taken of the Bulgaria Murrah on

Vancouver Island, a herd that they didn't even know existed until we told them. This generated

much interest.

Then onward to inspect the Institute farms. It is the peak growing season and there is grass

everywhere. We were struck with the age & condition of the buildings housing the animals & some

of the conditions animals are kept in, which was shocking to our Australian ideals. However, we

found it hard to ascertain any production results of the animals. The particular researcher at the farm

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did not speak or understand English so we relied totally on Dr Pencho to translate for us and

inevitably a form of Chinese whispers always happens.

It was not the calving season so the calf hutches were almost empty. Calves are separated from the

mothers after a day and housed in hutches and fed milk replacer and then a grain mix. We saw

weaners being reared on a totally mixed ration. We can understand why the animals are much

slower to mature then in Australian. The farmers do not have much modern machinery to work with

to increase production or productivity. However, the quality of the green chop being fed to the cows

should have resulted in good production.

The cows here were milked in tie stalls and only allowed into yards for a short period each day.

They were very quiet and curious (as are most buffalo) and come to the fence to be patted. The

mature cows were big framed with nicely constructed udders. There were typical Murrah cows.

They are trying to pursue our unanswered questions about production statistics etc by email but at

time of writing this information was still not to hand.

We also visited two other Bulgarian farms where we were impressed with their cows. These cows

were pasture fed and managed by herdsmen with their dogs. There are no fences to keep them under

control and they are housed at night. Consequently they are very quiet and we found ourselves able

to walk among them without fear as the cows vied for attention. The pasture was similar to some we

might grow in parts of Australia consisting of vetch, red & white clover and a grass I did not

recognise. There wasn't any AI practised and they rotate Bulls with their neighbour. The next farm

we visited.

One interesting fact was that the animals were allowed into adjoining National Park to help keep the

weed growth down. We were told that they weren't “supposed” to be in there but were allowed in on

the quiet as when they buffalo were kept out of the Park the weeds had invaded. This is only

possible because the herdsmen have the animals under strict control.

Both farmers are considered to be progressive. They certainly grow good crops and the animals

were impressive in type with well shaped udders and teats for machine milking. They were run on

hilly country similar to our own. The soil type was different though, with good water holding

capacity.

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On the second farm the cows had been in a wallow so we were definitely limiting our patting to the

less muddy ones. These were also big framed cows who were very tractable and obedient to their

herdsmen. These were very similar type to the previous herd, obviously because of the genetic/bull

swap that happens. The owners obviously make a good living from their cows and what is amazing

is the amount of labour available. Bulgaria does not have the same infrastructure/technology

available to test for individual cows' production.

We also visited another farm essentially a cow dairy, now being expanded into buffalos. New shed

had been built and the buffalos were housed in them. This enterprise was very large and had modern

tractors and implements and there seemed to be plenty of labour. There were some beautiful dairy

cows but I did wonder about the prevalence of mastitis with the cows laying in muddy surrounds.

The calves were all housed in single hutches and were of varying breeds.

Much of the travelling time in the car was spent discussing what we had seen with Dr Pencho as he

knew the enterprises well.

We will be eternally grateful to staff at the Institute who made it possible to see some very special

tourist attractions linked to Bulgarian history. It is an absolutely beautiful country to visit at that

time of year, with red poppies, yellow buttercups and white daisies everywhere. The canola was in

bloom so the contrasting colours with crops and ploughed ground was breathtaking.

Although we could not obtain much of the information we had hoped for we will continue to remain

in contact, Facebook does have it's uses. We have so much in common in crops, climate etc etera,

the exchange of information would be most advantageous and we already have so much to think

about.

The following paragraph was emailed to me from one of our Bulgarian friends in an effort to make

us understand why they can not answer our questions. I have copied & pasted the e-mail in its

entirety here as way of explanation about the lack of forthcoming information.

“You might have misunderstood our hesitation about the actual milk performance of our

buffs as unwillingness or mal information but it’s so because milk yield varies so much

depending on forage resources and decision making (the farm is legally no longer under our

jurisdiction), which in turn depend on financing (the economic situation in the country is not

rosy, you have noticed). The farm was founded in the past as a state social enterprise to

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serve the research regardless of its profitability (an abstract term) and till some years ago

allowances from high office did keep rolling in, while now it’s striving to be financially

stable stepping firmly on unstable base. So sometimes our recommendations are futile. (It

might seem quite baffling to you but imagine what it is to us) That’s why what Prof. Peeva

told you appears to be most relevant to our herd – genetic potential in the range of 1800-

2000 kg per 305-d lactation.”

Special mention must be made here to all our new friends from Bulgaria. While we were impressed

with their plans, we were overwhelmed with the care & thought they had put into our visit. Our

visit, was planned down to the last detail (except the rain) and we were so well cared for. Our

greatest desire is to return the favour one day and have our new friends visit Australia in the next

couple of years.

Our next stop was Northern Italy. As we flew across “ragged mountain ranges” from Sofia to Milan

the clouds cleared aside and we could see the agriculture of northern Italy including the extensive

amount of flood irrigation. Many of the fields are too small for centre pivots and the soil types tend

to be suitable for flood irrigation. I have learned such a lot from our travels other then just about

buffalo.

Our hosts in northern Italy was COFA AI Centre. When we met Mattia Casali in Argentina he

invited us to visit northern Italy and the COFA facility, explaining that there is a vast difference

between the north and south of the country. One of the best decisions we made on this trip was to

take him up on his offer.

We were to visit a farm here that was large, the manager was very visionary and we were made

most welcome. Once again our photos and article were our passport to animated discussions &

sharing/exchanging of ideas.

This farm is home to some beautiful high producing cows used in an AI breeding program. They

practise AI extensively with 85-90% success rate (average of 2.5 cycles to successfully AI a cow).

A bull is just used to “mop up” on cows who aren't receptive to AI or who have had a previous

prolapse as these cows can't be inseminated. The vets have the technique down to such a fine art

that they can tell from which horn the ovum is coming and direct the semen to that horn.

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However, the first service success rate is not particularly successful. I noticed cottonseed in the

feed mix and we discussed possibility of it causing lowered fertility. This visit was very interesting

and productive as the vet was in attendance doing the AI. This farm is also a partner in the work

being done on embryo transplants. The are very committed to the health and wellbeing of their

animals. Very good records are kept and individual production is recorded. The oldest cow in the

herd is 20 years old, and yes, she is still milked.

A separate but related company manufactures ice-cream, yoghurt, mozzarella & is experimenting

with other products. The ice-cream is probably the best I have ever tasted. This gentleman had

many ideas for promoting buffalo products throughout the world, especially the high end of the

market. They are so close to the European markets for export to other countries.

We then visited the semen collection centre. It is a specialised place and we were shown the

process of preparing, testing & storing the semen, as well as being able to meet the bulls whose

semen we have imported for our cows. As everything is in quarantine so they can export

throughout the world, we felt very privileged to be shown the whole set-up. By law, the buffalo

bulls have to be kept in a separate area away from the dairy bulls although all semen is processed

through the same facility. We were taken into the lab & were introduced to the microbiologist who

processes the semen & who is responsible for the testing and quality control.

They do not store semen for long periods, although by Italian law semen must be held for at least 30

days after collection before it can be distributed off the premises. When a order comes in, they milk

the animals ordered and process the semen. If the bull has not been used for a time the first

escalations are automatically discarded as the semen quality is not favourably for processing.

When the semen is brought to the lab it is tested and discarded until it reaches a certain quality

benchmark. After every step in the freezing process the semen is tested for quality. If it does not

meet the required standard it is then discarded. Only after being frozen & a sample thawed for

retesting the following day for quality control it is finally ready to be dispatched. Every month the

bulls are tested for disease so they can meet the health standards of the countries throughout the

world. I am sure that COFA's attention to detail is the reason we have had the success in obtaining

pregnancies with their semen.

It is exciting that they are well on their way to releasing sexed semen for sale. They are testing and

retesting to be able to assure their potential clients of success. The visit to Northern Italy was a

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highlight. We were able to soak up so much information & ideas. The exciting news is that COFA

management was able to confirm to us that globally the interest in buffalo is increasing based on the

new markets opening to them.

From Cremona, we did a quick trip into Switzerland to stay with our cheesemaker's brother & his

family on a Swiss dairy farm & also to visit a buffalo diary in Switzerland. What a joy to visit a

country where their farmer are highly valued. Where effluent is spread on pasture right up the the

edge of sportsfields (literally 5 metres from buildings) on the edge of towns and no one bats an

eyelid. Our hosts can still sell raw milk from a self serve refrigerated dispenser in town. We were

staying on a 50 acre property with Brown Swiss cows yeilding an average 7,000 litres. Next to the

house we were staying in (again, literally metres away) was a sheep dairy we were able to visit.

There are signs up on some dairies inviting visitors to come in and have a look.

On our way this visit the Buffalo Dairy we stopped at a kitchenware shop and purchased a skimmer

pan and on to the Gruyerre cheese Factory. The have set up a huge tourist enterprise at the factory

and we were able to observe the making of this specialised cheese. This is interspersed with a visit

to a chocolate factory (a must if you visit Switzerland).

We found the buffalo dairy when we saw the black animals lying in the sun on the side of hill. The

dairy shed itself is on the side of the road (as are many in Switzerland). To move animals across the

road, coloured ropes are strung across the road, the cars stop, the cows walk across, ropes are taken

down, cars proceed as normal. I have video to prove it). In fact, the effuent tank was under our feet

when we walked down the footpath. There are three Buffalo dairies in Switzerland. We were

fortunate to visit this one as they had progeny milking with the same sires as we have been using

semen from. Once again, our photos were our passport to an invitation onto the farm. A Canadian

born neighbour enthusiastic about buffalos assisted in our information sharing. Their product is

turned into yoghurts, cheese and desserts in a factory about 500 metres up the road. It is a nice

story behind this fact. Apparently the cheese factory had closed down and the producers had to

send their milk further away for processing. However, the factory has reopened solely to process

the buffalo milk. The products are definitely quality and the farmer has no trouble on selling. Like

many buffalo farmers, this gentleman was very enthusiastic and eager to share information and

ideas.

After three crowded days it was back onto Milan, on a plane to Rome, a quick transfer to the

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Railway Station and by train to Creasata in Southern Italy. Our hosts were the National Italian

Buffalo Association. Professor Giuseppe Campanile, who we had hosted in Australia was

determined we should see as much as possible about the Southern Italian Industry.

Consequently our guides arrived at the hotel at 8 o'clock in the morning and we set off driving

through the Italian countryside.

Our first stop was a very large complex where a lecture was being delivered to students on

classifying buffalo cows for type. We all had to don plastic overshoes as a measure of disease

prevention. Because of the warmer climate, the buildings are more open and airy and the space per

animal is larger. This farm practises flood irrigation. I was also able to speak to their agronomist

about balancing nutrients in the soil with the amount of compost returned to the paddocks. There is

a large swingover herringone diary with the cows cooled with overhead and ground level sprinklers.

Calves are removed from mothers on the first day and fed milk replacer in separate pens for 6

weeks before being placed in pens with other calves.

We then proceeded to a large Restaurant serving buffalo meat for a gathering of members of the

society and presentation of some certificates. The meal was 4 courses, each course was a different

buffalo product. This lasted all afternoon and our questions were reserved for our guides on the

way home. I have requested a copy of the score sheets and confirmation guidelines in English so

we can be sure the notes we made are right.

The next day we were out early again to visit a specialist Mozzarella Cheese Factory. We were very

fortunate to have had the manager personally take us through the factory, not just in a viewing glass

room. Because I was familiar with the process it was quite easy to understand. In the lab they were

quite astounded at the higher standards we have to meet in Australia for “Safe Food”. We also saw

Ricotta being made. Something I had not seen before.

This factory is supplied by four big farms. The milk is sampled and tested before being pumped

into the silo for processing and the starter etc adjusted accordingly. Product from this factory is

exported across Europe and some to Australia. Interestingly, consumption of Mozzarella is seasonal

in Italy so the export business is very important to them.

The enterprise also had an abattoir We were told the milking herd was reduced as there had been a

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rise in kill numbers. We presume that this is part of a reduction in animals testing positive to

Brucellosis. Some farms are attempting to eradicate it from the herds although the government met

a great deal of resistance when it tried to make it mandatory.

Fresh buffalo mozzarella is on sale in every small shop. It is advertised on the side of the road

everywhere.

We also visited the ultimate in tourist ventures. This is a purpose build complex. The animals are

housed in a very large open barn, divided into 4 sections. They were milking 200 cows, 50 cows to

each section. The centre of the animal house has a large office and viewing platform in the centre.

From here you can view the cows being milked by 4 robotic milkers. The cows enter when they

feel like being milked. If they try to enter the milker in under 7 hours the door opens and they are

let out again. If they do not enter within 12 hours the computer program notifies the attendants (a

pops up on a computer screen) who go to check the cow to see what is wrong.

This complex has a manufacturing section making cheese (primarily mozzarella). This process can

be viewed through a huge observation window and we were fortunate enough to be offered some

fresh mozzarella straight out of the brine. This is sold through a retail shop a couple of metres away

that also sells ice-creams, yoghurts, mousse and other buffalo products.

They also sell the most beautiful leather goods made from buffalo hides. The promotion of buffalo

hides & leather products from buffalo hides was not something we saw anywhere else so it was

very interesting to see how they did it.

Besides the discussion on the composition of buffalo milk, seeing a robotic milker for the first time,

the contentment of the cows as they waited to be milked, it was an good the many facets that can be

made in a buffalo enterprise. Suffice to say there had been an considerable amount of money

invested but it was certainly busy and obviously very successful.

We also visited another large farm wich was being further expanded. Besides the milk provided,

this business grows out male calves for slaughter at 15-18 mths, weighting roughly 450kg

liveweight. They are fed a grower ration and they to another shed where they are put on a finishing

ration. They were very good quality animals that we would like to supply to the restaurant trade in

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Australia. They have extensive calf rearing facilities, first in single cages and then using automatic

feeder in pens. Each animal is equipped with a collar so records are kept of feed consumed by each

calf. They factor in a 5% calf mortality rate.

From here we went back to the association headquarters to meet the Director. Here were pored over

production results, testing of bulls available for semen and their heritages. Once again our photos

came to the fore. We received advice on which bulls were considered highly rated. However, one

thing perturbs me a little is the closeness on some of the breeding.

That concluded or study of Buffalo in Italy. It was very fruitful but more then that, it is the contacts

we have made that will enable us to access more information.

And so to a day in Rome (coincidently it was Italy's national day), some very quick sight-seeing,

trying to crowd in as much as possible. Then on the plane to start the journey home, via Hong

Kong. After flying through the night to look out the window as we came over the Gulf of

Carpentaria was special.

Perhaps the most important outcome of our trip was the contact we have made and will continue to

keep up. Not only will our enterprise benefit and the Buffalo Industry in Australia but the networks

formed and ideas exchanged will benefit buffalo production through many countries.

Since our return, I have written a number of articles, spent time on the phone to other buffalo

breeders and will continue to do so. But most of all at the present time it is important to maintain

our contacts overseas and collect other information we had missed asking at the time. We crowded

so much into 6 weeks, it is almost unbelievable.

My thanks to the Churchill Trust for the opportunity it gave us. I will be eternally grateful for the

chance. To the staff of the Trust and all involved in the planning and travelling, my heartfelt thanks.

Conclusion

In conclusion it is obvious that although the industry in Australia is only small at present those

practitioners here are on the right track with their versions of the industry.

We can avoid mistakes that have been made in other countries and make use of their advances.

There is much to be gained from the continued work with contacts we have made and exchanging

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information. In many countries, a great deal of money is being invested by people who believe

buffalo products have a bright future especially at the upper end of the market.

Suffice to say there will always be two streams of buffalo farms. The villages in south east Asian

countries where buffalo have always been a large part of the system and the very commercial side

of more developed countries.

It is important that the genetic diversity of the various breeds be maintained. There is strenght in

the way buffalos have evolved over hundreds of years to meet the conditions of their habitat and

this needs to be preserved.

We have come home with a great deal of knowledge abut a small number of countries with buffalo

compared to the millions around the world. These countries such as Italy and Bulgaria are the

countries we import semen from.

The Congress allowed us to get a perspective about buffalo uses and breeding in other countries and

widened our horizons. Reading about buffalo in other countries in books or on the internet does not

replace face to face contact and discussion.

Some recommendations are that

I. we continue to expand our register of animals in the process of being able to establish

Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) for our sires.

II. That the register be expanded to include buffalo form other countries eg. Canada.

III. We must be careful to monitor the pedigrees of the sires we use to ensure we do not

inbreed as we saw some examples of this overseas.

IV. That our breeders continue to work together to develop well bred productive animals

that have their attributes recorded. This could open up overseas markets for breeding

animals as the world wide industry expands. As a country with a clean green image this

could prove quite lucrative. All producers need to maintain the highest standards and

meet all legislative requirements to develop an industry respected throughout the world.

V. Further research into the composition of buffalo milk and promotion of the health giving

properties as an alternative to other sources of dairy products/

VI. Further research, development and promotion of meat and other by-products would be

very beneficial to the Australian industry. Further work on promoting & supplying

products to Australia's ethnic population would be financially rewarding, provided the

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industry and the ethic community work together to resolve animals welfare issues. For

example, Halal slaughter requirements.

Some Contact Details & Information

www.fairburnwaterbuffalo.com – Fairburn Water Buffalo, The Archer family - Darrel, Anthea,

Maryann and Richard

www.bufaladivermont.com Buffalo Vermont, now in Quebec Canada.

http://ontariowaterbuffalo.com/index.htm Martin and Lori in Ontario

http://www.blenheimpalace.com/ Blenhein Palace, birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill

www.puddledubbuffalo.co.uk. Puddledub in Scotland

www.langthornes-buffalo-produce.co.uk. The Langfords' farm in England

www.laverstokepark.co.uk Laverstoke Park website

www.cofa-it.com CoFA, supplier of Buffalo Semen.

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