Just in - Touchwood Farm Fresh Goat Milk
As you know, we love getting behind small Tassie producers. Sonia and David Tomasson’s Touchwood Goat Dairy at Strathblane, about 48 km south of Huonville, is producing superb fresh goat milk for the Tasmanian market and we’re super excited to have it in store!
Sonia and David have a milking herd of about 30-40 LaMancha goats, a breed known for their beautiful mild-flavoured milk, and their hardy nature.
The Thomassons were hobby farmers since their early days and always kept goats. When they moved from Huonville to the far south about six years ago, they needed to be more self-sustaining, so started making and selling goat-related products like goat milk ice cream and goat milk soap, to enable them to work on the farm full-time.
They started selling their goat milk last year when they finally received approval (there were quite a few regulatory hoops to jump through) and it’s taken off. Sonia says the milk’s popularity is due to the very mild flavour of the LaMancha milk and the fact that many people with cow milk intolerance are able to drink goat milk without problems. It’s naturally easier to digest, and is lower in lactose, cholesterol and fat.
The Thomassons run their dairy as a small concern, producing single-origin milk in small batches. Ethical production is very important to them, and they use permaculture and Earth-kind practices on their farm. They’re able to use traditional methods of milk production due to their small size and their commitment not to push their goats in any way.
Sonia explains that kids are not taken away from their mums, unlike bigger factory-style dairies. Sonia and David milk them once a day rather than twice, so the kids get their share too and stay with the family herd. LaMancha goats have a long lactation of about three years without rekidding. The goats are free-range, foraging on native grasses and Tassie bush. Sonia and David don’t supplement their feed with pellets and only feed them some extra hay.
The milk is pasteurized and bottled on the farm, the day it’s milked. It’s not homogenised (which means the cream rises to the top) and there are no additives – just pure, natural milk as nature intended.
Sonia’s favourite product is the ice cream, which comes in many flavours, and the Cajeta caramel – both are fabulous on pancakes and waffles. And of course, the milk is great just for drinking – and makes a great frothy cappuccino too!
If you’d like to visit Touchwood Farm, sample some goat milk ice cream, cheese and milk, and meet these intelligent and curious goats, you can go along to their Farm Gate on Sundays at 10am.
Touchwood Farm Fresh Goat Milk, $6.99 per bottle, is now available at our Sandy Bay, South Hobart, West Hobart, Devonport, Longford, Blackmans Bay and Dodges Ferry stores.
