‘They’re beautiful animals’ - Boyanup couple follow farming dreams

When talking to Boyanup dairy farmers Carina and Matthew Telder about their goats, their faces light up. It is clear the couple, who came to farming later in life, have a passion for life on the land. After spending many years travelling around the country following different career paths – Carina as a pharmacist and in business management and Matthew in earthmoving, small business, book keeping and animal husbandry – the West Aussies bought the 44ha property in North Boyanup they and their two children have called home for a decade. They began breeding Boer goats for meat, but in 2016 an opportunity arose for them to start a dairy. And they took it. “We were approached by someone who knew somebody who was selling dairy goats,” Carina said. “So we decided to research it and look at the viability of it. We had dairy goats ourselves for a number of years before that so we knew the health benefits of the milk, so we really wanted to be able to get it out there to more people and make it more mainstream.” To stay on budget, they also purchased the equipment from the farmer selling up and designed a unique dairy using shipping containers – one of which is a dry storage and the other the milk room. The two are connected by a cyclone roof, with the milking platform underneath. At their peak, the couple – who run Scapegoat Dairy with their daughter Jordan – were milking 80 goats a day, producing 200L of milk which was bottled and made into a range of products on-site. They have since received several accolades for their wares, which they sell locally at the Boyanup Farmers Market and stores in Bunbury. However, it has not been without its hurdles, with dry winters, troubles breaking into the market and the coronavirus pandemic causing them to “take a big step back”. There are now just 42 goats on the property, none of which are being milked. “Operating costs were going up and on top of that we had nearly three years of quite ordinary winters,” Matthew said. “So we had to start buying a lot more feed than originally planned so that started to hurt. “The capacity of our equipment is 700L a day. But it all comes down to having somewhere to send it and that has been the toughest part, finding that outlet for enough product daily. “We’ve got the capacity to go back up, all it’s going to take is 12 months of breeding and we’re back up,” Carina said For now, the farmers are focused on managing the health of the herd – the majority of which are saanen but also includes British alpines and toggenburgs – and monitoring the 13 does kidding this season. And helping them look after the mums and bubs are their two guardian maremmas Jay and Snow. Despite the challenges, the Telders have “absolutely loved” working with their dairy girls, calling many by name as they walk through the paddocks. “I love it,” Matthew said. “You can stand at the gate and call them and they just come. Most times in the morning I just walk out, they walk in and I close the gate behind them so there’s no stress at all. They’re very intelligent.” While production has come to a halt, they have also turned to an alternate income stream, hosting ‘Goat Yoga’ during kidding season. Looking ahead, they hope to begin milking again in November and finish the year with their products once again available for the community.