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CapitalPress.com
June 5, 2015
People & Places
Water buffalo milk makes unique mozzarella
By JULIA HOLLISTER
For the Capital Press
TOMALES, Calif. — When
Audrey Hitchcock and husband
Craig Ramini were looking for
new careers, making water buf-
falo mozzarella cheese was not
on the list.
“Craig was in software and
was good at what he did; but the
job was just a paycheck and he
wasn’t happy,” Hitchcock said.
“He wanted to do something cre-
ative, contribute to society and to
leave something for his family.
Most of all, he wanted to enjoy
his life.”
He decided five things were
necessary for a happy career: “To
be an entrepreneur, to work out-
doors, to be unique, to work with
animals and to work with food,”
Hitchcock said.
An interest in cheese emerged
from those criteria.
West Marin County is an
artisan cheese making commu-
nity, and there is a lot of support
for dairies. But Hitchcock and
Ramini had to decide what kind
of cheese to make. Goat cheese
was not unique and they were not
thrilled by the thought of raising
goats, sheep or cows.
Several weeks later, Hitch-
cock spoke with her brother,
who lived in Italy for years and
complained he could not get buf-
falo mozzarella in the U.S. That’s
when the idea hit: Use water
buffalo milk to make mozzarella
cheese. Plus, they figured, water
buffalo are as exotic an animal as
they could hope to raise.
“We both fell in love with
the idea and five months later,
Western
Innovator
Audrey Hitchcock
Hometown: Tiburon, Calif.
Education: University of
Massachusetts and The
School of Architecture in
England
Occupation: Cheesemaker,
water buffalo rancher, home
designer
Quote: “I believe the cheese
company is showing how
important animals are to the
planet, to society and to our
children.”
Julia Hollister/For the Capital Press
Audrey Hitchcock raises water buffalo in Tomales, Calif., and makes buffalo mozzarella from their rich,
high protein milk. Hers is one of the few such dairies in the nation.
in 2009, we bought the start of a
herd,” she said.
After some research they had
found two companies — one in
Vermont and one in Southern
California — that were closing
their doors because both had too
much overhead and too many
animals.
“Craig had extensive conver-
sations with the California firm
and bought five animals that for-
tunately were pregnant,” she said.
They also began studying the
businesses and compared failures
and successes. They decided they
needed to start small, get to know
the animals first and focus on the
product instead of immediately
ramping up the business.
Although Ramini went to
Canada and Australian to learn
cheesemaking he decided there
was something in his recipe that
wasn’t quite right. The New
York Times published an article
about the dairy, an Italian moz-
zarella cheesemaker saw it and
invited Ramini to come to Italy
and learn. That trip was a suc-
cess and a unique recipe result-
ed. Some Italian cheesemakers
use buffalo milk to make moz-
zarella.
Handling the water buffalo
can be a challenge.
“My animals can become
docile like dogs if they are treat-
ed well, so I use a gentler route to
milking,” Hitchcock said. “The
water buffalo does not like to be
rushed and if they come into the
barn and they’re not happy I will
have trouble getting the milk. So
I provide a reward.”
Hitchcock and a helper re-
unite the calves with their moth-
ers in the milking barn. The cows
are happy to get their calves back
so they are relaxed and the milk
flows.
Water buffalo milk is richer
in protein, higher in butterfat and
lower in cholesterol than cow’s
milk.
“An assistant helps me to
make cheese Tuesday and Fri-
day,” she said. “I separate the
curds from the whey and form
the prepared curds into balls and
sell the creamy cheese to markets
and restaurants throughout the
Bay Area.”
Sales are growing, she said.
In January of this year,
Ramini died of cancer, and now
Hitchcock handles the 40-head
dairy operation, the cheesemak-
ing, the weekly tours and sales.
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Trying to bring a tiller back to life after a long winter
By RYAN M. TAYLOR
For the Capital Press
T
OWNER, N.D. — As
I write this, I’m sur-
rounded by the strong
scent of gasoline and carbure-
tor cleaner, and enveloped in
an aura of frustration. Anyone
with a little intuition would
correctly identify this malady
as a small engine affliction.
I’m sure I’ve written about
this before. Chainsaws, lawn
mowers, generators — you
name it. They’re enough to
make you envy the exhaust-
ing, backbreaking days with-
out power-anything.
Actually, once you’ve
pulled the starting rope a hun-
dred times, it probably would
have been easier to do most of
the jobs by hand.
100 pulls for nothing
The job at hand is one I
usually enjoy, when things
Cowboy
Logic
Ryan Taylor
are working. It’s tilling the
garden. Turn the soil so
we can plant the seeds and
harvest the goodness. But I
can’t turn the soil if our tiller
won’t start.
The worst part is I just
bought this tiller last year.
I got tired of our undepend-
able $300 tiller so I went and
bought an $800 tiller. The
label on the side said “high
performance, easy start.” It
worked fine last year. We
probably ran the machine
a whole 10 hours. I even
stored it inside last winter.
I dumped out the old gas,
put in fresh gas, and stared
at that “easy start” decal
every one of the 100 times
I pulled the starting rope
before I came to the reali-
zation that my $800 tiller
wasn’t going to give me a
dime’s worth of satisfac-
tion.
I bought my first car for
$400 when I was 18 years
old. It was a beater, an old
American Motors Con-
cord. Nobody would call
it dependable, but it would
at least start and run (for a
while at least). Why can’t
an $800 garden tiller run as
good as that $400 car?
Good old days
I remember my parents
ordered their garden tiller
from the Montgomery Ward
catalog sometime in the late
1970s. They picked it up at
the catalog store in Rugby,
N.D., when it came in. It ran
like a top. It stayed out in the
garden covered with snow
every winter and started ev-
ery spring without a hassle.
I think we ran it for 20 years
and gave it to a friend who ran
it for another 10 years.
I’m not a mechanic but I
have a basic understanding of
how motors work, and I have
a few wrenches, so I talked
to a shop guy from the deal-
ership and he told me a few
things to try. The fuel pump
was fine, and the motor runs
when I pour a little gas direct-
ly down the throat of the car-
buretor under the air cleaner.
I suppose I could run it that
way, but it’s hard to operate
the tiller while balancing a
gas can and pouring it into the
motor to keep it running.
Expensive diagnosis
So I took the bowl off the
carburetor, I didn’t see any
water or gremlins in it and I
went to work with a “profes-
sional size” can of carburetor
cleaner. Clearly the only thing
professional about this opera-
tion was the size of that can.
Like the straight shots of
gas, the motor ran while I was
spraying the carb cleaner into
the outfit. Again, an unhandy,
and expensive, way to till a
garden. Rather than “profes-
sional size,” that would re-
quire the “absolutely fed up
last resort” size can of carb
cleaner.
The shop guy that I talked
with said I might have to get a
new carburetor. It only makes
sense to replace a major part
on an $800 tiller motor after
10 whole hours of operation.
In the meantime, I’m go-
ing to grab a spade and a hand
cultivator and start turning
the dirt so we can plant a few
vegetables. It would be a good
way for me to rest up before I
start pulling the rope on that
motor again.
New farm-based high school taking root in Utah city
By KATHY STEPHENSON
The Salt Lake Tribune
WEST VALLEY CITY,
Utah (AP) — To many peo-
ple, the farm is a just a place
to grow fresh vegetables, raise
animals and tend a beehive or
two.
But the creators of the new
Roots Charter High School see
the farm as a learning tool: a
way to teach students basic
subjects like math, science and
language arts as well as life
skills such as hard work, ac-
countability and “reaping what
you sow.”
“The goal isn’t just to cre-
ate farmers,” said 38-year-old
Tyler Bastian, the founder and
principal of Roots. “It’s to cre-
ate kids who have the tools
they need to accomplish what
they want in life.”
Rather than focusing on
skill-and-drill lessons, stu-
dents at Roots in grades 9-12
will tackle farm projects, work
in teams and solve problems.
And while some students
eventually may choose to run
a farm, their experiences also
are designed to prepare them
for college and possible de-
grees in science and environ-
ment studies, Bastian said.
Bastian and a board of di-
rectors have set up the school’s
classroom space in a West Val-
ley office park at 2250 S. 1300
West. But much of the learn-
ing will take place about one
block south on a 5-acre plot
that KSOP radio is letting the
school use, said Bastian.
While the start of the school
year is still a few months away,
Bastian, his staff and several
future students already have
been busy, clearing stones and
preparing the soil for planting.
“The farm adds authentici-
ty to what they learn,” he said.
“They can see in the real world
where those principles apply.”
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Calendar
www.FarmSeller.com
Wednesday, June 10
Friday, June 12
Oregon State University Exten-
sion Sherman Station Field Day,
7: .0 a.m., Sherman County
Forestry Shortcourse, 10 a.m.-1
p.m. West Bonner Library, Priest
River, Idaho, 208-446-1680. This
6-session program will help forest
owners understand ecology, silvicul-
ture, wildlife and other topics.
Extension, Moro, Ore., 541-
565-.2.0. Twelve speakers are
scheduled to talk on topics that
include wheat diseases and
screening for resistance, soil
pH and maximizing yields, soil-
borne pathogens and Clearfield
wheat trials.
Saturday, June 13
Rickreall Gun Show, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Polk County Fair Grounds, Rickreall,
Ore., 50.-62.-.048.
Frozen Assets: How we can and
Sunday, June 14
why we should save the world’s
frozen water, 7-9 p.m. Spo-
kane Valley Library, Spokane,
Wash., 509-94.-0705. In our
valleys, we are facing water
supply shortages that become
increasingly frequent as the
climate warms.
Rickreall Gun Show, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Polk County Fair Grounds, Rickreall,
Ore., 50.-62.-.048.
Monday, June 15
Purchasing and Owning Rural and
Small Farm Property Workshop,
5: .0-8:.0 p.m. Southern Oregon
Research and Extension Center,
Central Point, Ore., 541-776-
7.71. June 15, 22 and 29. Get
the facts about wells, septic
systems, zoning requirements and
limitations, special assessments,
water and soil needs, farm
product marketing restrictions,
water rights and more. Single
attendance for all three classes,
$45. Bring spouse or partner for
additional 50 cents. Register on
line at http://extension.oregon-
state.edu/sorec/farms. Topics:
(June 15) Land & Legal Consid-
erations; (June 22) Water, Soils,
Wells, Septic Systems; (June 29)
Find & Finance Rural and Small
Farm Property. Alternate registra-
tion option and/or questions, call
Paula, 541-776-7.71, ext. 208.
Friday, June 19
Forestry Shortcourse, 10 a.m.-1
p.m. West Bonner Library, Priest
River, Idaho, 208-446-1680. This
6-session program will help forest
owners understand ecology, silvicul-
ture, wildlife and other topics.
Wednesday, June 24
Importance of Beneficial Insects
on the Farm, 1-5 p.m., Southern
Oregon Research and Exten-
sion Center, Central Point,
Ore., 541-776-7.71. Instructor:
Gwendolyn Ellen, Integrated
Plant Protection Center, Oregon
State University. This class will
cover the basics of agricultural
biodiversity and how you can
increase it. Also covered will
be information on habitat and
practices Northwest farmers
use to keep beneficial insects
(including native pollinators) on
the farm. Class includes a tour
of flowering plants and beneficial
insects on the farm if weather
permits. Dress accordingly and
bring hand lens or insect net
if you like. Pre-registration is
required at http://extension.
oregonstate.edu/sorec/farms
www.AgDirectoryWest.com
Friday, June 26
www.youtube.com/capitalpressvideo
Forestry Shortcourse, 10 a.m.-1
p.m. West Bonner Library, Priest
River, Idaho, 208-446-1680.
Friday, July 3
Forestry Shortcourse, 10 a.m.-1
p.m. West Bonner Library, Priest
River, Idaho, 208-446-1680.
Friday, July 10
Forestry Shortcourse, 10 a.m.-1
p.m. West Bonner Library, Priest
River, Idaho, 208-446-1680.
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Index
California ................................ 8
Dairy .................................... 14
Idaho ...................................... 9
Livestock ............................. 14
Markets ............................... 16
Opinion .................................. 6
Oregon .................................11
Washington ......................... 10