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CapitalPress.com
Friday, April 2, 2021
People & Places
Just add water buffaloes
By JULIA HOLLISTER
For the Capital Press
TOMALES, Calif. — In
2014, Audrey Hitchcock and
her husband, Craig Ramini,
were living their dream of
making mozzarella cheese
from their small herd of water
buffaloes. Their budding busi-
ness was growing and life was
good.
But their dream was shat-
tered when Ramini was diag-
nosed with Non-Hodgkin’s
lymphoma. Nine months later
he was gone. “I reopened a
month later at the request, and
with the support, of our cus-
tomers,” Hitchcock said.
They didn’t originally set
out to raise water buffalo, she
said.
“Craig always wanted to
do something creative, con-
tribute to society and to leave
something for his family,”
Hitchcock said. “There were
five things that were required
for a happy career: to be an
entrepreneur, to work out-
doors, to be unique, to work
with animals and to work with
food.”
Cheese seemed to be the
common denominator. But
Hitchcock and Ramini had to
decide what kind of cheese to
make.
Most cheese was not
unique, and they were not
interested in raising cows,
goats or sheep.
They settled on a rare type
of mozzarella cheese — the
kind made in Italy using milk
from water buffaloes.
They opened their unique
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AUDREY
HITCHCOCK
Owner: Ramini Mozzarel-
la Ranch
Location: Tomales, Calif.
Education: University of
Massachusetts and the
Architectural Association
School of Architecture in
England
CUESA
Audrey Hitchcock, owner and cheesemaker at the Ramini Mozzarella Ranch. She
makes the cheese with water buffalo milk.
dairy in 2009. “We began
with 5 water buffalo, a shoe
string budget and a big
dream,” she said. “By 2012
we were successfully selling
out of all the cheese we could
produce.”
Water buffalo milk is
richer in protein, higher in
butterfat and lower in cho-
lesterol than cow’s milk, she
said.
All the buffaloes on the
farm have names, and each
cow is milked once a day
for six days. Those no lon-
ger needed are given to var-
ious sanctuaries with greener
pastures.
“The margins for mozza-
rella are tough to meet, but I
am happy that I have water
buffalo,” she said. “I am
happy I have a cheese that
is hard to find and there is
not much competition, and I
am happy that I have found
other ways to make money
because mozzarella does not
make money.”
To supplement her income,
she offers tours of the farm
and does online fund-raisers.
“In addition to our Satur-
day tours where people can
experience this relationship
first hand and taste the cheese
we also host private tours to
culinary students who want
to learn more about ranch-
ing and cheese making,” she
said.
Hitchcock said her busi-
ness continues to grow.
In 2015, she had 30 ani-
mals and 6 restaurants as cus-
tomers, 1 part-time employee
and 1 wheelbarrow.
In 2021, she has 66 ani-
mals and 6 restaurants, 12
grocery stores and 6 farm-
ers markets as customers, 6
part-time employees, an ATV,
a truck and gives Saturday
tours.
Other ideas are in the plan-
ning stage: expanding the vis-
itor options and making other
products such as yogurt, but-
ter and ice cream.
“I don’t see the business
like most people in cheese
do,” she said. “I see the ani-
Occupation: Cheesemak-
er, water buffalo rancher
Website: https://ramini-
mozzarella.com/
Quote: “Our company is
not just about mozzarella
... it’s about the animal.
Water buffalo are loving,
healing, magnificent
animals.”
PULLMAN, Wash. — Demand
for the popular cheeses produced
by Washington State Universi-
ty’s creamery has remained strong
during the COVID-19 pandemic,
but the program has had to make
adjustments to comply with new
state regulations.
Among other requirements, that
meant employees and customers
have to wear masks and remain 6
feet apart, said John Haugen, cream-
ery manager.
Production was initially reduced
from eight to five batches of cheese
per week, as the creamery learned
how to spread jobs out and have less
people in the building. A batch pro-
duces 800 cans of cheese, Haugen
said.
John
Haugen
That was “signif-
icant,” Haugen said.
“We ramped back
up to seven per week
as summer went on
and we learned how
to work within the
guidelines laid out.
We just got back
to eight here in the
spring.”
In the ice cream shop, Ferdi-
nand’s, complying with the regula-
tions was “fairly doable,” as things
weren’t too busy, Haugen said.
The creamery made 12,000 gal-
lons of ice cream last year compared
to 24,000 the year before. No large
events such as football games, other
sporting events, new student orienta-
tion, camps or tours were held.
During the off-season, January
through August, the direct market-
ing department has a fairly small
staff, but it was kept busy as people
were ordering more online than in
past years.
Direct marketing sales made up
for reduced counter sales in Ferdi-
nand’s, Haugen said.
“We ended up with 41,000
hours of student labor compared to
46,000 the year before, mostly due
to decrease in production for a few
months,” Haugen said.
The program had planned to ramp
up production to 300,000 cans of
cheese in 2020, but wound up mak-
ing just over 250,000 cans, nearly as
much as in 2019, Haugen said. They
have reset the goal for 2021.
“The student employees have
been resilient struggling through all
this,” Haugen said. “We are proud of
their hard work and quality products
they produce.”
mal and experience as a mar-
ket for us to make money
and allow people to enjoy
the buffalo as much as I do.
They are humbling and heal-
ing creatures.”
Hitchcock has some sim-
ple advice for anyone con-
sidering cheesemaking as a
life’s work: “Make sure it’s
a decision based on passion
and lifestyle, not money.”
George Plaven/Capital Press
Jersey cows at the Oregon State
University Dairy Farm in Corval-
lis will be fed hemp biomass as
part of a research study, and their
meat and milk will then be tested
for residual cannabinoids such as
CBD or THC.
CORVALLIS, Ore. — Hemp is
already touted for its healthful and
therapeutic benefits in humans.
Researchers at Oregon State Uni-
versity are now studying whether the
plant could also be part of a nutritious
diet for livestock.
The project, which received a
nearly $300,000 USDA grant in Feb-
ruary, aims to determine whether
“spent hemp biomass” can be fed to
animals including lambs, chickens and
dairy cows, and whether any residual
cannabis compounds are present in the
meat and milk.
Spent hemp biomass is the leafy
byproduct left over after processing
hemp for cannabidiol, or CBD, oil,
which makes up the vast majority of
Oregon hemp production.
The research team, led by Massimo
Bionaz, has found this material is sim-
ilar in both appearance and chemical
composition to alfalfa hay, long con-
sidered the gold standard of animal
forages, especially for dairy cows.
“Personally, when they told me
about hemp, I didn’t even know what
the plant looked like,” said Bionaz, an
associate professor of dairy nutrige-
nomics at OSU. “The more we ana-
lyzed, we were really amazed by the
nutritive value.”
Rich in protein, fiber and minerals,
hemp biomass appears to have prom-
ise as a cheaper alternative animal
feed. It could also provide hemp farm-
ers with an added revenue stream,
turning what was a waste product into
a cash crop.
But therein lies the challenge,
Bionaz said — hemp is not currently
approved for animal feed by the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration. He
hopes their research will generate the
data needed for the FDA to take that
next step.
“The more I study the plant, the
more I see data, I get more enthused
about it,” Bionaz said.
The idea for the study traces back
to 2019, when OSU first established
the Global Hemp Innovation Center.
Jay Noller, the center director,
approached Serkan Ates, an assis-
tant professor specializing in sustain-
able pasture management, to discuss
TUESDAY-FRIDAY
APRIL 6-9
Idaho FFA State Convention
(online): This year’s convention will
be online. It is a four-day celebra-
tion of members’ leadership, per-
sonal growth and career success.
Details will be available online at
www.idahoffa.org/
SATURDAY APRIL 10
101st Annual California Ram
Sale: 9 a.m., 4500 S. Laspina St.,
Tulare, Calif. The California Wool
Growers Association will host the
101st Annual California Ram Sale
on Saturday, April 10, at the Inter-
national Agri-Center in Tulare, Calif.
Ram sale information, including
the sale catalog, schedule, lodg-
ing information and directions are
is available on the CWGA website
at www.californiawoolgrowers.org
To request a Ram Sale Catalog, con-
tact the CWGA office at 916-444-
8122 or info@woolgrowers.org
FRIDAY, APRIL 16
AgForestry Leadership Class
41 Graduation: 5 p.m. Red Lion
Hotel, Wenatchee, Wash. Cele-
brate the graduation of AgForestry
Leadership Class 41. This celebra-
tion was rescheduled from its orig-
ination April 10 date. Table spon-
sorships are available. Cost: $60/
adults, $20/child. Website: http://
agforestry.org/graduation-class-41/
FRIDAY-SUNDAY
APRIL 23-25
Oregon Ag Fest (drive-thru):
11 a.m.-5 p.m. Clackamas County
Event Center, 694 NE Fourth Ave.,
Canby, Ore. Join us for the Drive
Thru Ag Fest to experience the
incredible world of Oregon agricul-
ture, in a fun-filled, drive thru envi-
ronment, and leave our event with
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WSU
Washington State University’s
ice cream shop is a popular stop
among students and visitors to
campus.
whether processed hemp byproducts
could be fed to animals. Ates said
he was intrigued, and partnered with
Bionaz to examine the product’s nutri-
tional content.
What they found was hemp bio-
mass has roughly the same protein
content as alfalfa, and roughly the
same fiber content as barley. In some
attributes, Ates said hemp was nutri-
tionally superior to the traditional
feeds.
“There was this great potential,”
Ates said. “Many of the livestock
farmers, they are interested in some
sort of cheaper feed source.”
With those traits in mind, the team
worked up several proposals and
received more than 10 tons of donated
biomass from two Oregon-based
extractors.
Last year, Ates fed the material
to lambs for two months. Their diets
included a mix of 10% and 20%
hemp, along with a control group.
One question, Ates said, was
whether the animals would even eat
hemp. Not only did they eat it, but he
said the group that was fed 10% hemp
ate more than any other group.
CALENDAR
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To Place Classified Ads
OSU receives federal grant to study hemp as animal feed
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
Capital Press (ISSN 0740-3704) is
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Idaho
Carol Ryan Dumas ..............208-860-3898
Demand has remained high at WSU creamery despite COVID
By MATTHEW WEAVER
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an “Ag-venture” kit filled with activ-
ities, seedlings and more to con-
tinue the fun at home. The three-
day event, aimed to help families
better understand where their
food, fiber and flora come from, is a
unique learning experience, where
drive-by exhibits make learning
about Oregon’s vast agricultural
industry educational and entertain-
ing. Tickets are $22 per vehicle and
are available online at https://orag-
fest.com/
This year California FFA members
from all corners of the state will
have access to the premier leader-
ship event offered by our associa-
tion as it will be delivered through
a multi-faceted online platform.
The conference will be three days
jam packed with learning, growth
and inspiration. Website: www.cal-
aged.org
FRIDAY-SUNDAY
MAY 14-16
Natural Products Expo West
(online): Virtual presentations and
an online trade show focusing on
natural products and foods. Web-
site: www.expowest.com/
California FFA’s 93rd State
Leadership Conference (online):
MONDAY-THURSDAY
MAY 24-27
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Markets .................................................12
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CORRECTION
An article in the March 19
edition of the Capital Press
included an incorrect figure
for the increased cost of
shipping per container for
agricultural goods heading
for Shibushi, Japan. The cost
is $1,500, or a 50% increase
since December.
The Capital Press regrets the
error.
Correction policy
Accuracy is important to Capital Press
staff and to our readers.
If you see a misstatement, omission or
factual error in a headline, story or photo
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