Water buffalo farm meets guesthouse in the Cowichan Valley
Fairburn Farm is home to a couple dozen water buffalo, which provide creamy, fatty milk for yogurt and cheese
Almost 20 years ago when Anthea Archer and her husband were looking for new animals to keep on their farm in the Cowichan Valley, they came across a rather unique possibility — water buffalo.
They heard these animals — which first originated in Asia — were being milked for their dairy in England, so they travelled there and met with the person who first introduced the animals to that country.
"Within half an hour of visiting with him and his wife, we thought, 'Oh dear, this is what we want to do.' And we've never changed our mind," said Archer of Fairburn Farm.
The farm is now home to a couple dozen water buffalo, as well as a 19th-century farmhouse that is also a bed and breakfast.
A challenge at first
The first few years of running a water buffalo dairy were anything but smooth for the Archers.
Shortly after they imported a herd of water buffalo from Denmark in 2000, a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease was found in a cow in that country, and the Canadian authorities ordered them to destroy the animals.
For two years the Archers fought against the kill order, in a case that made news in both Canada and around the world.
Eventually they had no choice but to follow the rules. All the original animals were killed, but the calves were allowed to stay.
With that, they were able to start a new herd.
Fat, creamy milk
"Farmers don't give up very easily," Archer told North by Northwest host Sheryl MacKay.
Now their herd is thriving, and the dairy they collect from the animals goes to farms that make yogurt, as well as Natural Pastures Cheese Company in nearby Courtenay.
Archer said their milk has a high fat content, but is low in cholesterol.
"It's a bit like half and half, a creamy type of milk, because it's about eight per cent butter fat," she said.
"So it's beautiful on cereal, porridge … or coffee."
She said the animals can be quite stubborn, but "are just the most gentle animals that you will ever get to meet."
"They've all got a character and they look right at you. You can feel that you're having some sort of communication with them."
She added that many of those who visit the farm become infatuated with the creatures.
"A lot of people want to take the calves home with them, and I say, 'Well let's go look at the large ones first, they take up your whole living room," she laughed.
With files from CBC's North by Northwest
To hear the full story listen to the audio labelled: Water buffalo farm meets B&B in the Cowichan Valley