Product: Organic farmhouse milk, cream, butter, and yoghurt
What: Dairy farmer Simon Schulz has spent the past few years making significant changes to his farm and dairy in Timboon, Western Victoria. His commitment to regenerative farming will see all his pasture sown with 21 different species by mid-2025, while his solar plant and heat reclamation systems are already complete.
Where: Timboon, Corangamite Shire, Wadawurrung and Eastern Maar Country
Who: Third-generation dairy farmer Simon Schulz
Simon, you’ve been busy.
I’ve been sowing the pasture with sunflowers, chicory, vetch, wheat, linseed, rye, and various clovers. The deep roots will support an underground expansion of beneficial insects and fungi all sharing nutrients. This results in healthier soil, healthier plants, and healthier cattle. The cows love the diversity and choose which plants to eat based on their nutritional needs.
What else have you been doing?
We need bees to pollinate some of the pasture species, so I have installed hives on the farm. Soon we will have our own honey-flavoured yoghurt. I’m planting a hectare of native trees each year to provide shelter and shade for the herd and the pastures. In 20 years, we will also have timber to harvest. I have also upgraded the milk-production process to make it smoother and chill the milk faster. People tell me they can taste the difference and that it has never tasted better.
You sell milk in glass bottles.
We recently filled our one-millionth glass bottle. These are returned to us for cleaning and refilling. No waste! We are also working on cardboard packaging that, if it can’t be recycled, will be composted on site.
Do you make any cheese?
While we concentrate on our organic milk, cream, butter, and yoghurt, we make some traditional quark, which we sell through our regular distribution channels. We also have a farm café in Timboon where we make soft white-mould cheese, Havarti, and feta, which we use in dishes alongside our well-loved scones, jam, and cream. In summer, we offer farm tours – come and see us at 23 Ford and Fells Road, Timboon.
And where do we find Schulz dairy products?
You can find our products at farmers’ markets and selected grocers, butchers, and food stores. For a full list, visit our website: schulzorganicdairy.com.au