Townsville farmer Brian Venten become first in north Queensland to sell raw goat milk
A Queensland farmer has become the first in the state's north to get accreditation to sell raw goat milk.
Ebuta Dairy currently milk 15 goats a day but plan to double production in the future (ABC News)
Brian and Jean Venten from Ebuta Dairy near Townsville started building a specialised dairy three years ago but it has taken until now to comply with strict safety regulations.
Mr Venten said the project started as a small hobby but grew into a passion.
"We bought some dairy goats and then decided, well we could make some money out of milk," he said.
"And it went from there and the more I got involved in it, the more I learnt what we had to do and it was a real challenge."
Raw milk for human consumption is a controversial product.
In Queensland, only goats milk can be sold as a raw product for drinking.
Mr Venten said they had gone through three years of food and safety testing to meet licensing guidelines.
"The testing protocols that Safe Foods Queensland have in place for us are really stringent and challenging," Mr Venten said.
"We do six tests [of the milk] every month and a half. We test for salmonella, we test for listeria, we test for campylobacter, we do plate counts, we do e-coli tests and coliform tests.
"So I know the milk we produce here has gone through a rigorous process so it's safe for human consumption."
'Biggest challenge will be keeping up with demand'
The Ventens have had to build their own dairy and packaging cool room at their property.
They currently milk about 15 goats each day but plan to double production in the future to sell 80 litres of milk daily.
Ms Venten said the commercial shift has been a challenging experience.
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"I don't think any of us realised the journey we were going to take when we started," she said.
"I most probably would have given up a long time ago if I had to be honest, I would have had a few pet goats and stopped at that point.
"I take my hat off to Brian because he's been the driving force behind it all the way.
"There are only three raw goat dairies in Queensland and ours is the first in north Queensland."
Ms Venten said there has already been an enormous response to their product and the biggest challenge of the future will be keeping up with demand.
"It's a niche area of the market and there's a lot of people who are into the natural organic side of food, eating and so on," she said.
"It's been a wonderful experience."
