The Letchford family have farmed in Busselton since 1957, when Ben Letchford’s grandparents purchased the property. Ben’s passion for dairy farming was passed down from his father, Len.

The Letchford family, operating Walsall Dairy, have been clients of Milne Feeds for many years.  Their herd is 25% Jersey and 75% Holstein Friesian, that peaks at around 100 cows. Their Jersey cows are a high-milk-solids producing herd, with Ben’s aim to grow their components and not their herd size.

With a focus on family and farming, Ben has chosen to seek alternative milk markets to make the business sustainable, instead of purely growing the size of the herd. With this is mind, they sell a portion of their milk locally, to the Wilde family at Cambray cheese.

Both the Wilde and Letchford families knew each other from the community, and the Wildes approached the Letchfords to supply them with cows' milk so they could produce Cambray cheese and support another local farm. With the milk supplied from Walsall, Cambray Cheese produces fresh cows' milk cheeses to complement their sheep's milk cheeses.

The Letchfords have supplied Cambray cheese with a portion of the milk they produce each week for approximately 10 years, and this has been a valuable part of their business.

Milne Feeds' pellets have enabled Walsall Dairy to feed their herd well, ensuring their cows produce milk to their maximum potential and they can supply high quality milk for both Cambray Cheese and their larger milk processor. For most of the year Walsall Dairy feeds Milne’s Maximize Plus, as the higher protein level allows their herd to maintain a high production of milk components, which is important when the milk is destined for cheese making.

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