Diversity has been the key to success for Michael Wohlstadt’s farming enterprise at Lyndoch in South Australia’s Barossa Valley — but he’s known as The Dairyman for good reason.
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Recently named Producer of the Year at the 2025 Delicious Harvey Norman Produce Awards, Michael said his adherence to traditional mixed farming had kept him in good stead for 45 years and counting.
However, dairying was his first love, and it’s still the core of his business, even though his 20 Jerseys might be one of the smallest commercial herds in the country.
The farm has a lot more than cows and Michael advocates the value of farming that produces food by farmers adding value to their production, whether it be with cows, pigs, mushrooms, vineyards or adding on B&Bs.
“I used to milk cows to sell milk as a commodity to a processing factory, but about 15 years ago, I shifted across a different model,” he said.
“Typically, farmers don’t produce food — they produce a commodity — but nothing leaves here as a commodity; it’s all converted to food.”
Michael farms on 32 hectares of alluvial flats in a secluded valley at the foothills of the Barossa Ranges.
When he bought the property, it was a grazing farm turning off 200 lambs a year.
Today, along with the cows, about a quarter of the land is dedicated to vineyards, there are about 80 free-range pigs, a small herd of vealers, an oyster mushroom enterprise and two B&Bs.
“When I moved to the Barossa when I was about 12, mixed farming was very common, but it has gravitated to a monoculture — either vineyards or hill country grazing,” Michael said.
“What I’m doing is very atypical, but the mix has worked well for me.”
However, it all stems from dairy.
“Dairy is the centre of everything,” he said.
When he was starting, Michael’s main interest was milking cows and he has stuck with Jerseys over the years.
“I like their higher butterfat content, but for me, it’s a bit like, why do people follow their favourite football team?
“My first exposure to milking cows as a young teenager was with Jerseys and you become committed to them.”
Keeping with his traditional farming methods, Michael milks the cows in a four-stand walk-through milking machine.
“It’s very old-school,” he said.
“Everything we do is old-school. Our way of farming and scale is designed to take people back at least 50 years.”
With such a small herd, the old walk-through is sufficient for his needs.
“It’s in a shed that I built about 40 years ago and the stand was second-hand when I bought it.”
Milking is done in about an hour, with Michael still handling the task at age 68.
He calves year-round, using AI and a home-grown bull for the heifers.
He breeds for type and well-attached udders with good teat placement that leads to good production.
The herd peaked at about 40 cows when he started and was selling milk as a commodity. Today, he just needs to produce enough to make his home-grown products.
About half the land is dedicated to the dairy cows.
It’s mostly dryland, but with some irrigated pasture which has been helpful over recent years.
The cows are producing strongly, averaging about 6000 litres, about 300kg of butterfat per lactation and about 240kg protein.
After the switch to home-grown produce, he makes butter and cream, butter milk and has recently expanded into Italian cheeses — ricotta, stracciatella, mozzarella and buratta.
The male dairy calves are taken to veal.
The pigs — a mixture of heritage breeds, Berkshire, Hampshire and Tamworth — are raised on a combination of whole milk, skim milk and whey.
“It’s probably the only milk-fed pig herd in Australia,” Michael said.
All animals are treated with respect.
“There’ s a very close connection to the animals,” Michael said.
“They’re not just a number; they all have a name and they have personalities.
“You’re better able to care for them if you know them as individuals.”
Continuing to evolve the business has kept farming more interesting for Michael and he has deliberately continued to build up diversity and scope of the product offering to justify employing people.
Michael describes the venture as “non-industrial farming”.
“Farming in the modern world can be tough,” he said.
“Prices aren’t great, costs are high and climate is a challenge and some of the results of that work is either a weight bill for something delivered or a transaction in a bank account.”
Michael prefers the independence and personal touch that comes with producing food compared to a commodity.
“I deal with chefs and get feedback from them so I can deliver the product they are looking for,” he said.
“I go to two farmers’ markets and have a strong following of regular customers and they keep me up-to-date with how they cooked last week’s purchases or how their dinner party was fabulous.
“There are two values that come from this — the enhanced financial uplift that comes from controlling all steps in the process and the non-monetary benefit in the association, connection and feedback from the work you put in.”
Michael has no plans to retire and will continue his traditional farming styles and aim to maintain the right scale and mix and quality.
“A lot of foods have lost their flavour, taste and appeal, and that’s largely a result of industrial scale production.”
The Producer of the Year award, nominated by chefs, is a career highlight for the veteran farmer.
He hopes the award shines a light on alternative farming pathways and encourages other farmers to consider making their own product.
“It’s not for everyone and you don’t have to convert everything you do, but it could be complementary to commodity production.
“It’s an alternative that’s worthwhile looking at for farmers.”