Camelot to grab specialty dairy market by the horns

    Five years after starting his dromedary camel dairy, Kyle Hendrix is preparing to corner what he says is another untapped market.
    Starting next month, Camelot Camel Dairy between Holyoke and Wray plans to add water buffalo milk to its menu of specialty dairy products.
    “It’s a different animal and certainly an intriguing animal,” Hendrix said. “It’s just a really niche market.”
    The farm is currently home to a herd of about 50 water buffalo, which Hendrix has been growing since last October. The planned operation would put Camelot among a small handful of U.S. dairies producing the milk.
    Water buffalo milk is one of the creamiest milks in the world, averaging between 8 and 10 percent fat content. By comparison, Jersey cow milk is about 5 percent fat. The composition of the milk makes it especially viable for making cheese and other dairy products like ice cream, which are derived from milkfat.
    Camelot has on-site facilities for producing cheese. Hendrix said the farm plans to use the milk for mozzarella, gelato and yogurt, and also has identified potential buyers of fluid milk in Texas and Wisconsin.
    Hendrix had thought about starting a water buffalo dairy even prior to opening the farm, and was finally inspired to do so after learning of a similar operation being run through Four Mile Correctional Center in Cañon City. The prison is home to one of the country’s largest herds of domesticated water buffalo and sells milk to Denver-based cheesemaker Leprino Foods.
    Camelot purchased its first seven buffalo from North Carolina in October 2017. In July, they bought another herd from a couple in Georgia, bringing the total to about 50 head.

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