Better Farming - December 2016

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Better Farming

December 2016

Unique eastern Ontario livestock operation

After the sale of their Ayrshire cattle and quota, water buffalo seemed like an ideal business venture for

this farming couple.

by JOE CALLAHAN

fter eastern Ontario dairy

farmer Martin Littkemann

accepted an unplanned offer

to purchase his herd of Ayrshires and

accompanying quota in 2008, he was

faced with a major question: what’s

next?

The answer emerged when his

brother and a friend, in separate

conversations, suggested farming

with water buffalo. When Littke-

mann’s partner, Lori Smith, coinci-

dentally mentioned reading a maga-

zine article about this type of

livestock, they decided to investigate

the idea thoroughly. The couple even

made a trip to Italy, where they

completed a two-week intensive

course on farming with water buffalo.

Ultimately, the couple established

Ontario Water Buffalo Co.

Located north of Stirling, the

company now has a staff of six, plus

Littkemann and Smith. Ontario

Water Buffalo Co. has about 500 head

of mostly Mediterranean water

buffalo. It ships milk to Quality

Cheese in Vaughan for processing

into a variety of cheese products, and

the buffalo meat is butchered and

packaged locally. Both the meats and

cheeses are sold at the Buff Stuff store

on the farm.

“We don’t want to be the biggest,”

says Martin. “Our mission is to

produce the best bred water buffalo

using the best methods available.”

And the best methods seem to

include nurturing an uncommon

intimacy with their animals. If you

mingle among the herd of buffalo

at Ontario Water Buffalo Co.,

you’ll be greeted by what appears

to be a mixture of curiosity and

friendliness.

Water buffalo grazing in the meadow at Ontario Water Buffalo Co. According to

Encyclopedia Britannica

, there are “74 breeds of domestic water buffalo.” In total,

according to the American Water Buffalo Association, there are approximately

180 million water buffalo in the world, about 100 million of which are in India.

Italy serves as a primary source for North American water buffalo, as well as

breeding and technology expertise because the regulatory environment is

similar to Canada’s. Most of Martin Littkemann and Lori Smith’s herd are Italian

Mediterranean.

Lori Smith with Yvette, the

farm’s mascot. Littkemann and

Smith take Yvette to festivals

and shows to demonstrate the

friendliness of water buffalo.

“People who believe you

shouldn’t name your animals

shouldn’t work with water

buffalo,” says Smith.

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