Water Buffalo Dairy Farming in Northeast Florida

On a recent visit to Backyard Buffalo, the owner of a local micro dairy farm in Ponte Vedra, Punita Patel, talks about how she got her start in agriculture. As she holds a basket of eggs recently gathered, she laughs, then calls chickens her "gateway to farming.” Little did she know at the time that her first foray into raising backyard chickens -- along with a love of buffalo milk -- would eventually lead her toward a small micro dairy operation on four acres of wooded land in Northeast Florida. Today, four water buffalo, several sheep, a dozen chickens and a handful of bee hives later, Patel’s farm is slowly growing -- but quickly garnering a reputation for their unique buffalo milk and whey offerings -- yielding enough to make and sell a variety of products for local farmers’ markets each week. Things like blackberry pie yogurt, whey, ghee, cucumber raita and mango lassis have earned her a devoted customer base, and one that continues to grow, week by week. Get to know Punita, her daughters and Backyard Buffalo. Better yet, stop by to visit them each week at the Beaches Green Market from 10-2 pm on Saturdays at Atlantic Beach City Hall.