And by Christmas, providores could be stocking a new range of buffalo cheeses.

Preston farmers Phillip Oates and Sheridan Lee are building a dairy factory to specialise in buffalo milk products, including yoghurt, mozzarella, fetta, haloumi – and possibly ice cream.

Mr Oates said various cheesemakers had used milk from his animals to make a limited run of products during a milking trial in 2011 and 2012.

‘‘Some of the cheeses and stuff was really good, but a lot of them just didn’t know what to do with buffalo milk,’’ Mr Oates said.

‘‘Sheridan’s pretty good in the kitchen with it, so we thought instead of selling the milk to others, we’d go out on our own.

‘‘It’s a bit different – a lot more concentrated and thicker, which is good for some of the stretchy cheeses.’’

Mr Oates runs 56 water buffalo – believed to be Tasmania’s only commercial herd – with about 24 cows currently at milking maturity.

He has a specially-fitted milking shed with wider stalls and higher fences, given the buffaloes’ increased strength and touchy temperament.

‘‘I guess you’d be nervous too if you’d never been milked before and suddenly someone’s got a machine attached to you,’’ he said

He said he expects the cheesemaking operation to be in full swing before December.

‘‘We’re already selling the meat at farmers markets and to restaurants, so this is a good little value-add,’’ he said.

‘‘The beauty of the buffalo is that the whole animal is valuable – you can make a lot of money off the hides, skulls and bones, more than you can from beef cattle.’’

Mr Oates claims to have been the first person to bring commercial buffalo to Tasmania when he ran a farm at Oyster Cove in 1997.

‘‘I sat down and thought: what hasn’t anyone tried? What hasn’t anyone had their fingers burned by?

‘‘I was told the buffalo would never survive down here when I first ventured into it.

‘‘But [to get ahead] you’ve got to go something that someone else hasn’t tried.’’

Mr Oates moved the herd north five years ago to set up on 40 hectares at Preston, where he also runs cattle, sheep and deer.

‘‘They’re a funny animal, they generally keep to themselves, but they protect their young fiercely,’’ he said.

‘‘You couldn’t even be in the same paddock as some of them when they’ve got a calf.’’