Picture this: as a young child you visit your grandmother’s farm every week; looking forward to her delicious food and hoping you get to visit the cows. The crisp smell of an early morning hits your senses as you gather a bucket and walk through the dewy grass to get some milk. You greet the cows one by one and take in the fresh scent of a quiet farm that is slowly being warmed up by the morning sun. You walk back proudly and excitedly, offering Ouma the milk she needs to make the morning coffee and scrambled eggs. While this sounds idyllic, peaceful, and filled with nostalgia, not many people dream about becoming a farmer. However, for that young child, dairy farming became a lifestyle. It is not often that we get to see people live out their dreams, but for Freddie van Zyl, owner of Bracklyn Farm, his childhood dream of becoming a dairy farmer came true.
From a young age, he was fascinated by the cows on his grandmother’s farm. He would help milk them, take care of the land, and enjoy the fruits of his labour – one could say he was born with milk in his veins. After spending years on his grandmother’s farm, he decided to go to university and make dairy his life’s purpose. Once he finished university and returned home, he confided in his father that his dream was to become a dairy farmer in South Africa.