Sheepmilk is a 'new milk' to North America, but it has been consumed for centuries in other parts of the world, such as Southern Europe and the Middle East. World famous cheeses such as Roquefort and Manchego, are made of sheep milk.
Canadians interest in these fine products has been growing steadily, resulting in an increased demand for these delicacies. Go to the specialty cheese stores or the counters of any large store in a big city and you will find a wide variety of cheese from all over the world to please your eye and palate. Farmers' markets often will also include an enterprising cheese maker, selling products crafted in his own licensed kitchen. The Province of Quebec has been supporting this sector of agriculture. This support is resulting in a wide variety of delicious full flavoured artisan and regional cheeses being sold into English speaking provinces with great success.
Many consumers, with milk intolerances, have turned to sheep milk as a viable alternative to other milks. Furthermore , many people believe sheep milk to be a better alternative to cows' as the milk is very digestable (it is used for premi babies when breastmilk is unavailable) and sheep themselves are seen to be 'less interfered with 'than cows; sheep graze grass and are not fed hormones to increase production.
There is also a move among thoughtful consumers to buy locally grown products, and many urbanities favour the continued existence and growth of the family farm, which, in their view, is based on a commitment to land stewardship and animal welfare.
The above mentioned ideas and trends all act as encouragement for sheepmilk production as they will enable us, producers to expand our existing niche markets for sheepmilk products. The milk can be used to make artisan and regional cheese which is so much in demand today. The production of cheeses, comparable in quality to the imports will entail the use of milk from several thousand ewes .
Imports of dairy products have increased by $20 million over the past four years alone, much of this being non cow milk (quota constraints limit imports), so much of this will be sheep and goat cheeses. It is believed that there will be room for about 70,000 dairy ewes producing 200l/lactation at today's level of demand. At 100 ewes per farm, this would enable 700 farmers to benefit from this growing domestic market. Current numbers are estimated to be about 50.
The signs at present are very positive for this sector: consumers are welcoming our development, more processors are making sheepmilk products and we, the sheepmilk producer have a bright future ahead.