Dairy farmers in New Zealand need to tap into the opportunities sheep milk products can offer, especially in Asian markets, according to a lecturer at Lincoln University
At Sheep Dairying Conference at Massey University in February 2015, farm management and agribusiness lecturer Guy Trafford said that with more than 30mn sheep, New Zealand should seriously consider sheep milk as a viable industry.
He also revealed that he was also putting his belief in the industry to the test and manufacturing ice-cream from sheep’s milk.
He said that interest in sheep dairying was growing amongst smaller farms looking to increase profits. However, the meat industry was slower coming onboard.
“At an industry level, New Zealand really needs to be looking offshore and export and probably into Asia where most of the markets are.”
He said that a low tolerance for lactose-type products, which can be common in Asia, can be dealt with using sheep’s milk.
“We think there’s going to be a rapidly increasing demand for high-end products like sheep milk, where they can enjoy them like the rest of us without having the negative effects of lactose intolerance.”
