Growing sheep milk industry bolstered by science

They provide quality sheep milk products to overseas markets, and a distinctive New Zealand dairy sheep breed, Dairymeade, has recently been registered.

In the past few months, new sheep dairy genetic material has been successfully imported into New Zealand for the first time since the 1990s, to add to the quality of the country’s stock and improving New Zealand’s ability to compete on a global scale.

At the 2017 Sheep Milk New Zealand Conference underway today in Palmerston North, scientists from AgResearch, Massey University, University of Otago and Callaghan Innovation are presenting the latest research into sheep milk, including science made possible by a $6m fund from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) - “Boosting exports of the emerging NZ dairy sheep industry”.

“While sheep milk - and products from it like cheese - may still seem an unusual concept to many New Zealanders, its qualities are already well recognised around the world,” says AgResearch scientist Linda Samuelsson.

“There are a number of pieces of research being presented at the conference that further underline the benefits sheep milk has to offer when it comes to nutrition and digestion, and how we can enhance milk production.”

“For example, in a study using rats we found that sheep milk made solids pass through the animals’ systems rapidly – which we’d expect would mean improved gut comfort, reduced constipation and general improvement for a sluggish gut.”

“In another study with rats, sheep milk proteins were more readily digested than cow milk proteins, with higher levels of essential amino acids. A further study shows a major waste stream from sheep cheese – whey – has the potential to be processed into a stable base ingredient for beverages or soup stocks under controlled circumstances.”

Associate Professor Craig Prichard, from Massey University, says aside from the health benefits, there is exciting potential for the development of innovative new sheep milk products such as cheeses.

“We know the sheep milk products have distinctive characteristics depending on what region of New Zealand they come from, so there is a real opportunity to develop some really distinctive regional offerings that you wouldn’t find anywhere else.”