Country Life: Fernglen Farm's sheep dairy addition

"If people are willing to try milk from an almond then why not a sheep?"

That was the question Cameron Ravenwood put to his family over six years ago when they decided to add a sheep dairy component to their traditional sheep and beef farm operation in Wairarapa.

It's been a family affair ever since, with parents Jeff and Shirley, and sibling Ben and Baeley all involved in part of Fernglen Farm.

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While Cameron attributes the initial seed for the diversification to an article his dad had cut out about the growing sheep dairy industry, Jeff said it was Cameron's persistence that convinced him.

"Everyone really got on board with it and we've all become part of the team that's created the journey we're on now," Jeff told Country Life. "We were just really sold on the nutritional side of sheeps' milk."

Sheep milk is what is known as a "complete protein" source, this means it contains all 10 essential amino acids.

It also contains 60 percent more protein than cow's milk and is naturally A2, making it more easily digestible.

For the family it was also an opportunity to diversify operations on their 600-hectare hill country home block where they have been for nearly 30 years and also breed cows and finish bulls.

"We thought there was an opportunity to create a market and grow the industry, and at the same time restore or improve a lot of the profitability in the sheep industry that we've struggled with," Jeff said.

"The advantage of milking sheep is you still get the lambs and if the wool had any value you still get the wool off them."

The lambs are weaned from their mothers at about 40 days and then carry on the farm where they are finished.

They imported a 48-cup milking stand from Greece - though costly it was cheaper than the usual diary set up for cows. They also began sourcing a range of East Friesian, Poll Dorsets and some other crosses to create a milking flock.

The family hopes to get about 250 litres of milk from each ewe, milking between September to late March or early April.

This season they were milking about 350 ewes once a day which Jeff said was enough to keep up with market demand.

"We'd like to do more, scaling up to 800 or 1000 but at the moment it's just about where the market is."

Ewes fed barley grown on neighbouring farm down the year to give them a treat during milking, then it's onto fresh turnips and chicory or plantain out in the field.

Despite their success, Jeff says there were a few "raised eyebrows" from neighbours to start, though "people don't look sideways at us so much any more".

"Sheep milking has come and gone before but we thought this time it was here to stay. We thought New Zealand was ready for it."

One of the biggest challenges was convincing consumers of the many nutritional benefits of sheep dairy and of its taste.

"Now that we've been going for a while we certainly see a lot more people willing to try it," said Cameron.

When they started sheep milk was still relatively unknown by consumers here. Some didn't even realise that sheep could be milked, then naturally came questions about what it tasted like.

It's why they first started with a range of flavoured milks marketed largely as a sports recovery drink.

So, what does plain sheep milk taste like?

Cameron likens it to like full cream cow milk, with more nutritional benefits. He added it froths really well making it good for coffees, making it easy to transition.

"It's really high in protein and a lot of the key micronutrients, and also the key amino acids like the building blocks for muscle recovery."

Each week they produce about 2000 litres worth of sheep dairy products.

Milk is their main focus but their yoghurt has been growing in popularity and they've also introduced other products like yoghurts, labneh, and farmhouse cheeses to use up surplus milk.

Last year, they won the 2024 Gallagher Innovative Farming Award at the Beef + Lamb New Zealand Awards.

Cameron's future aspirations are to further grow the market and maybe look at export opportunities.

Fernglen's animal welfare considerations have seen them become the first dairy farm in New Zealand to become SPCA Animal Welfare Certified in 2021.

Cameron said there were no sheep dairy standards when they started and they saw "a lot of value" in developing this.

He thinks it's helped breakdown barriers between farmers and urban consumers, and show farmers are passionate about animal welfare which is core to their work.

Jeff said the farm was already well set up to look after animals and let them rear their own offspring, with large parts of the farm planted in trees to ensure shade and shelter for the stock.

"A lot of sheep and beef farmers, and dairy farmers, are consciously trying to do a bit each year."

Learn more:

• You can learn more about Fernglen Farm here.
• You can also find out more about Fernglen being SPCA Certified here.