52 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Ryan McPherson Blazing a trail as a sheep milk pioneer Rachel Graham The prospect of being a pioneer in a new and growing industry was a big part of the attraction to get into sheep milking for South Waikato farmer Ryan McPherson. Ryan has been a sheep milk farmer for two years, starting out with a herd of 650 sheep last year, and this year expanding to 870. He got involved after his father heard about sheep milk farming and encouraged him to go along to a conference by the Spring Sheep Milk Co. Ryan now has 43 hectares devoted to the sheep milking platform on his Tokoroa site, and another 10 hectares to graze the lambs. He is now one of the suppliers for the Spring Sheep Milk Co, with the milk largely being turned into high value nutrition products, such as toddler milk drink, for the overseas market. Ryan says sheep milk is particularly popular with people who are keen on the bene ts of A2 milk, since all sheep naturally produce an A2-type milk. Sheep milk also suits some people who can’t drink cows’ milk. He says the taste of sheep milk is very similar to cows’ milk, but with a richer, creamier taste. Ryan says it a really exciting industry to be part of, and one he thinks has huge potential for growth. “I always wanted to try something a bit new and different, but not too left eld. And sheep milk is a new and developing industry, so being a pioneer in it could have huge bene ts both nancially and environmentally,” says Ryan. He says sheep milking is much more viable for a small farm. “On a smaller farm it doesn’t stack up to milk 100 to 200 cows. You are there in the shed every day, and a lot of farmers get burnt out.” Instead with sheep milk farming he is nding that even on a small block he has been able to take on staff, and therefore give himself more time out of the milking shed. Next year he’s hoping to expand up to 1200 sheep and take on a second staff member. The industry is also seeing new genetic gains all the time and Ryan expects the volume of milk • Dairy Maintenance • Ice Banks • Effluent Systems • Tip Truck & Excavator Work • Water Reticulation • New Dairy Installations • Electrical & Refrigeration • Milking Machine Testing Proud to be supporting Ryan McPherson at Colewin Farms 57 Ashworth Street, Tokoroa | 0800 TO MILK (86 6455) | WestfaliaSurge | Houle For outstanding service and advice, contact our Agri Advisory team on nz_agribusiness@pwc.com or 021 190 7011. 2 Satco Drive, Tokoroa PH. (07) 886 6413 TOTAL ANIMAL CARE FOR THE SOUTH WAIKATO 75 Tirau Street, Putaruru PH. (07) 883 3018 109 State Highway 30, Whakamaru PH. (07) 882 8685 FARM ANIMAL SERVICES • SMALL ANIMAL SERVICES • DAIRY RESOURCES collected to increase in the future, even without increasing the number of sheep. “We have a very special breed of dairy sheep, the Zealandia, which are exclusive to Spring Sheep suppliers. “They’re a high performance dairy sheep and thrive in unique New Zealand conditions. We’re already seeing great gains in performance on the previous year.” Another bonus is that sheep are lighter on the land, literally. “As an environmentally conscious person you might decide that, based on the soil structure and where you are farming, cows just don’t stack up on the block, but with sheep there is less leaching and less pugging of the land.” The lambing season started on July 20 for Ryan and continued through until mid-September. He expects to continuing having milk picked up by the Spring Sheep Milk Co. until the beginning of May. He says the sheep are quicker to milk than cows and good to deal with, especially once they are trained up and use to the milking shed. The sheep have in-shed feeding, so he says they come running to get into the shed. “You do get the stubborn ones occasionally, and the ones who are too friendly, and won’t leave you alone until they get a bit of a scratch.” Ryan says as someone new to sheep milking the experience so far has been great, with excellent support from Spring Sheep Milk Co, and other suppliers. Ryan McPherson is currently the only sheep milker in his area and says he has felt a bit like the talk of the town at times. He says there is however clearly a lot of interest in the alternate dairy industry, and he’s had a steady stream of farmers stopping by to nd out more from him. The sheep have in-shed feeding, so come running into the shed, says sheep milk farmer Ryan McPherson.
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