The Country's Jamie Mackay caught up with Miles King about his exciting new Dairymeade milking sheep breed. Miles and his wife Janet run the Kingsmeade Artisan Cheese Company
New Zealand has produced a number of valuable sheep breeds such as the Coopworth over the last hundred years, but none of them were specialist milking sheep breeds.
The special health benefits of sheep milk and its value in producing highly regarded cheeses, yoghurts and other specialty products has led to a surge in establishment of milking sheep flocks in New Zealand.
However New Zealand has not had a sheep breed selected for milk production, which could be used to build the genetic merit of the dairy sheep industry.
Could sheep milk be a lucrative new venture for farmers?
