Sheep’s Milk

Wisconsin leads the nation in the number of dairy sheep farms and the production of sheep milk products. With 13 licensed dairy sheep flocks, Wisconsin produced 829,000 pounds of milk in 2009. Due to the unique component (6-8% fat and 5-7% protein) and flavor profile of sheep milk, the demand for sheep milk in Wisconsin has increased tremendously in the last few years. The majority of sheep milk produced in the state is manufactured into specialty cheeses.

In addition to fresh milk sales, the frozen milk market is important to Wisconsin producers. Wisconsin producers are currently shipping frozen milk to cheesemakers in New York, California and Washington. However, Wisconsin producers do not currently produce enough milk to fill the local and national markets, and the demand for sheep’s milk continues to increase. According to a 2009 dairy sheep survey conducted by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, 75 percent of all current dairy sheep producers plan to expand their operations in the next five years. Click here to view the 2009 survey results.

Workshops and Events

Dairy Sheep Field Days: the DBIC is sponsoring dairy sheep field days in 2010. Learn more here.

Educational Materials

2009 Wisconsin Dairy Sheep Survey Results
Dairy Sheep Fact Sheet
Principles of Sheep Dairying in North America
Proceedings of Great Lakes Dairy Sheep Symposia
Dairy Sheep Publication from National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
System Solutions for Dairy Sheep, published by De Laval

Links

Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Cooperative
Dairy Sheep Association of North America

For more information, contact:

Claire Mikolayunas
Dairy Business Innovation Center
608-332-2889
Clairemikolay@gmail.com

For more information on sheep dairying in Wisconsin, visit the Dairy Sheep page on the Wisconsin Dairy Artisan website.