High cost of living affects specialty cheese sales but sheep dairy industry still hopeful
The sheep dairy industry in Australia is small, particularly when compared to regions like the Mediterranean where sheep's milk and cheese are an integral part of people's diets.
But that is not stopping Australian producers and dietitians from wanting to raise awareness about the alternative milk's health benefits and unique taste.
Eat Sustainably nutritionist Amelia Harray said sheep's milk had a higher percentage of protein than milk produced by cows or goats.
"With that comes a higher amount of calcium, phosphorus, manganese, zinc, and all these other really essential nutrients that our bodies need to stay well each day," Dr Harray said.
Dr Harray, who is also a researcher with the University of Western Australia's medical school, said despite the health benefits of sheep's milk, it would likely not be a viable option for people with a dairy allergy.
"Many people who have a cow's milk protein allergy will also react to milk from other mammals, including sheep and goats," she said.
Cambray Cheese, located about 240 kilometres south of Perth, is Western Australia's only commercial sheep milk and cheese producer.
Owner Tom Wilde said he was "spreading the word" as much as possible about the benefits of sheep dairy products.
"When we do the farmers' market in Margaret River every weekend, people have a try [of our products] and we can tell them about how it's a lot better for your gut and easier to digest," he said.
"Traditionally, people are looking for goat's milk and cheese. A lot of people don't even know that there's sheep's milk or sheep's cheeses around, so it's just about educating people."
Mr Wilde said Cambray Cheese sold its first batch of sheep's milk in 2024 for $12 a litre, about three times the price of a litre of cow's milk.
"We were worried that people wouldn't be able to afford the price that it needed to be because it's expensive milk, but there were no issues. People absolutely loved it," he said.
"The milk is very sweet compared to cow's milk, and it's really nice and thick. It's lovely milk.
Meredith Dairy, a family farm located 120 kilometres west of Melbourne, is Australia's largest sheep and goat milk and cheese producer.
Director Julie Cameron said sheep and goat dairy products were generally more expensive due to the extensive labour requirements.
"We can get a litre of milk a day from a sheep, we can get 3 litres from a goat, but if you're a cow dairy farmer, you can get between 15 and 40 litres a day," she said.
Due to improvements in animal production and automation, Ms Cameron said she had only raised her prices once in the past three decades.
She said the demand for specialty cheeses had fallen recently as a result of the current "economic crisis".
Despite this, Ms Cameron said she remained hopeful the situation would turn around.
"We talk to the dairy buyers in the supermarkets and they say sales are slow for specialty cheeses, which is sad, but maybe people don't have that spare money for discretionary purchases of luxury items like mould-ripened cheeses or blue cheeses or imported cheeses," she said.
"But I have faith that the economy will pick up, and I'm sure the sales of these specialty cheeses will pick up again."
Mr Wilde said he would like to see more farmers give sheep milk production a go.
"It's probably one of the biggest industries of start-ups and failures in Australia," he said.
"There are not many sheep dairies still running in Australia because it's very labour-intensive.
"[But] if you love sheep, then it's worth it.
"We would actually love to be able to buy sheep's milk from other farmers. If that was an option, then we could focus on the cheese side of things."
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