Dairy Sheep Symposium - the Department of Animal Sciences ...

USING LIGHT IN A DAIRY SHEEP OPERATION
Ken Kleinpeter
Manager, The Old Chatham Sheepherding Company
Old Chatham, New York
Summary:
In 1999 The Old Chatham Sheepherding Company started experimenting with a light control
protocol to increase our supply of fresh milk in the Fall months. The goal was to increase the
number of “out of season lambings” in our East Friesian crossbred flock, and to extend the
lactations of those ewes that did lamb in the fall. We have found that while the light control
protocol is very effective in increasing the number of ewes which lamb in the Fall, the data on
extended Fall lactations is inconclusive.
Introduction:
Due to seasonal breeding characteristics, and relatively short lactations of sheep, in most
parts of the world sheep dairies are seasonal enterprises. Products made from the milk are mostly
aged cheeses that can be made while the ewes are lactating and sold throughout the year. Fresh
products made from sheep milk are only available in season.
This system has worked for centuries in most of the world where sheep are milked, but
because of different market conditions and consumer expectations in the United States, it may
not be appropriate for all sheep dairy operations here. This is especially true for businesses like
ours at the Old Chatham Sheepherding Company whose product line consists mostly or entirely
of fresh products like yogurt, soft fresh cheeses, and other soft- ripened cheese that have limited
shelf life.
It is far too difficult to get shelf space in the highly competitive markets in the United States,
to risk losing it by being out of production for several months a year. Furthermore, the average
American consumer who is offered thousands of choices in the marketplace, is not accustomed to
products only being available seasonally, and will often move on to competitive products if a
product is not available for part of the year.
Given these realities, most sheep dairy producers in the United States have two choices:
make only aged cheeses, or go to year around production. (I am less familiar with the market in
Canada, though I expect conditions are not much different there.)
Due to our decision from the beginning of our business in 1988 to not compete directly with
imported hard cheeses and concentrate instead on fresh and soft-ripened cheeses, we have milked
our flock year round for more than 13 years now. The purpose of this presentation is to give a
brief review of our efforts to maintain production in the “out of season” months over the years,
and to report on what has turned out to be by far the most successful of these efforts: light control.
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