Health, Nutrition, Environment

 

High in Protein

Sheep's milk is high in total solids, and especially high in protein.  This means our Verano is a higher protein, lower fat cheese.  

Easy to Digest 

Because sheep's milk is naturally homogenized, it does not separate into milk and cream.  With a very different protein and fat structure than cow's milk, our cheese is often acceptable to people who have trouble digesting cow's milk cheese. Sheep's milk is comprised of small and medium-chain fatty acids as opposed to cow's milk which contains a longer chain and more complex fats. The short and medium chain fatty acids are easier for our digestive systems to break down. While all milk contains the sugar lactose, the more simple fat structure of sheep's milk means that many people who are lactose intolerant find they are able to consume sheep's milk cheeses with little to no issue. Additionally, aged cheese actually contains less lactose than fresh cheeses. This is because as the cheese ages the sugars are broken down and digested by the microbes present in the cheese. The microbes convert lactose into lactic acid as the cheese ferments.  

Many of our customers order our cheese because they have allergies or have gone through Lyme's Disease or other illnesses that have made it difficult for them to consume cow milk cheeses.

Good for Cholestrol

Our sheep only produce milk when they are grazing on pasture.  This means their milk and cheese is much higher in cholesterol lowering fats than if they were eating processed or preserved feed.  In particular, the sheep milk and cheese is high in omega-3 fatty acids (beneficial fatty acids). It is important to have both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in a balanced diet as these are fats that our body cannot synthesize and we need to get from food sources. Omega-3's are limited in their food sources and can really only be found in fatty fish, flax and chia seeds, and pasture raised milks, particularly sheep's milk.  Also, sheep's cheese has high levels of vitamins A, E, and antioxidants, as well as high levels of CLA's (conjugated linolenic acids).

 

Health of the Environment

Here on our farm we use a practice called "intensive rotational grazing" for our sheep. This means that we move our sheep to new pastures frequently. Our milker group gets new pasture to graze every 12 hours, or with each milking.  Our lambs we move once a day.  This practice is beneficial to the sheep and to the environment.  The sheep are always getting the "grass that is greener on the other side of the fence" - that is, the grass that is fresh and not soiled by manure.  And for the environment, rotational grazing creates a thick sod, builds soil fertility, eliminates erosion that can be caused by over grazing, and promotes biodiversity. A few years ago researchers came to our farm from the US Agricultural Research Station in Beltsville Maryland. They identified all the pasture species in just one ten foot by ten foot square, and they found 65 different species - grasses, clovers, and herbs.

We also use solar panels to power our farm. The 28 KW solar system we have on our farm provides all the electricity we need - for milking, cheesemaking, the office, and the houses.

In 2002 and 2006 our farm won awards for its work towards environmental conservation.