Maui Milk’s team has accomplished a remarkable feat by successfully breeding the Southern Cross™ Dairy Sheep, which produces an exceptional Sheep Dairy product.
The story of Maui Sheep Milk began on a 600-hectare Maori farm in the Lake Taupo area, where they raised their herd using traditional methods. The original dairy sheep breed was imported from Europe a long time ago, but with time, their genetics weakened. To overcome this issue, Maui Milk imported embryos and semen from different parts of the world and created a new breed of sheep, which they proudly named Southern Cross™. This new breed marks a new era of dairy sheep, not only in New Zealand but also around the world.
In 2015, Maui purchased a new farm on the edge of the beautiful Lake Taupo, which they transformed into a working demonstration farm and the new home for the Southern Cross™ sheep. The sheep are happily living on this farm, which has a world-class France-inspired facility built on-site.
Product Story
Before 2018, our main focus was on breeding a suitable dairy sheep for New Zealand. However, we have now shifted our focus towards producing high-quality sheep milk products. To achieve this goal, we have established a whole quality control system that oversees the quality of our sheep milk products at each step.
We have a technical solution that records the weight and health status of each sheep. Moreover, we test sheep milk every day to ensure that the fresh supply meets our highest standards. We ensure that all the products we deliver to our sheep milk lovers are within the range we have initially set up to best care for human health.
In our pursuit of better sheep milk products, we equally value the natural environment in which we build our sheep milk industry. At Maui Milk, we believe that looking after the planet and improving environmental sustainability is a high priority. We carry the same philosophy in the new product development of sheep milk products. All the Maui products maintain a high standard in selecting the ingredients to blend with sheep milk.
Delicious Taste
Many say the taste of sheep milk is more delicious than cow's milk and some cheese can only be made with sheep milk otherwise it loses its characteristics. Sheep and goats are both ruminants. Sheep milk does not have the gamey taste that goat milk does. Dietary factors also influence the taste of the milk. On our farm, sheep graze the pasture.
Easily Digested
Sheep milk has small fat globules that aid digestion, and higher levels of short- and medium-chain fatty acids that provide quick energy. It is also naturally A2, making it easier to digest than most cow's milk.