14,000 SHEEP DAIRY PLAN

THOUSANDS of sheep would be milked at a $9 million dairy farm planned west of Geelong.

The pioneering project near Inverleigh is billed as Australia’s first “commercial-scale sheep dairy” by its proponents, who say they have identified a new industry for Australian farming.

Asian demand for sheep milk products and Australia’s capacity to feed and milk the animals year-round underpin their business case.

The project would operate as the Australian Sheep Dairy Company on the Murnong Farm on the northern fringe of the Surf Coast Shire.

Plans by Murnong’s operators are now on public exhibition after being lodged last year with the shire, which has extended its deadline for submissions by a week because of a website meltdown.

The project would provide commercial scale to Australia’s boutique sheep milk industry, and sustain up to 15 on-farm jobs.

The milk would be sent to a processing plant being planned at Moolap where a similar number would be employed, according to ASDC managing director Martin Clark.

“This could be a really good thing for the region and Geelong … an opportunity to lead Australia,” Mr Clark said.

At capacity the farm would be populated by 14,000 sheep and lambs, 6000 of them lactating ewes for milking. That is more than the total number of sheep currently milked across Australia. The most recent AgriFutures Australia report showed 5500 sheep were being farmed for that purpose.

Two 250m x 40m sheds would be built at Murnong to house the lactating ewes.

Mr Clark said most of the milk produced would be turned into powder, with large quantities exported to China, Taiwan and Indonesia, where sheep milk fetched high prices because of its high mix of protein and vitamins.

He said many people who struggled to digest cow’s milk preferred sheep’s milk to alternatives such as almond milk, but it was scarce and costly.

Mr Clark said New Zealand farmers had “got the jump” on Australia and made in-roads in the Asian market by launching commercial sheep dairies in recent years with support from their government.

But he said the ability to operate year-round would be a competitive advantage for Australia.

As sheep milking rarely happens in Australia there are limited planning regulations to govern the industry.

But Mr Clark said, even at capacity, his project would exceed the minimum space requirements for the animals.

He said the site was zoned for intensive farming with piggeries and chicken farms nearby, and said his property already had 5000 sheep.