Sincerely,
Andy Karras -Owner Karrars Farm
http://www.karrasfarm.com
http://eastfriesiansheep.com
http://awassisheep.com
Karras Farm
Breeding Top Dairy Sheep For America
Alan Harman
A generations-long trek from the romantic sun-baked mountains of
northern Greece to the New World has led to a pioneering American dairy sheep
business that is creating a new frontier for cheese and yogurt makers.
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Andy Karras, 39, can trace his ancestry back to nomadic Greek
farmers who prided themselves on the quality of their Chios and East Friesian
milk sheep and the iconic cheeses they produced.
Andy’s great-grandfather started the first Karras Farm in Greece
in the late 1800s.
“At that time the main focus was to produce the highest quality
line of East Friesian sheep in the world,” Andy says. “He was breeding only the
very best genetically pure sheep for superior blood line, milk production, wool
and meat.”
Three generations later this same focus on breeding the perfect
East Friesian sheep bloodline made its way to the United States.
His parents moved to the U.S. in 1962, settling in South Carolina
because that’s where other family members, aunts and uncles, had preceded them.
“My family did not bring their sheep genetics with them from
Greece,” Andy says. “Our original sheep genetics were bought in 1996.”
Start-Up Challenges
There were special problems when Andy founded his farm in the
humid heat of the southeastern U.S.
“When we first got the sheep, we had some losses due to the
humidity,” Andy says. “Since then, we have not had any losses or conditioning
impact from the heat. The sheep now are well adapted.”
Coming from a family of nomadic shepherds, the interest in sheep
has always been in Andy’s blood, but it never crossed his mind to go into
mainstream meat and wool production in the U.S.
“My ancestors raised their family from sheep for many, many years,
with the milk and meat,” he says. “They made clothing from the sheep’s wool to
clothe the family.
“Those are our roots, and it’s what kept us focused on pursuing
the dairy sheep industry.”
He started his 417-acre farm from scratch.
“I do believe that when Karras Farm got started in 1996, neighbors
saw it as ‘Mission Impossible,’” Andy says. “The reasons being: (1) At the time
dairy sheep farming in the U.S. was rare. (2) A lot of people knew little about
sheep, even the fact that there are different types—dairy, meat, wool.
“Our family’s experience is in dairy sheep and we consume the milk
products in our own home. We make yogurts, cheeses, and ice cream, all with
sheep’s milk that is the healthiest you can consume, has no chemicals, and is
made from old family recipes.
“Dairy sheep genetics are in demand in this country and it has
been profitable for our family—and that’s why we stayed in the dairy sheep
industry.”
Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Andy’s first memories of dairy
sheep farming are from when he first obtained embryos of East Friesian ewes and
rams.
“I was very excited in having this type of breed here in the U.S.,
because this was the breed my family had in their country of Greece,” he says.
“I felt a sense of accomplishment and was very eager with the knowledge I’d
learned from my father and grandfathers, to get started in raising this
beautiful breed of dairy sheep.”
Andy says there are several hundred dairy sheep farmers in the
U.S. and the number is increasing each year due to the popularity of sheep milk.
The prized Karras East Friesian dairy sheep first entered the U.S.
in 1996 through Canada.
Mary and Rusty Jarvis of Groveland Farm Wisconsin partnered with
Peter Welkerling, an investor from Canada, to import full-blood East Friesian
embryos from Europe.
The prized Karras East Friesian dairy sheep first entered the U.S.
in 1996 through Canada.
Mary and Rusty Jarvis of Groveland Farm Wisconsin partnered with
Peter Welkerling, an investor from Canada, to import full-blood East Friesian
embryos from Europe.
The embryos entered Canada in 1995 and were implanted in ewes and
the first North American East Friesian sheep were born. The full-blood lambs
were then imported into the U.S.
Andy purchased his original East Friesian stock directly from
Groveland Farm and since then, using a selective breeding process, has developed
some of the highest quality East Friesian dairy sheep available in the U.S.
In the process, he has become a leader in dairy sheep genetics,
focusing on physical characteristics, milk production, wool and overall animal
health.
His purebred East Friesian ewes and rams can sell for up to $1,000
a head with an average price of about $800.
“Our genetics from Karras Farm are now in 38 different states
known to us,” he says. “But I’m certain there is at least one sheep farmer in
every state across North America with our sheep genetics.
“We have more than 200 clients on our mailing list who have
purchased from us.”
When Karras Farm started, there was no dairy sheep farming in his
region.
“We started with only our knowledge from our ancestry and practice
of every-day dairy sheep farming, along with my education—I am a qualified vet
in Greece and that is where I received my education.”
He obtained his degree from the Karpenisi Veterinary School in the
region where his parents once lived.
“I feel the lack of knowledge on husbandry of the dairy sheep
itself has affected the dairy sheep industry, causing the sector to slowly
increase or sometimes decrease. Also, the importation of dairy sheep products
such as cheeses and milk products is affecting the growth.”
There are two main groups of buyers for Andy’s sheep.
“We have a lot of customers at Karras Farm that purchase animals
for homestead farms, using the dairy sheep for the milk, meat, and wool for
private use by their family,” he says.
“We also have had a number of dairy companies purchasing large
numbers of dairy sheep for the production of milk to make cheeses, yogurts, and
ice cream.”
Karras Farm may have started out specializing in breeding the
highest quality East Friesian dairy sheep in the world, but now Andy had taken
the business even further, producing the first Israeli Awassi sheep in the U.S.
as well as the Assaf, another Israeli breed created by crossing the Awassi with
East Friesians.
Andy now has dairy sheep bloodlines originating from Australia,
New Zealand and Europe.
The process leading to the birth of the first Awassi lambs in the
U.S. took two years.
Andy spent a year in Australia searching for the best Awassi sheep
dairy genetics, an odyssey that could be likened to hunting for a needle in a
haystack in a country that focuses on meat genetics.
Australia was selected because its strict quarantine laws lessen
the chances of foreign sheep disease being found in their sheep.
“We had to specifically find a dairy farmer that was producing
dairy products,” Andy says. “Then we had to trace through the records of these
particular Awassi to confirm their purity. Once we found our breeder of Awassi
genetics, we had to follow all guidelines and protocols of each Department of
Agriculture.”
The work paid off.
The first full-blood Awassi sheep were born in March 2012, and
Andy now is in his second year with the breed. He is accepting orders for
Awassis and expects the live sheep and semen will be available within two
years.
“It was difficult waiting a whole year to announce the birth of
Awassi sheep in the U.S,” he says. “Our Awassi USA dairy sheep program will be a
welcome enhancement to the dairy sheep industry in the U.S.”
The Awassi is a fat-tail dairy sheep that is very hardy by nature,
fully adapted to arid environments and widely considered the highest milk
producing breed in the Middle East.
The sheep have beautiful wool coats and are known for being
resistant to many diseases and parasites that can badly affect other breeds.
The first F1 Assaf was born Jan. 3, 2013 to a purebred East
Friesian ewe. The sire is a full-blood Awassi ram born at Karras Farm in March
2012 via an imported embryo from Australia.
“We have noticed the F1 Assaf dairy sheep have rapid weight gain,
durability, and high parasite resistance,” Andy says.
The first of his Assaf lambs—costing $2,500 apiece—went out to
sheep farms across the country in May.
The USDA has set requirements for the importation of new genetics
into the U.S. The country of origin of the embryos also has its own Dept. of
Agriculture guidelines that have to be met.
University of Wisconsin-Madison sheep researcher Yves M. Berger
(now retired) said in a report for the Spooner Agricultural Research Station
that the East Friesian is considered to be the world’s best milk-producing dairy
sheep.
He says it averages 2.25 lambs a litter with milk yield of 1,100
to 1,540 pounds. (500 kg to 700 kg) per lactation of 240 to 260 days, testing
six to seven percent milk fat, the highest average dairy milk yield recorded for
any breed of sheep.
The lactation of the average U.S. sheep breed is about 100 to 200
pounds per lactation.
“They are highly specialized animals and do poorly under extensive
and large flock husbandry conditions,” Berger wrote. “An example of the dramatic
effect the East Friesian milk sheep can have on breeds adapted to environments
too severe for the purebred East Friesian is from the development of the
composite Assaf breed in Israel from crossing East Friesian with the Awassi, a
breed adapted to the arid Middle East. Lamb and milk production among yearling
Assaf is double that of the Awassi.”
Karras Farm now has 63 Awassis, 92 F1 Assafs, and more than 300
East Friesians.
“We try to keep 10 to 15 rams of each breed depending on demand,”
he says.
Until recently, Andy says, the U.S. dairy sheep industry was
growing only slowly.
Not any more.
“I have seen in the past few years a rapid increase in the demand
and interest, both from commercial operators and homesteaders,” he says. “I feel
in the next five to 10 years, the sheep industry will double due to people
realizing the sheeps milk is very good for their health.”
He recommends a stocking rate of five dairy sheep to the acre, but
says a knowledge of the sheep helps determine the size of flock, along with the
farm help available, the size of the barn and the availability of a food
supply.
Regular wool and meat producers could also run a dairy flock as
the milk will increase a farm’s revenue, along with the wool and meat from the
dairy sheep flock.
“We don’t recommend having sheep and goats in the same living
quarters,” he says, “but combining sheeps milk and goats milk does make a blend
of excellent artisan cheese that is very popular in Europe.”
The dairy sheep have to be milked every 12 hours and they have to
be shorn once a year. The animals are easily trained in the use of a milking
stall.
“We like the sheep to be heavily grazed and at times we feed a 22%
protein feed,” Andy says.
The Karras Farm sheep average seven to eight pounds of milk a day
during the prime milking season and have an average 10-month lactation period.
The average ewe produces milk for about eight years. After milk production
levels drop, the sheep is still good for eating.
About six pounds of sheep milk is needed to make one pound of
cheese. Sheep milk is fattier than that of cow or goat milk. There’s a higher
proportion of fatty, curd-producing solids in the milk and not as much is
required to make the same amount of cheese.
Another benefit of sheep milk is it is naturally homogenized,
meaning the fat globules are smaller and don’t separate from the less-dense,
water-based components in the milk.
An Oklahoma State University report says the Awassi evolved as a
nomadic sheep breed through centuries of natural and selective breeding to
become the highest milk producing breed in the Middle East. The breed is calm
around people, easy to work with and easily milked. When machine-milked, they
can be milked in four to six minutes.
Prices for dairy sheep milking stalls start at about $1,000.
“The stalls can range up to many thousands of dollars and I have
seen stalls holding up to 100 sheep,” Andy says.
U.S. sheep milk production is increasing annually to meet a demand
that constantly exceeds supply.
As a result, about 53 million pounds of expensive sheep-milk-based
cheese is imported annually.
The U.S. sheeps milk is being used to make sought-after yogurt and
milk products by people who are being told by their doctors that it is better
than cows milk for health benefits.
“People are really interested in the sheep milk cheeses,” Andy
says.
Also, soap made from the sheeps milk is becoming popular.
Karras farm is not in the dairy business itself, but sells live
sheep, semen and embryos.
It has become a destination for everybody from church and school
groups to curious neighbors and farmers. Many of those farmers end up buying
dairy sheep, seeing an advantage in an animal that produces a new income source
in addition to wool and meat.
“We are constantly researching and studying for ways to produce
the highest milk producing sheep that’s hardy, parasite resistant, and that can
withstand varieties of climates,” Andy says.
“On record, our highest milk yield is 4,200 lbs. from one ewe
during a 10 month lactation period,” he says.
Overseas, the main countries that specialize in sheeps milk are
Greece, Italy, Spain, France, Russia and Libya, where the demand is high,
especially from countries around the Mediterranean.
There are hundreds of dairy sheep throughout the world; most of
them being in the countries of their origin, Andy says, indicating that he has
plans to introduce new breeds in the future.
Karras Farms runs courses for first-time buyers.
“We help clients get started on their farm by getting them set up
for their dairy sheep before the sheep make it to their new home,” he says. “We
also like to stay in contact with all of our customers to continue to help them
with different things.
“We have a true passion,” Andy says.
“My dream is of operating a nationally renowned sheep farm in the
U.S.”
