Happy sheep produce happy milk. How the glory of French cheese makers was eclipsed in Belarus

Topic news Greece, 2010. While vacationing on the Mediterranean coast, Belarusian Igor Markarov tried sheep's MILK cheese - a delicacy even by local standards. But the Greeks, in their cheese tastes, overtook the French, recognized trendsetters in cheese making. Feta, graviera, kaseri, kefalotyri, anfotiro, manouri, mizithra, xinoturi, galotiri - the descendants of the Hellenes know a lot about cheese making and do not hesitate to set trends. True, cheeses based on cow's milk , which are familiar to the Belarusian diet, are eaten only by the poor in Greece; wealthier locals prefer sheep or goat analogues. Having delved into the nuances, appreciating the delicate taste of sheep cheese and paying tribute to its beneficial HEALTH properties, our fellow countryman set the ambitious goal of launching a similar production in his homeland. The project was a success, and how. The businessman achieved his main goal - domestically produced sheep milk cheeses appeared on the shelves of large retail chains and became available to Belarusians. They say they make people happier because they are made from the milk of happy sheep. Let's check it out.

The business began with a prayer

. Igor Markarov forbids his pets, it seems, even to breathe, not allowing them to get close to the animals. Perhaps it would be a shame if the farmer did not immediately explain the reasons for such a scrupulous attitude. As it turned out, the herd of 700 animals is unique in many respects. The farm of an amateur farmer with an entrepreneurial spirit is perhaps the only gene pool enterprise in the CIS, and you probably won’t find such disease-free and virus-free livestock in Europe. Experts will probably try to catch the businessman in a lie, they say, but what about the Russian experience? In fact, at one time purebred French sheep and lambs were imported into the territory of our northeastern neighbor in large quantities, however, either the climate was not to the liking of the curly ones, or the animals were cared for improperly, but the herds were overcome by infections. There was no need to talk about any purity of the gene pool, nor about the quality, and especially the benefits of sheep’s milk.

Igor Feliksovich admits: he took into account the mistakes of others and tried not to repeat them, taking a different path. In the Borisov region, he found and bought a dilapidated farm, which was once a center for processing and storing flax, and carried out modernization. And then it became a matter of inhabiting the renovated premises. The enthusiastic farmer took a long time to decide, but finally took a step.
For about two years, the entrepreneur looked closely at the breeds, visited Israel, France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Bulgaria to study their experience in sheep breeding and adopt the best. After much deliberation, the choice was made in favor of the French Lacaune breed. And the millstones began to spin.

“It was scary to start. To be honest, I prayed before buying my first 18 sheep and three rams. I took exclusively purebred ones. A special reason for pride for me is that I managed to preserve their gene pool,” shares the amateur farmer. “In contrast from the same Russians, I started with a small batch, gradually increasing the size of the herd. During the time that I have been involved in sheep breeding, I have invested about a million dollars in the herd, but the result justified the expenses. Today we continue to develop natural selection and work on improving the breed, not. crossing it with others, continuing the purebred line from the very first French individuals I bought. And in terms of offspring, we are ahead of even the French. If they have an average of 131 lambs per 100 heads, then we have raised the bar to 150-160 cubs. provided that the quality of the lambs does not deteriorate."

Calculation and rationality in everything - the Belarusian farmer clearly adopted the approach from the French. It’s not for nothing that they say that true Monsieurs and Madames live in the provinces where they make the most delicious cheeses. We, of course, will not check this, but, according to popular opinion, the most valuable heads do not reach Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg and Marseille, ending up in the storerooms of provincial residents. By the way, the well-known French Roquefort in its original version is brewed from sheep’s milk. The cost of one kilogram of cheese of similar varieties reaches $1 thousand. You will not see such a product in stores - this cheese is made according to special orders and is exported to Germany, the usa , the UAE, and Japan. So why are almost precious cheeses made from the milk of sheep of the French Lacaune breed? First of all, this milk has no smell. Secondly, it is devoid of aftertaste, distinguished by a delicate creamy milky taste.

When the animal is content, the owner is calm.

Igor Markarov feeds his sheep only with special hay. And in principle, his approach to sheep farming is creative.

“In my opinion, only happy animals can produce happy milk. Sheep, like people, are mammals. Doctors advise nursing mothers not to worry and try to think only about good things. A similar mechanism applies to sheep. An animal happy with life will produce something tasty and rich in microelements milk. That’s my theory,” the enthusiastic farmer laughs.
Now the businessman’s caring attitude towards the herd becomes absolutely clear. However, the animals are grateful for the care. The farmer milks about 10 tons of milk per month and produces up to 2 tons of cheese. Their selection is impressive. The company produces both young and mature cheeses with different flavoring additives. There are tart-coffee, sour-cherry, and spicy-garlic varieties, with hot paprika, spicy truffle, pleasantly astringent walnuts, and also cheeses with pistachio, cashew, fenugreek - for every taste. Considering that, according to the HEAD of the department for organizing trade and public catering of the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade, Natalya Melnikova, the cheese plate in Belarus today has more than 400 items, competition in the market is decent. This means that manufacturers are working harder and harder on quality, increasing it by an order of magnitude.  

There is a lot written on the Internet about the benefits of sheep cheese, citing its saturation with amino acids and microelements that help improve stomach function. But we will ask an expert for help in finding the truth.  

A million beneficial properties and a little more Elena Efimova

, head of the laboratory of technologies for whole milk products and concentrates at the Institute of MEAT and Dairy Industry, Associate Professor Elena Efimova, notes that cow’s milk is still used most often in Belarus, but in recent years its alternatives have become increasingly popular : milk from goats and sheep.

Research by scientists has shown that the milk of Lacaune sheep, which is bred by Igor Markarov, is characterized by a high protein content - from 4.5% to 8%, which is 1.5-2 times more than in cow and goat milk .

“The quantitative content of almost all amino acids in sheep milk exceeds their content in cow and goat milk,” emphasized Elena Efimova. “Sheep milk contains significantly more amino acids such as valine, isoleucine, lysine, alanine, histidine and glycine. These amino acids perform important role in the human body. For example, valine is involved in the formation and storage of glycogen, in the synthesis of pantothenic acid, is metabolized into muscle tissue, stimulates mental work and increases coordination. Isoleucine is involved in the formation of hemoglobin, and together with lysine, in the metabolism of SUGAR and the breakdown of cholesterol. Alanine is essential in the creation of immunoglobulins and antibodies. Histidine helps reduce the severity of allergies, promotes the healing of ulcers of the digestive organs, and supports the function of the auditory nerve. It is also necessary for maintaining immune functions."
According to the expert, sheep milk also contains the most important acids for the human body: caproic, caprylic, capric, lauric. MilkSheep are also distinguished by their high content of minerals such as calcium, potassium, and phosphorus. Despite the fact that in Belarus today the main direction for processing sheep milk is cheese, Elena Efimova adds that sheep milk is also promising for the production of fermented milk products.

“I read that Cleopatra took baths with sheep’s milk, and I started thinking.”

Igor Markarov had barely managed to increase the productivity of sheep at the plant from three to seven years when he began to think about where else he could find a use for sheep’s milk. And settled on... soap. Yes, yes, the farmer immediately in the experimental laboratory, and then in large batches, began to cook dry soap and mix liquid soap based on sheep's milk.

“I know people who have severe allergies. After I started sheep farming and realized how healthy the product I was producing was, I came to the conclusion that I had to help them,” the farmer shares. “I once read that Cleopatra is for preserving youth and she took baths with sheep's milk in good spirits. She was a smart woman, and her beauty is legendary. So, there was a certain reason for this. I monitored the market and discovered that the French had already thought of making soap from sheep's milk. Well, that's worse. ?"
The company has already developed eight types of solid soap, differing from each other in color and smell. There is still something in common between them: soap is 100% made from natural ingredients, oils are exclusively of natural origin (for example, cottonseed or avocado extracts). As soon as the team of experimenters working at the enterprise manages to improve the color and finalize the recipe, they will produce up to 2 thousand pieces of soap per month.

“I have been working at the company for a long time, and I confess that in the initial stages, hardly anyone could have imagined that we would be able to develop sheep breeding to such a scale. Everyone believed that it would remain at the level of a hobby - and nothing more,” recalls the HR manager Snezhana Grechko. “And today we can’t even imagine how we were before without our sheep. Milk is very tasty and nutritious, healthy for the whole family, and I eat cheese without anything at all, as a main course, and satisfy my hunger.”

Well, the general course is clear - the enterprise will develop, and, judging by the creativity and energy of its management, in a variety of directions. And the state will support. I was able to talk about the general situation with sheep breeding in the country with the head of the livestock breeding department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Irina Yanel.

Meat and dairy areas are the most promising

In our country, sheep are mainly raised on private farms. 63.4% of the total number of sheep in the republic is kept there. By the way, as of January 1, there were 75.7 thousand animals in Belarus, of which only 7.3 thousand belonged to purebred breeding stock (such as, for example, the French Lacaune, already familiar to us). Today in the republic there are 13 breeding farms for breeding 11 breeds of purebred sheep. One of the largest is the selection and genetic center of the Vitebsk breeding enterprise, containing sheep of the Ile de France, Suffolk and Romanovskaya breeds. It is these breeds that account for the largest number of the total number of sheep on breeding farms in Belarus.

“The development of domestic sheep farming is primarily necessary to provide Belarusians with lamb and for the food security of the country,” said Irina Yanel. “Yes, we are not seeing results from the sale of wool and sheepskins on a large scale due to the specifics of industrial development and the transition to cheaper synthetic materials We are expecting. But at the same time, we are talking about satisfying the population’s demand for lamb as a dietary meat that has its own consumer, in my opinion, is the development of meat and dairy sheep farming.”  

Since experts are inclined to consider the dairy and meat areas of sheep farming to be the most in demand and financially profitable in the future, it means that this market niche will soon be filled. The state, as well as the Belarusian consumer, will only benefit from this.

Vera VASILEVSKAYA,
BELTA