Here's what we & others have been up to...
Bog Blog - Day 2
Farmers’ first hand experience of taking kefir to allieviate the symptoms of colitis
Day 2
So when I spoke to the chap on the phone about how much he took and what other things helped he told me that he was drinking 250ml twice a day - morning and night (don't quote me on this I may of remembered it wrong but it seemed a lot). He also said that it would take about 12 weeks to make a difference ( again don't quote me on that - numbers aren't my thing)
I gave Matt about 50ml yesterday morning and tried to get him to take more last night but he refused. His reasoning was that it's not the sort of thing he wanted to drink before bed so it should be a breakfast thing... and as he was doing it as an experiment to share with other sufferers.
This morning Matt drank about 100ml.
This afternoons ablution was similar to yesterday but there was blood present.
Here's another nice photo to get that image out of your head...BTW our ewes love a blackberry, it's great watching them pick one.
Bog Blog - Day 1
Farmers’ first hand experience of taking kefir to allieviate the symptoms of collitis
Day 1
The diary of a farmer suffering from ulcerative colitis.
I’ve been drinking kefir for a while now and tried to convince Matt to join me, but to no avail.
I had a phone call the other day from a lovely man who was recently diagnosed with colitis. He drinks kefir as it has helped calm his symptoms and was in the search of raw milk to make kefir. We pasteurise all our milk as it gets rid of all the bad bacteria and leaves enough of the good bacteria to make a difference.
The chap said that Matt should definitely try it. This morning I handed Matt a tub of kefir and he reluctantly drank it.
He has just emerged from his afternoon ablution and given me an update… If squeamish stop reading now.
Normally: inflammation, very runny, blood in stool.
Today: still has inflammation, soft slightly runny, (like puppy poo), no blood in stool.
Here’s a nice photo to get that vision out of your head.
Francophile - Pralognan la Vanoise
Farmers’ first family holiday in four years...
We made it to the Alps by the skin of our teeth. The van was not happy but the skilled driver was determined to make it despite a hairy moment with a bus between two hairpin bends on the way up the mountain. After the 14hr drive the van was abandoned at our destination and not moved again until towed by the local garage to be looked at. It wouldn’t start... it didn't matter, we had no means of transport but we were on holiday for 7 days.
What's a holiday in France without a visit to a sheep dairy. No matter where we go Matt will always find sheep, whether it's a whole flock of dairy sheep to buy or a ram for sale. On this occasion (or should I say vacation) he had sniffed out the local cheese shop and was enquiring about sheep cheese. He and the cheesemonger had an in-depth conversation which concluded in the cheese lady phoning the cheese maker (who also happened to be the local sheep dairy farmer) and arranging for us to go and visit him.
It was fascinating… His name was William Rouez, I was expecting him to be older than us and the farm to be very traditional… Not a bit of it, William was in his early 20’s and the set up was very slick. A lovely new barn, with two amazing conveyor belts for feeding lambs and ewes in their respective sections. The parlour neatly tucked into one corner of the barn and the dairy of the other side and enough room for a bit of hay and the very important coffee table. With Matt's pigeon French he managed to communicate very well, William even admitted that his mother taught English, although his was very limited. Matt found out that they only lamb and milk in the winter and the ewes go out to pasture in May until they are brought back in for lambing in October. William makes hay while the sun shines and works on the farm during summer. The hay was an amazing deep green, they also fed three types of nuts which were spread over the hay on the conveyor or fed in the parlour. They were milking about 100 ewes.
Selling our wares on the radio this time...
Talking about sheep milk... The lady at Tesco said he had a nice voice and should be on the radio, here he is..
Small Shepherds Club
Thank you to the Small Shepherds Club who invited Matt to speak at their AGM and dinner. Sarah, Jonathan and I were also spoilt with a dinner invite and were curious to see if it was true. As you can see from the photo, the majority of the members are actually quite tall! Of course the 'Small' bit of their title refers to the amount of sheep their members have, we found out that they have about 100 members and the average number of sheep owned is eight. Although the lady with 34 Zwartbles must of upped the numbers!
It was really lovely meet so many like minded farming types in one room who like sheep. Most people you meet say that sheep have a 'will to die', but that isn't entirely true, they will find the brambles to eat and stuck in them but as long as you have good husbandry routines it's unlikely that they will die. Which is exactly why the Small Shepherds Club was set up 40 years ago, animal welfare is at the top of their list and they help each other with any problems they have and have lots of training courses to help you set up.
If you would like to join the club or find out more information, click on the photo!
Sheep Dairy tour of NZ
Thanks to the Ardingly Agricultural Society we were able to visit sheep milk drying plants in NZ
On Tour...We're putting the baaand back together
We toured in NZ, visiting Spring Sheep NZ, Maui Milk in the North Island and Blue River Dairy in the South Island. All of the dairies send their milk to a drying plant and generally sell the finished product into China or Asia.
There are two drying plants that are small enough to handle sheep milk in NZ, the larger plants for cows milk are massive in comparison.
The farms attached to the dairies milk in excess of 2000 sheep and several of the the dairies have more than one farm attached. They send tankers off to the drying plants two of three times a week.
For more photo's head over to 'Ewe've been framed'.
Thanks to all who visited our stand at the South of England Show
Spreading the good word on sheep milk
We spoke to lots of lovely people about sheep milk and met some interesting folk. Here's hoping that at least one of them will be telling their friends about the wonderful benefits of drinking sheep milk.
My favourite question has to be, 'how many goats do you have?'
Lovely Laura the journalist has been to visit...
...she writes a good review...
For 'Etc Magazine' none the less,
Click the pic to read article...
Have you tried sheep milk, sheep milk cheese or sheep milk ice cream?
Helen Tozer - April 2009
Helen Tozer has and she has written some handy hints. Luckily for me she has also posted them online for you to find out how to enjoy Milk and Cheese again - without the painful reaction.
I found this article totally by chance while searching online. I am not allowed to share any information relating to medical conditions as I may have a bias opinion so please click on the photo and it will take you to Helen's article.
We've been on tellie
Why is sheep milk Wensleydale cheese more expensive than the cow's milk?
Food Unwrapped visited to find out about milking sheep and why it's more expensive than cows milk. Watch the two Matt's (Tebbutt and van der Borgh) milking our sheep.
BBC Good Food Show
Spreading the good word on sheep milk
Aunty Jo's bunting and our Friezee mascot served us well at the show spreading the good word on sheep milk. We used about 3000 spoons; we're hoping that the people who tasted it & said, 'actually it's really nice', (usually after pulling a 'face') will tell all their friends about the wonderful benefits of Friezee & it's light and creamy taste...naturally nutritious & naughty!
We had a visit from Rosemary and Porkbelly.
They watched, photographed, learnt, wrote and taste tested...
BE-EWE-TIFUL ICE-CREAM: 25 SEPTEMBER, 2015 ROSEMARY
Well they say we all scream for ice-cream but for people like me, with an allergy to the protein in cow’s milk, it’s more a scream of pain. Of course there’s always a sorbet (although you’d be surprised just how many of them have a few milk products thrown in) but Pork Belly’s fed up of my bleating when the dessert menu arrives and there’s nothing there for me to try....Click on the image to read more....
Allieviating the Allergies
Adjunct: Professor, Univ. of Wisconsin, visiting Guest Professor at Oxford.
It is remarkable that the multiplicity and severity of allergic symptoms produced by cow's milk were relieved by the simplistic substitution of sheep's milk.
In a UK based study over 98% of participants with a dairy allergy were able to tolerate sheep milk.
With special attention to food Allergy (particularly milk) and their substitutes, by Leonard S. Girsh, M.D.
.....to read more click HERE
Did you know?
In NZ they have baby formula made from sheep milk.
Lactose intolerance
Many people who have intolerances or sensitivities to cow’s milk find that they can consume sheep dairy products successfully because sheep milk contains higher levels of medium-short-chain fatty acids (MCT), which aids in the absorption of lactose. MCT also limits and/or inhibits cholesterol deposits.
Information source: click on photo
We've been in the local rag...
Horsham farm to launch it's own sheep milk ice cream...
Click on the photo to find our more....
A cheese for the intolerant
This is written by Michelle Madden; May 25, 2011 | 33 Comments
I spent the day recently in Cornwall, NY – the home of Storm King, the extraordinary outdoor sculpture garden north of New York City. Population two, three thousand? No more. It felt good to get out of the throbbing city, to shock my lungs with country air and see a sky not pierced by tall buildings.
To read more click the photo...
The Intelligence of Sheep
BBC news report, dated, July 30th, 2004 reported the following:
Hungry sheep on the Yorkshire moors have taught themselves to roll 8ft (3m) across hoof-proof metal cattle grids - and raid villagers' valley gardens by executing a neat commando-style roll over the top.
Chilled & Frozen Foods Weekly wrote about us...
Summertime and the pudding is Friezee
No doubt it's been on 'Have I got News for you'...
click on the photo to read the article
Comparative Determination...
...of Biochemical Constituents between Animals (Goat, Sheep, Cow and Camel) Milk with Human Milk
Milk is a key contributor to improving nutrition and food security particularly in developing countries.
To read the whole paper click photo...
15 reasons ‘to be cheerful’ and drink sheep milk…
CLICK ON THE BLOG THAT TICKLES YOUR FANCY...
#4 SHEEP MILK MAY PREVENT ALZHEIMER'S
#5 HELP PREVENT OSTEOPOROSIS WITH SHEEP MILK
#6 ZINGY, SOME MAY SAY RACEY, SHEEP MILK…
#7 SHEEP MILK BENEFITS ALLERGY SUFFERERS
#8 LOWER YOUR CHOLESTEROL WITH SHEEP MILK
#9 ‘A MINUTE ON THE LIPS AN INCH ON THE HIPS’….FAT THAT PROVES THE SAYING WRONG!
#12 RICH IN CALCIUM FOR ‘DEM BONES’
Diets which cut out dairy food...
...could be a "ticking time bomb" for young people's bone health, a charity is warning. The National Osteoporosis Society says it’s concerned many young adults are putting their health at risk by following eating fads. Professor Susan Lanham-New is clinical advisor for the National Osteoporosis Society and head of the department of nutritional sciences at the University of Surrey.
Listen to the interview here;
See 'Matt the Farmers' interview skills in this video
This is from a book called:
Ice Cream!: The Whole Scoop
By Gail Damerow
Lactose Intolerance & Milk Allergy
An allergy to milk and milk products, which are a great source of protein and calcium, is rare
- more common is a lactose intolerance.
Some people only react adversely to cow's milk and are able to drink both sheep and goat's milk without any symptoms. In these cases, it is generally a protein called casein, that affects them, rather than the lactose. If a product is labelled as 'milk free', it should be suitable for both people who are lactose intolerant and sensitive to casein.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/milk-allergy/basics/symptoms/con-20032147
http://www.isitcowsmilkallergy.co.uk/getting-my-baby-diagnosed/cma-or-lactose-intolerance/
