An ambitious young couple milking 350 sheep in Greece have future plans not only to expand the flock, but to improve their genetics by precision breeding.
Situated at the foot of Mount Olympus, close to the town of Elassona, is Avdanas farm run by Michalis Avdanas and his partner Catherina Kalliga.
Founded in 2012 by Michalis’ late father Ioannis, the farm is home to 350 milking Chios ewes, a breed originating on the Greek island of Chios noted for its good productivity.
The farm started with only 40 ewes and Michalis took over in 2016 after his father passed away. Since then he and Catherina, both veterinarians, have bred a nucleus flock with high genetic merit and high production traits.
Michalis said: “One of the attributes of the Chios breed is that it can milk for six good productive seasons.
“Our milk is sold to a processor that makes the famous feta cheese, therefore it needs to be good quality. We receive €1.57 per kilogramme for the milk.
“As long as they produce over 2.5kg of milk per day, the sheep are milked three times every 24 hours. Below this rate, we milk them twice per day until drying off.”
Sheep dairy flock
Michalis explained that they can milk about 180 animals per hour through a DeLaval highline parlour.
The parlour has 24 places and milks 12 at a time but they want to extend it to milk 24 animals at once in a 48-unit parlour.
During 2023, Avdanas farm produced a total of 76t of milk with an average production of 460L/ewe/yr.
That year the farm generated €178,000 income and expenses of €101,000. Around 81% of the income derived from milk sales; 8% from subsidies; 6% from meat sales and 5% from selling live animals.
Feed costs racked up most of the expense costs at 57%, whereas 16% was salary for the family and two full-time workers; 11% was construction and investment and the remaining percentage was miscellaneous operating expenses.
In typical Greek style, Avdanas farm is quite small extending to only 1ha. Michalis rents another 7ha for extra grazing and a further 11ha for growing forage.
He said: “I own 1ha and rent seven more for grazing nearby. It is possible to buy more land around my farm but I have better areas to invest money on the farm’s infrastructure and technology, rather than having it locked in land.
“The sheep are fed mainly inside the barn with a TMR [total mixed ration] containing silage, grass and concentrated fodder.
“We use the pasture moreso for the mental health of the sheep and to supplement if they are missing something from the diet.
“I grow the fodder a little further away from the farm on another 11ha, of which eight is used for alfalfa and the other three for lolium.”
Breeding
Michalis has a future plan mapped out to extend the flock to 500 sheep, which he says is a realistic target to reach.
In recent years, the farm’s birth rate has been around 1.79 to 1.84, although the breed has a 2.2 average birth rate.
Michalis said: “Using selected rams I have brought our birth rate down a bit so that our ewes can have a better quality of life.
“Our replacement rate hovers around 30% because I want to reach our target of 500 sheep in a short time. The Chios breed, due to its longevity, normally has a replacement of about 15%.
“We have 10 rams of high generic merit, which we continuously renew. Any males born that do not have high genetic merit go for slaughter, the rest are sold for breeding.
“We still don’t practice AI [artificial insemination] but that is something we have on our plan for the future,” he added.
Being a vet, Michalis is well educated on the various options for breeding. Currently they use intravaginal sponges on some sheep for planned matings with the aim of avoiding inbreeding and optimising yields.
He said: “We scan the sheep later in the pregnancy and separate them into groups according to numbers of lambs and expected lambing dates.
“Lambs stay on the mothers for two days and then move to milk feeders. We run three groups of lambs including the very young ones two-days-old that we need to help feed.
“Nutrition plays a vital role in successful breeding for our flock. We require sheep that can produce high quantities of milk to enable us to make a profit.
“I personally plan the rations we use in collaboration with a nutritionist. We work with a total of four different rations based on the stage of development and reproduction where each animal goes through,” he added.
Challenges
Catherina and Michalis have three young children, two boys and a girl.
“If they want to continue in farming, I will not stop them. They are still young to know what they will decide,” Michalis remarked.
Michalis says the main challenges they face on the farm are the weather, labour shortages and the price of milk.
“In addition to that, perhaps the way in which European Union aid is distributed by the state to us should be changed,” he added.
“In other words I think it would be more beneficial if it was the production levels that are subsidised, rather than the actual numbers of livestock.”