Milking is done by hand. Each herder milks about 100 ewes per day. Because of the differences in genetics and condition, milk production is quite variable between ewes. It is very low in many cases, but on the average, ewes give 60 liters of milk during the season. Because of this arrangement, sheep growers must pay to send dry ewes to the mountains.
Cheese is made at the camp's smoke house.
Five to six pounds of sheep's milk is needed to make one pound of cheese. Pigs grow very fast when they have whey in their diets. The final cheese product is sold at open air markets in the villages. It goes without saying that mountain sheep production is deeply rooted in tradition. Some shepherds still wear traditional dress and production methods have probably changed little over the years.