The Latxa (; es, Lacho/Lacha) is a breed of

domestic sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

native to the Basque Country of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Mostly contained within the provinces of

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...

and Navarre, Latxa are dairy sheep whose unpasteurized milk is used to produce Idiazábal and Roncal cheeses. There are two sub-types of the breed, a dark-faced and a blonde. The breed is a medium or small-sized sheep with long, coarse wool. Ewes are polled or have short horns, while rams always possess long, spiral horns. The name ''latxa'' itself refers to the rough quality of the wool, which is largely an agricultural byproduct today. Traditionally, Latxa sheep have been managed by moving the flock to mountain pastures in summer when the ewes have finished lactating, with cheese-making taking place on the farm. Some flocks are moved while still lactating, with the animals being hand-milked on the high pastures. Since 1982, a breeding scheme has been introduced and new production methods tested. Artificial insemination is being used to provide earlier lambing and prolong the breeding season and machine milking is taking the place of hand milking. The mountain pasture is still used as a "free" resource, and the sheep do not compete with cattle and horses which graze the more level areas, because the sheep prefer herbaceous plants on more steeply sloping land. Latxa have a seasonal lactation cycle which does not produce as great a volume of milk as other dairy breeds. Recently some Basque Country farmers have begun to use hybrid Assaf sheep, which some maintain does not meet the

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for the cheese.

References

Further reading