SUGARTOWN -- Raising sheep isn't, by cattlemen's standards, the most macho of ventures -- so you can understand the snickers and jeers Frank Boggs, Jr. has endured from observers since the day he started hoarding sheep on 180 acres of hilly, green, tree-ridden land.

Come on, guy. This is beef country. What were you thinking?

"There are 5,000 Louisiana cattlemen. As far as I know, I am the only person who raises sheep [and sells the product at retail in individually frozen packages]," Boggs said.

Boggs raises a breed of sheep whose lineage goes to Africa by way of the Caribbean. The sheep are called Katahdin -- "hair sheep," in laymen's terms.

It's common knowledge around Southwest Louisiana that in the meat pecking order, beef is tops, with pork close behind.

Boggs has no intention of challenging that lineup, but he's aiming at making lamb an alternative for carnivores.

He raises sheep and then sends them to a processing plant in Eunice, where the meat is packaged.

Boggs sells his meat at the Red Stick Farmer's Market in Baton Rouge and the Charlestown Farmer's Market in Lake Charles.

"My lamb tastes different because it's grass-fed and doesn't have wool," he explained.

Pay attention to that statement, folks.

Even though it hasn't been scientifically proven, Boggs said the meat from hair sheep normally does not have that strong, stomach-churning taste that wool sheep are known for. Wool sheep have lanolin, or "wool fat," and lots of it will influence the taste, especially when the meat is cold.

"Always eat lamb hot," Boggs advises.

Hair sheep, as far as Boggs is concerned, have a milder taste because they don't carry a lot of wool.

Boggs was raised in Sugartown, went to LSU and became a chemical engineer in the 1970s. Then he came home to be a farmer.

Since he bought his first lamb in 1993, Boggs has become a fan of the meat.

"I eat it regularly. My daughter at LSU eats it, too, when she visits. The wife and son don't eat it," he said. My mother-in-law doesn't even touch it, and she is Lebanese!"

The slight by the wife and kid is understandable. Lamb is an acquired taste, after all.

But what's up with the Mother-in-law?

Lamb is a staple in Middle Eastern cuisine.

"I think she ate it too much as a child," Boggs concludes.

He knows it's unusual to be in the sheep business in these parts, but Boggs doesn't care what others think.

Besides, "no one else does what I do in Louisiana, as far as I know," he said.

So much for machismo -- especially when you're laughing all the way to the bank.

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