The Sheep Ireland Guide & Directory of Breeders 2026 is now available and will be posted out to commercial farmers this month, in time for the breeding season.

The Guide & Directory highlights pedigree breeders who are involved in the LambPlus programme and who are performance recording their animals. This performance data contributes to genetic evaluations producing €urostars.

Breed Society contacts for most breeds of sheep in the country, and contact details of performance recording Breeders are included, as well as Hill Groups and Breeders who have genotyped their hill rams.

In this Guide & Directory there is a wealth of information about:

• the Irish Sheep Industry,
• tips for ram purchasers,
• explanations on how to understand and interpret €urostars and values,
• the ingredients that comprise the €urostar indexes,
• explanations of genomics and validation information,
• as well as information on what is happening with the Hill sector,
• and about the Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS).

Farmers can also use the online Ramsearch feature just scanning the QR code, and SIS rams from each breeder will be displayed there.

Click to access the Guide & Directory

CHAIRPERSON’S MESSAGE:

Denis Carroll. Denis is a commercial sheep and dairy farmer from Killarney, Co. Kerry.

As chairman of Sheep Ireland, I am pleased to reflect on the progress made across the sector since last year. Despite ongoing challenges on farms, we have continued to strengthen performance recording, improve the quality of genetic evaluations and expand the use of data-driven breeding tools to help flocks become more productive, efficient and resilient. The continued development
of genomic services, increased engagement with breeders and the growth in flock participation have all helped build greater confidence in the value of informed breeding decisions.

We have also seen encouraging momentum in hill sheep, with dedicated work to support hill breeding groups and the ongoing development of flockbooks and genotyping initiatives that will help
protect valuable hill breeds while creating opportunities for long-term genetic gain.

Looking ahead, our aim is to keep delivering practical tools that work for commercial and pedigree farmers alike. We want to further improve the accuracy and relevance of our evaluations, support greater uptake of recording technologies, and ensure that breeding programmes reflect the needs of a changing industry.

For hill sheep in particular, our focus will remain on preserving breed identity, improving data quality and giving hill farmers better information to breed robust, fertile and efficient sheep suited to their environment. By continuing to work together across the industry, we can make steady progress and secure a stronger future for Irish sheep farming

The Guide & Directory of Breeders 2026 is kindly sponsored by: