The Sustain Sheep project is working across several countries to help farmers breed sheep that are healthier and more efficient– without adding extra work on farms.
Read more below to keep up to date with what’s happening in Sustain Sheep:
What Is Sustain Sheep About?
The project focuses on understanding and improving:
- Methane emissions from sheep,
- Genetic traits linked to efficiency,
- Practical breeding tools farmers can use, and
- How policies and breeding programmes can support farmers long‑term.
Farmers across Ireland, the UK, France, Norway, Uruguay and New Zealand are contributing data and experience to build solutions that work in real‑world conditions.
Big Progress on the International Farmer Survey
Farmers from multiple countries took part in a major survey, with 473 responses received.
The results are helping the project understand:
- What traits farmers value most,
- What challenges are common across countries,
- What tools farmers need to make better breeding decisions.
These results will shape new research papers and farmer-focused tools. Preliminary results will be presented at the 2026 World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production in June 2026.
Measuring Methane on Farm
A major part of Sustain Sheep is gathering real measurements of methane from sheep, using Portable Accumulation Chambers (PAC). This gives the project:
- Reliable methane data from commercial-type sheep,
- Insights into how much methane varies between animals,
- Evidence that selecting low‑emitting sheep is possible.
Keep up to date with the Sustain Sheep project by visiting their website here, following on LinkedIn and on YouTube.
