Teagasc has outlined the "challenges and responses" for the sheep sector between now and 2030.

As part of its sectoral roadmaps for the agr-food sector, Teagasc published a 'roadmap' for the sector to 2030.

The roadmap outlined some key facts and figures on the current state of play in the sector.

The Teagasc document said that the sheep farming sector provides income for over 34,000 farm families who collectively farm over 3.7 million sheep.

Approximately half of those farms can be described as specialised sheep farms, where sheep is the dominant enterprise, and approximately half of these specialised sheep farmers have an off-farm job.

Over 85% of Irish sheepmeat, worth around €400 million, is exported, and a small volume of sheepmeat is imported into Ireland.

According to Teagasc, the challenges facing the industry currently include low profitability, generational renewal, animal health, and uplands management.

Of the total farm families in Ireland, 26% have some form of sheep enterprise. In 2024, the sector accounted for 4% of the value of agricultural output, and sheep made up 7% of all livestock units on Irish farms.

In 2024, 57,000t of sheepmeat was exported, to the value of €394 million.

In 2024, there were 3.592 million sheep in the country, of which 2.468 million were ewes.

In the same year, the average farm size of specialised sheep farms was 47.4ha, and the income per hectare stood at €586.

According to Teagasc, medium term market access outlook is positive, due to reduced breeding ewe numbers across the EU.

However, farm income production continues to remain at modest levels with an increased reliance on EU scheme payments to ensure profitability in the sector.

Teagasc said it will continue to work across its research and knowledge transfer activities to investigate and implement actions to improve the economic sustainability of the Irish sheep sector.

It also said it will continue to focus on reducing costs of production while increasing performance and sustainable output levels, while also increasing the rate of genetic gain at farm level.

Outside the financial situation in the sector, the Teagasc 'roadmap' said that sheep farmers will look to opportunities for automation, remote sensing and sensor technologies to assist with the management of flocks on both lowlands and uplands.

Teagasc said it supports digitalisation and automation of the industry, particularly in the areas of animal handling, and use of sensors.

However, the authority also said that the sheep sector also requires a supply of skilled and knowledgeable people, particularly around the inter-generational transfer of local knowledge on uplands.

Teagasc said it will "facilitate upskilling" of the current cohort of sheep producers and will provide support to new entrants.

On health and safety, the roadmap noted that sheep farming has some challenges with regard to health and safety due to the high number of farmers who also work off farm.

Teagasc said it intends to work with farmers in the sector to identify work areas and tasks that can be completed more efficiently and safely.

On the environmental side, the roadmap said there needs to be a higher focus on management of sheep dipping facilities in relation to water quality.

Teagasc also said that future sheep production needs to be more carbon efficient, and that a "key development" will be the use of the AgNav digital farm management tool on sheep farms.