SAC Research

• To establish a hierarchy of welfare criteria for sheep in extensive sheep farming systems.
  
• To match this with a hierarchy of actions that shepherds can take to influence the welfare of the sheep in their care.
  
• To provide quantifiable data linking input costs (for example labour) associated with the hierarchy of welfare actions and corresponding flock outputs.
  
• To put all the findings into a decision support framework to provide the whole-farm perspective necessary to explore the practical implications and provide knowledge transfer relevant to a particular region or system.
  

The study includes the following methods:

• an extensive literature review, consultation with experts and a workshop event.
• a series of 5 farmers’ focus groups, each duplicated in 4 sheep farming regions (Scotland, Mid Wales, Lake District and Peak District). A wide and detailed range of expert practitioner opinion and information is being gathered.
• To collect the data we require, each focus group includes a ‘focus farm’ that will provide physical and financial information in support of the focus group efforts.
• Finally bio-economic models will be built to represent the interrelationships involved at whole-farm level as described above, and tested.
  

Evaluation of welfare programmes

Combining the results from the workshop, the literature the farmers’ focus groups and basic economic data, a decision model (decision support tool) will be developed, to assess the impact of alternative management strategies, taking into account the implications for both animal welfare and farm incomes. This model will allow users to appraise investments in sheep welfare and provide knowledge transfer relevant to a particular region or system.

Benefits to the industry & scientific community

The practical & scientific knowledge collected during the workshop and the various focus groups is available to the industry and to those with an interest in animal welfare & economics. When completed, the decision support tool will be made available as a basis for providing advice to extensive sheep producers.