Van Der Werf, Julius H

Swan, Andrew

Banks, Robert

2017

Of the more than one billion sheep in the world, many of these are owned by smallholders in developing countries who are part of extensive low-cost production systems. The sheep products are mostly consumed on local markets, with Australia and New Zealand playing the most significant role on the world market. Also in the developed world, sheep production tends to take place on marginal pastureland, is relatively of low cost and has limited large capital investment in breeding programmes. Due to the low value of individual animals (compared to dairy cattle) and the low reproductive rate of females (compared to pigs and poultry), sheep breeding programmes are characterised by relatively low levels of private investment or corporate involvement, and are therefore often running on a 'low-cost' principle.

Achieving sustainable production of sheep, p. 133-155

9781786760869

9781786760876

9781786760845

https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/23230

en

Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing Limited

Burleigh Dodds Series in Agricultural Science

1

Advances in sheep breeding

Book Chapter

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