In the UK, sheep farming has always been an important industry, with meat, wool, milk and sheepskin forming the basis of trade for centuries. Today, the main product of sheep is meat, although there's still a market for the other products.

Sheep have been farmed in the UK since Neolithic times in around 4000 BC. Evidence suggests that in ancient Britain, they were brown with horns. Ancestors of the semi-feral Soay sheep, they can still be found today, mainly on the Isle of Soay in St Kilda, Scotland.

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British sheep farms employ 34,000 people, with an additional 111,000 jobs in connected industries. The sector as a whole contributes £291.4 million to the UK economy annually. However, its future is uncertain as a result of prolonged Brexit talks between the British government and the EU.

 

History of UK sheep farming

Sheep originated in central Asia and were introduced to Britain by early settlers. Archaeologists unearthed preserved brown wool dating from the Neolithic period 5,000 years ago. It appeared to be from the Soay species.

Today, the Rare Breeds Survival Trust lists the Soay as being "Category 4: At risk", as there are only between 900 and 1,500 breeding ewes. The population on the Isle of Hirta, in the St Kilda archipelago, has been studied by scientists since the 1950s.

Sheep farming continued during and after the Roman conquest of Britain in 43 AD. They introduced domesticated short-wool species, such as the Ryeland. Later, long-wool breeds (the ancestors of today's Romney) were brought to the UK during medieval times.

Danish settlers brought their black-faced sheep into the north of England. This was the original Danelaw species that produced several modern breeds including Pennines, Downs and Scottish Blackface.

Today, most commercial production of wool comes from descendants of the Spanish merino sheep, but in the Middle Ages, some of Europe's finest wools were produced in England. The English wools far surpassed their Spanish rivals in terms of quality. The Ryeland, Lincoln and Cotswold breeds produced the finest wool in Britain.

However, the Spanish improved the quality of their merino wool and it was competing with the mid-range English wools by the 15th century. Some manufacturers mixed merino wool with English wools to produce the best quality yarns.

 

What sheep are commonly farmed today?

Today, Britain is made up of a wide range of different terrains that are home to around 90 different sheep breeds and cross-breeds. The sheep found on our farms are broadly split into four groups: white-face short-wool, long-wool, white-face horned and black-face horned varieties.

There are many different individual species farmed in different parts of the country. In hilly regions, the typical breeds of sheep are Welsh Mountain, Swaledale, Cheviots, Scottish Blackface, Rough Fell, Derbyshire Gritstone, Dalesbred and Herdwick. They have common traits of being hardy and thick-coated, having adapted over the years to living in harsh conditions in the hills.

In upland areas, typical breeds include Border Leicester, Bluefaced Leicester, Devon and Cornwall Longwool, Teeswater and Wensleydale. They fare best on the lower, easier terrain. Prevalent in areas of northern England, including the Lake District and The Pennines, they can also be found in Dartmoor and Exmoor in the south-west.

Commonly found in low-lying areas across England and Wales, lowland breeds including the Suffolk, Texel, Charollais, Romney, Clun Forest and the Oxford, Hampshire and Dorset Down typically have a heavier frame than their upland relatives.  A lot of lowland farmers choose a cross breed ewe - as a popular choice, the mule is a cross between a hill type ewe and a Bluefaced Leicester ram.

 

How will Brexit impact the UK sheep industry?

According to estimates released in October 2020 by the Country Land and Business Association, thousands of UK farmers' livelihoods are under threat in the event of a "no deal" Brexit.

Negotiations between the British government and the European Union have been continuing, against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, to try and avert a situation whereby Britain would have to carry on trading without a deal being in place on goods we export to Europe.

With British farmers in stiff competition with their EU rivals, the CLBA claims about three million lambs normally destined for export to the EU will no longer find a market there. The rural group fears thousands of sheep farmers in the UK may go out of business as a result.

The EU is the UK’s biggest export market for lamb, with our sheep farmers more reliant on the market than any other farming sectors. Around 90% of British lamb is exported to the EU, compared with 82% of beef exports and 78% of dairy products.

On 2nd November, French European Affairs Minister Clément Beaune advised the British Government there were only a "few days" left to conclude the Brexit negotiations with a deal in place. The transition period is due to end on 31st December 2020 and can't be extended beyond that date.

Like the rest of the farming community, sheep farmers don't know what the future holds from January 2021, once the UK leaves both the EU customs union and the single market. Speaking to BBC political correspondent Andrew Marr, Mr Beaune said it was in the EU's best interests, as well as the UK's, to strike a deal.