The status of sheep and goat farms across Europe was assessed with an adapted version of the Public Goods Tool (PG Tool), addressing overarching environmental, economic, social and governance themes. A total of 236 farms across Europe were selected covering the spectrum of farm typologies defined by the iSAGE project. It was revealed that sheep and goat farming systems are little innovative specially compared to other livestock sectors. The main challenge is the socioeconomic and structural constrains that prevent farmer’s acceptance and uptake of innovations at farm level. Other challenges included farmer’s reluctance to modify farming practices, lack of innovation culture across farmer communities, limited farmer skills and knowledge in some areas, low farmer investment capacity, ageing of farmers and rural areas depopulation trends and lack of strong and well-organized, long-term, farmer collaborations. At sector level, internal competence between value chain stakeholder (e.g. farmers, processors, distributors, retailers) within the sector reduces its competitiveness in international markets but also in relation to other livestock species and to non-livestock food products. iSAGE exploited the latest advances in molecular genetics and DNA analysis to develop new tools in breeding programs. iSAGE case studies showed that extension programs emphasizing farm innovation that increase farm efficiency and profitability are the most effective approach to reduce at the same time the farm environmental impact. Results showed that there is enough room for product and process innovation in meat sheep production. New packaging and cuts, development of quality labels or other certification and traceability systems and new marketing campaigns to make society aware of the environmental and social services of sheep and goat farming systems are key strategies. Participatory farmer-group training programmes seem to be a strategy with high potential to develop a more knowledgeable and competent farming workforce. iSAGE identified requirements such as National organisations with regional branches, strong national network of farms, businesses, organizations and reliable funding sources. iSAGE contributed also to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) debate, with suggestions for new calculations for the global warming effect of CH4, policy implications from the isage case studies and potential of breeding for resilience to climate change. A new holistic farm level model has been developed. Research on genetic traits regarding efficiency and resilience was a key issue in iSAGE; relevant genetic parameters have been estimated along with novel animal resilience and adaptability phenotypes based on joint analyses of milk records and weather variables. Overall, iSAGE provided a comprehensive understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the sheep and goat industry as the basis to further develop and meet both farmer and public expectations. A significant part of results has been already disseminated through scientific publications, conference papers and technical reports.
