The Future of Upland Sheep Farming, Finding the Balance; Production, Nature Conservation and Climate Change

This report explores the evolving role of upland sheep farming in addressing the interconnected challenges of food production, nature conservation, climate change, and cultural preservation. Through a Nuffield Farming Scholarship, I conducted an international study tour across 11 countries - including the UK, Chile, Argentina, Japan, and the USA - interviewing 50 farmers and agricultural experts engaged in a wide range of grazing systems. These conversations revealed diverse, innovative approaches to sustainable sheep farming, offering lessons relevant to the future of upland agriculture in the UK.

Key findings highlight that farmers globally are embracing practices such as rotational and conservation grazing, integration with biodiversity goals, and the delivery of public goods services. In the USA, sheep are being used for fire risk reduction, vineyard maintenance, and vegetation management under solar panels - examples of multifunctional land use that combine agricultural output with environmental benefit.

Climate change was the most frequently cited challenge, with farmers reporting increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather patterns. Many are responding by breeding more resilient livestock, diversifying their systems, and adopting low-impact, adaptive management techniques. This aligns with a growing mindset of farming “to the optimum, not the maximum.”

Cultural identity also emerged as a key theme. In regions like Wales, sheep farming is inseparable from language, tradition, and rural community life. Farmers expressed concern that the loss of small farms risks eroding not just food production capacity but also centuries-old knowledge, skills, and cultural continuity. These sentiments were echoed in communities as far afield as Patagonia and rural Japan.

The report advocates for policies that support the multifunctional role of upland sheep farming, recognising it as a provider of food, biodiversity management, cultural heritage, and climate resilience. Financial support for conservation-focused grazing, funding for public good delivery, and stronger farmer-to-farmer knowledge exchange are identified as crucial steps forward.

Drawing on both global insight and my own experience farming on the Great Orme in North Wales, I conclude that the future of upland sheep farming lies in adaptation, diversification, and cultural connection. By working with the land, rather than against it, sheep farmers can continue to be stewards of both productive landscapes and the rural heritage that shapes them.