Sheep Farming Systems Research Articles

Positive attitudes, positive outcomes: The relationship between farmer attitudes, management behaviour and sheep welfare.

This study examined the relationships between the attitudes and the management behaviour of the farmer and the on-farm welfare of their ewes. To our knowledge, this is the first study investigating these relationships in extensive sheep farming systems. Thirty-two sheep farmers and 6200 ewes were sampled across Victoria, Australia. Questionnaire interviews and on-farm animal welfare assessments were conducted. The ewes were assessed at two-time points, mid-pregnancy and weaning. To examine relationships between farmer and ewe variables, categorical principal component analyses, correlations and logistic regressions were used. The main findings of this study indicate relationships between farmer attitudes and management behaviour, consistent with findings from other more intensive livestock industries. Farmers were more likely to check the body condition of their ewes (Odds ratio = 2.37, P = 0.03), perform ultrasound pregnancy diagnosis (Odds ratio = 1.16, P = 0.02) and test for egg count before deworming sheep (Odds ratio = 2.88, P = 0.01) if they perceived these activities were important/valuable. In addition, farmers that performed these activities had a more active management style, and ewes in better welfare: fewer lame ewes at mid-pregnancy (r = -0.38 P = 0.04), and fewer ewes in need of further care at mid-pregnancy and weaning respectively (r = -0.47, P = 0.01; r = -0.50, P = 0.01). When combining the qualitative and quantitative analyses, behavioural attitudes (attitudes towards specific management behaviours) and perceived behavioural control (perceived barriers to performing the behaviour) emerged as the two main drivers underpinning farmer management behaviour. The results of this study indicate that the way farmers manage their ewes influences welfare outcomes, and management decisions are influenced by attitudes towards management practices. These findings demonstrate the opportunity to create change in farmer management behaviour and improve sheep welfare via targeted education programs.

Small Flocks Show Higher Levels of Welfare in Mexican Semi-Intensive Sheep Farming Systems

ABSTRACT In order to assess the level of sheep welfare in small traditional farms as compared with farms of increased size we evaluated several animal-based parameters and applied a modified Animal Needs Index (ANI) protocol in farms located in the North-East of the country. We selected ten sheep farms: 5 farms had less than 20 ewes per flock (Group L20), whereas 5 farms had more than 20 ewes per flock (Group M20). Based on the recordings performed using the ANI scheme Group L20 constantly showed higher scores as compared with Group M20. In Group M20 a higher proportion of animals was affected by skin and wool damages, low body condition, tail mutilation, ocular discharge, nasal discharge, diarrhoea (P < 0.05) and lameness (P < 0.01). We observed a higher percentage of non-anaemic animals in group L20 and a higher percentage of anaemic animals in Group M20 (P < 0.01). Although based on a small sample, our results showed that several animal-based measures were able to discriminate the two groups of farms with higher levels of animal welfare detected in small flocks.

Adapting Seasonal Sheep Production to Year-Round Fresh Meat and Halal Market in Norway

Norway is the largest sheep meat producer among Nordic countries with more than 1.3 million lambs and sheep slaughtered in 2017. The sheep industry is limited by the need for in-house feeding during the winter months. In summer, Norwegian sheep are mainly kept on rangeland pastures, with sufficient feed for almost double the current sheep population. Lambs are slaughtered over a three- to four-month period from September to December with a peak in September–October, providing a surplus of lamb, much of which is subsequently frozen, followed by eight months during which fresh produce is in limited supply. Norwegian consumers eat an average of 5.4 kg of sheep meat per person per year, much of which is purchased as a frozen product. The Muslim (4.2% of the population) preference for year-round halal meat, with an increased demand on the eve of the Muslim meat festival (Eid al-Adha), has the potential to boost demand, particularly in Oslo. This paper provides an overview of the Norwegian sheep farming system, the current market value chains, and the potential to meet the demand for halal meat in Norway (specifically during the Muslim meat festival—Eid al-Adha) to the advantage of both consumers and sheep farmers.

Multi-objective simulation and optimisation of dairy sheep farms: Exploring trade-offs between economic and environmental outcomes

A decision support tool for sheep farming systems (PASTOR-DSS) was developed to investigate trade-offs between economic and environmental objectives on Spanish dairy sheep farms. The tool combines a hierarchical stochastic simulation model at three levels with a multi-objective optimisation procedure based on genetic algorithms. The first level of simulation includes rumen, reproduction and nutrient balance submodels. These three submodels are integrated into an animal model, which constitutes the second level. The third level is the farm, which includes the flock, the feeding and reproductive management, the availability of feeding resources, and the farm economics. The multi-objective genetic algorithm applies to the farm level. The tool was validated for the different levels of simulation, with outputs having an acceptable level of accuracy and representing correctly the links between feeding and reproduction. The tool was used to optimise the Latxa breed farming systems of the Basque Country (Spain). Two farm types were simulated: a COAST farm located in low-altitude Atlantic conditions and longer grazing period, and the INLAND farm located in mountain areas with a shorter grazing period. The optimisation provided a set of optimal solutions with different economic and environmental (N excretion) performances. The optimal solutions increased the financial margin over feed costs in both farms (+24% and + 22% for COAST and INLAND, respectively). The final space of solutions showed a clear trade-off between the economic and environmental performance (nitrogen excretion). The difference in the financial margin over feed costs between the solutions could be interpreted as the opportunity cost of greening in policy design, i.e., the payment that farmers should receive to change their farming methods to reduce nitrogen pollution.

Water footprint assessment of sheep farming systems based on farm survey data

Water scarcity is among the main challenges making vulnerable the livestock farming systems in drylands. The water footprint (WF) indicator was proposed as a metric to measure the impacts of livestock production on freshwater resources. Therefore, this study aimed to assess water use in five different Tunisian sheep production systems using the Water Footprint Network methodology. The primary data were obtained from 1050 sheep farms located in 13 Tunisian provinces. A multivariate analysis was performed to characterize the different farming systems. A validation step of the WF modeled values of sheep meat was conducted in 12 sheep farms belonging to two different farming systems. This was done through year-round monitoring of on-farm practices using water metres and recording equipment’s taking into account the direct and indirect water use. The typology analysis came up with five sheep farming systems that are the mixed sheep-cereal (MSC), the agro-sylvo-pastoral (ASP), the agro-pastoral (AP), the extensive agro-pastoral (EAP) and the mixed sheep-olive tree farming systems. The WF of sheep meat produced under the target farming systems ranged from 8654 to 13 056 l/kg live weight. The evaluation of WF of five different sheep production systems figured out that sheep raised under the EAP farming system had the greatest WF per ton of live animal. However, the ASP farming system exhibited the lowest WF. Water used to grow feedstuffs for sheep production accounts for 98% of the total WF of sheep. The green WF accounts for more than 92% of the total WF in all farming systems. Results of monitoring water use at farm scale show that the modeled values of WF are overestimated by an average of 23.3% and 24.1% for the selected farms assigned to the MSC and AP farming systems, respectively. Water use for sheep production is high in most of the Tunisian farms. Therefore, the general assumption that ‘meat production is a driver of water scarcity’ is supported and should be considered as an important focal point in agricultural and water policies. Particular attention should be given to forage crops with low WFs and high contribution to dry matter to provide ration with low WF. The efficient use of green water along the meat value chain is essential to minimize the depletion of blue water resources and to reduce the economic dependency on virtual water through the import of feedstuffs.

Factors influencing off-take rates of smallholder sheep farming systems in the Western Cape Provinve of South Africa

The purpose of this study was to determine off-take rates in smallholder sheep farming systems in the Western Cape province of South Africa. A purposeful sampling technique was used where smallholder farmers were selected based on certain criteria. The criterion set out was that farmers must own between five and 100 sheep. Interviews were conducted with 72 smallholder farmers in three districts, namely the West Coast, Karoo and Eden. General information on the socio-economic status of the farmers was obtained through semi-structured questionnaires. The main sources of income for the Karoo farmers was livestock (46%) and crops for Eden (32%). Farmers in the West Coast area mostly relied on salaries (43%), thus off-farm income. The Karoo district sold a higher average number of lambs per year (41 ± 8.8), with West Coast and Eden selling the same average number of lambs per year at 7 ± 2.2 and 7 ± 2.6 respectively. Overall, the income derived from livestock is low and not economically sustainable. Therefore, different strategies (such as access to market, financial assistance, improved animal nutrition and health management, as well as sound breeding plans) should be employed to assist smallholder livestock farmers to increase off-take rates.

An enteric methane emission calculator (DREEM) built to consider feed diversity: Case study of pastoral and sedentary farming systems

Ruminant livestock systems are significant sources of greenhouse gases (GHG). Livestock farming in regions with extreme climatic events have to face both scarcity and variability in feed resources. Herd mobility is a known major adaptation strategy to address seasonal availability of forage resources: it allows an increase in herd size, thereby improving labor productivity. The present study quantifies enteric methane (CH4) emissions from French Mediterranean sheep farming systems, focusing on the use of diversified pastoral feed resources, and developing a calculator (Diversity of feed REsources and Enteric Methane emissions, DREEM). The DREEM calculator was developed to estimate at the animal level enteric CH4 emissions (g/day) from empirical equations and be subsequently integrated, as a sub-table, into an economic and GHG (kg/year) balance model (Outil de Simulation du TRoupeau ovin ALaitant, OSTRAL) at the whole farm level. Several equations were taken from the literature to estimate enteric CH4 emissions in DREEM calculator. Nature of forage and feed, animal feeding levels and performance were referenced according to the animal feeding system and tables in France and taking into account the French Mediterranean area studied. DREEM was used to estimate enteric CH4 emissions from four sheep farming systems covering the main contrasting mobility and situations, from sedentary to highly mobile pastoral systems, in the French Mediterranean area. At the individual level, enteric CH4 emissions (g/day) of ewes in the sedentary system were slightly higher than those of ewes in other systems. These differences were due mainly to differences in animal feeding level (intake / body weight) and feed resources characteristics. Overall, enteric CH4 emissions of ewes and rams were slightly lower than French national inventory estimates. When enteric CH4 emissions of lambs were expressed in g/kg of carcass, were lower in the less pastoral farming systems than in the other systems, because lambs’ average daily gains were higher. In double transhuming farming systems, lambs late slaughtering age led to lamb’s CH4 contribution of 15% vs 2–5% in the other systems. Flock management, which depends on land use and ownership, greatly contributed to these results.

The economic value of replacement breeding ewes attaining puberty within their first year of life on New Zealand sheep farms

The economic value of increasing the reproductive performance of a breeding-ewe flock through selecting replacement ewes that attain puberty (AP) in their first year of life was quantified using bio-economic farm system modelling. In all of the scenarios modelled, the breeding-ewes were first presented for mating as yearlings (18–19 months of age) to enable them to start lambing at 2 years of age. For a New Zealand hill country sheep farm initially weaning 1.4 lambs per ewe mated, farm profit was improved by 6% when the percentage of breeding ewes that attained puberty in their first year of life was increased from 25% to 100%. However, if current sheep-industry target liveweight recommendations for rearing ewe lambs are met then between 70 and 95% of breeding-ewes should already attain puberty in their first year of life, and under these circumstances any further gains in farm profitability through specifically using this selection policy will be small (<2%). Countering the reproductive performance benefits of this selection policy was: (1) ewe liveweight increased with a higher AP%, which increased the individual feed requirements of the ewes; and (2) ewe mortality increased as multiple-bearing ewes became increasingly prevalent. The economic cost of using additional resources to further increase the farm's feed supply outweighed the benefits, resulting in the need to reduce farm breeding ewe numbers. The methodology and farm system model used for this study can be readily applied to other sheep farming systems. This can identify components of the reproductive process which should be targeted for further research to maximise on-farm benefits, and provide information on how a farm system will need to change for this to be successfully achieved.

Indigenous Knowledge in Sheep and Goat Farming Systems in Tamil Nadu, India

The present study was conducted in 2008 to document the indigenous knowledge prevalent in sheep and goat farming systems in Tamil Nadu, India. Fifty sheep farmers in Tirunelveli district and fifty goat farmers in Erode district were selected by proportionate random sampling method and the data were collected through an interview schedule and analysed and ranked for getting inferences. The results revealed that in sheep farming system, the traditional practices such as lamb hut (100%), washing the sheep in ponds for tick removal (100%), selecting good breeding rams (96%), sheep penning (94%), and twinning (76%) were known to sheep farmers. In goat farming system, rearing bucks for religious purpose (100%), kid house (100%), tethering (96%), and locally made shelter (84%) were known to goat farmers. A close look at the indigenous practices in sheep and goat farming systems indicates the area-specific nature of these practices/beliefs.

Transition among different production systems in a Sardinian dairy sheep farm: Environmental implications

Sardinia (Italy) plays a relevant role on EU sheep milk production. In Sardinia, as well as in other Mediterranean regions, there is a range of different dairy sheep farming systems and an effective renovation process is needed to tackle the deep structural crisis of the sector. The eco-innovation of production processes and the valorisation of pasture-based livestock systems can be a key strategy to improve the farms competitiveness and to promote the environmental sustainability of the typical Mediterranean dairy sheep products. For these reasons, research studies based on holistic and site-specific approaches are needed to assess the environmental implications of Mediterranean sheep systems. The main objective of this study was to compare the environmental performances of two contrasting sheep milk production systems through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. The LCA was carried out on a farm where changes in land use (from arable and irrigated crops to native and artificial pastures) occurred over a 10-year period, in conjunction with a reduction of total supply of mineral fertilizers. The analysis was performed using IPCC and ReCiPe methodologies, and a functional unit of 1 kg of Fat and Protein Corrected Milk (FPCM). The LCA analysis showed that the change from semi-intensive to semi-extensive production system had only a slight effect on the overall environmental performances of 1 kg FPCM, due to the dominant impact of enteric fermentation in both systems. The Carbon Footprint was on average 3.12 kg CO2-eq per kg FPCM and the average score of the ReCiPe Endpoint was 461 mPt per kg FPCM. Methane enteric emissions and the use of imported soybean meal were identified as the main environmental hotspots.

Genetic Traits of Relevance to Sustainability of Smallholder Sheep Farming Systems in South Africa

Sustainable livestock production is important to ensure continuous availability of resources for future generations. Most smallholder livestock farming systems in developing countries have been perceived to be environmentally, socially and economically unsustainable. Farming with livestock that is robust and adaptable to harsh environments is important in developing countries especially in semi-arid and arid environments. This review discusses the different sheep farming systems employed by smallholder farmers and associated sustainability problems facing them. The review also gives an overview of sustainability indicators and limitations to the sustainability for the different smallholder sheep production systems in South Africa. It is argued that genetic diversity is important for sustainability and needs to be maintained in sheep for sustainable production and reproduction performance. The application of traditional breeding and genomics to ensure sustainable production is explored. Animal breeding approaches, specifically genomics can be applied to improve areas of environmental sustainability of smallholder sheep farming systems but must be targeted to the specific production environments, challenges, and opportunities of smallholder production. The genetic traits important for sustainability, the role of genomics in improving these traits and linking these genetic traits to different farming systems in South Africa are discussed.

Issues and opportunities to capitalize on increased litter size in hill country sheep farming systems—a New Zealand perspective

Issues and opportunities to capitalize on increased litter size in hill country sheep farming systems—a New Zealand perspective

Evaluating livestock mobility as a strategy for climate change mitigation: Combining models to address the specificities of pastoral systems

Pastoral farming systems have always adapted to the seasonal availability of forage resources and climate variability by moving animals. However, the role of animal mobility as a possible mitigating strategy in response to climate change has not been clearly documented. To understand this role, we investigated (i) the major methodological challenges linked to the diversity of grazing areas and other forage resources exploited by these systems and enteric emissions of methane; (ii) the impacts of grazing practices (carbon sequestration/emission) on soil and biomass carbon fluxes. We developed an approach based on two existing models (OSTRAL: Outil de Simulation du TRoupeau ovin ALlaitant and CASA: Carnegie Ames Stanford Approach) that we adapted and used in combination. This approach was applied to three French Mediterranean sheep and crop farming systems with different degrees of flock mobility (sedentary, single transhumance and double transhumance). The preliminary results produced by the whole farm model OSTRAL showed that two systems (sedentary and double transhumance) causing low carbon emissions. In the sedentary system, higher animal productivity offsets the increase in GHG emissions (in CO2eq) caused by feed production. In the pastoral system, grazing reduced total GHG emissions (in CO2eq). The CASA model proved to be useful to simulate the carbon balance under dynamic land cover in natural environments, whether used for grazing or not. This model can help assess the impact of grazing practices and carbon fluxes in systems linked to natural environments. The results of the first application showed that seasonal mobility of livestock increases the contribution of rangeland to feeding systems and improves the non-renewable energy balance of the system. It is thus extremely important to include the specificities of animals grazing in rangelands outside the structural limits of the farm when evaluating GHG emissions.

Heterogeneity of nitrification potentials within a paddock of a sheep farming system

AbstractNitrification and denitrification are important processes of the nitrogen (N) cycle in soils because of their relations to N availability for plants and to environmental risks. However, paddock scale heterogeneity of these processes is not well understood in pasture ecosystems. Thus, we focused on the variability of nitrification and denitrification potentials within one pasture paddock. Twelve soil samples were taken from various places within a 2.3 ha paddock in September and were analyzed for nitrification and denitrification potentials, inorganic‐N, total carbon (C) and N, C/N ratio, soil pH and moisture contents. The variability of the denitrification potentials was smaller than that of the nitrification potentials. We found that inorganic‐N, total C and N, and soil pH were positively correlated to the nitrification potential. We also identified a “hot‐area” with 3.3‐fold higher nitrification potentials than other areas. A better understanding of this paddock scale nitrification variability may help to decrease environmental risks, such as nitrate leaching and/or nitrous oxide emissions, and to improve N use efficiencies.

Herb and clover mixes for New Zealand sheep and cattle grazing systems

Perennial ryegrass/white clover (rye/wc) pasture provides the predominate pasture source for sheep and beef cattle farming systems in New Zealand. However, during summer limited rainfall often results in soil moisture deficits and when combined with high air temperatures, rye/wc can have low growth rates and be of poor quality. Farmers are sowing summer active perennial herb and clover mixes in order to combat this problem and improve animal performance. This article describes the pasture yield and quality attributes of herb and clover mixes, the potential improvement to animal performance and the optimum grazing management regimen necessary to maximise both the pasture and animal performance.

Direct and indirect impacts of crop–livestock organization on mixed crop–livestock systems sustainability: a model-based study

Crop–livestock production is claimed more sustainable than specialized production systems. However, the presence of controversial studies suggests that there must be conditions of mixing crop and livestock productions to allow for higher sustainable performances. Whereas previous studies focused on the impact of crop–livestock interactions on performances, we posit here that crop–livestock organization is a key determinant of farming system sustainability. Crop–livestock organization refers to the percentage of the agricultural area that is dedicated to each production. Our objective is to investigate if crop–livestock organization has both a direct and an indirect impact on mixed crop–livestock (MC–L) sustainability. In that objective, we build a whole-farm model parametrized on representative French sheep and crop farming systems in plain areas (Vienne, France). This model permits simulating contrasted MC–L systems and their subsequent sustainability through the following indicators of performance: farm income, production, N balance, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (/kg product) and MJ consumption (/kg product). Two MC–L systems were simulated with contrasted crop–livestock organizations (MC20–L80: 20% of crops; MC80–L20: 80% of crops). A first scenario – constraining no crop–livestock interactions in both MC–L systems – permits highlighting that crop–livestock organization has a significant direct impact on performances that implies trade-offs between objectives of sustainability. Indeed, the MC80–L20 system is showing higher performances for farm income (+44%), livestock production (+18%) and crop GHG emissions (−14%) whereas the MC20–L80 system has a better N balance (−53%) and a lower livestock MJ consumption (−9%). A second scenario – allowing for crop–livestock interactions in both MC20–L80 and MC80–L20 systems – stated that crop–livestock organization has a significant indirect impact on performances. Indeed, even if crop–livestock interactions permit improving performances, crop–livestock organization influences the capacity of MC–L systems to benefit from crop–livestock interactions. As a consequence, we observed a decreasing performance trade-off between MC–L systems for farm income (−4%) and crop GHG emissions (−10%) whereas the gap increases for nitrogen balance (+23%), livestock production (+6%) – MJ consumption (+16%) – GHG emissions (+5%) and crop MJ consumption (+5%). However, the indirect impact of crop–livestock organization doesn’t reverse the trend of trade-offs between objectives of sustainability determined by the direct impact of crop–livestock organization. As a conclusion, crop–livestock organization is a key factor that has to be taken into account when studying the sustainability of mixed crop–livestock systems.

Amino acids in sheep production.

Increasing production efficiency with a high standard of animal welfare and respect for the environment is a goal of sheep farming systems. Substantial gains in productivity have been achieved through improved genetics, nutrition and management changes; however the survival and growth performance of multiple-born lambs still remains a problem. This is a significant production efficiency and animal well-being issue. There is a growing body of evidence that some amino acids have a role in regulating growth, reproduction and immunity through modulation of metabolic and cell signaling pathways. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of what is currently known about the role of amino acids in sheep production and the potential for supplementation strategies to influence on-farm survival and growth of lambs.

Developing farm-specific marginal abatement cost curves: Cost-effective greenhouse gas mitigation opportunities in sheep farming systems

Growing demand for agricultural produce, coupled with ambitious targets for greenhouse gas emissions reduction present the scientific, policy and agricultural sectors with a substantial mitigation challenge. Identification and implementation of suitable mitigation measures is driven by both the measures’ effectiveness and cost of implementation. Marginal abatement cost curves (MACCs) provide a simple graphical representation of the abatement potential and cost-effectiveness of mitigation measures to aid policy decision-making. Accounting for heterogeneity in farm conditions and subsequent abatement potentials in mitigation policy is problematic, and may be aided by the development of tailored MACCs. Robust MACC development is currently lacking for mitigation measures appropriate to sheep systems. This study constructed farm-specific MACCs for a lowland, upland and hill sheep farm in the UK. The stand-alone mitigation potential of six measures was modelled, against real farm baselines, according to assumed impacts on emissions and productivity. The MACCs revealed the potential for negative cost emissions’ abatement in the sheep industry. Improving ewe nutrition to increase lamb survival offered considerable abatement potential at a negative cost to the farmers across all farms while, lambing as yearlings offered negative cost abatement potential on lowland and upland farms. The results broadly advocate maximising lamb output from existing inputs on all farm categories, and highlight the importance of productivity and efficiency as influential drivers of emissions abatement in the sector. The abatement potentials and marginal costs of other measures (e.g. reducing mineral fertiliser use and selecting pasture plants bred to minimise dietary nitrogen losses) varied between farms, and this heterogeneity was more frequently attributable to differences in individual farm management than land classification. This has important implications for the high level policy sector as no two farms are likely to benefit from a generic one size fits all approach to mitigation. The construction of further case-study farm MACCs under varying farm conditions is required to define the biophysical and management conditions that each measure is most suited to, generating a more tailored set of sector-specific mitigation parameters.

Carbon footprint of milk from sheep farming systems in Northern Spain including soil carbon sequestration in grasslands

The link between climate change and livestock production has made carbon footprint based on life cycle assessment a world-wide indicator to assess and communicate the amount of greenhouse gases emitted per unit of product. Nevertheless, the majority of studies have not included soil carbon sequestration in the carbon footprint calculations. Especially in grasslands, soil carbon sequestration might be a potential sink to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in the livestock sector. However, there is no commonly accepted methodology on how to include soil carbon sequestration in carbon footprint calculations. In this study, the carbon footprint of sheep milk was estimated from 12 farms in Northern Spain. Before taken into account contribution from soil carbon sequestration in the calculation, the carbon footprint values varied from 2.0 to 5.2 kg CO2 eq. per kg Fat and Protein Corrected Milk (FPCM). Milk from semi-intensive systems with foreign breeds kept indoors had significantly lower carbon footprint than milk from semi-extensive systems with local breeds and grazing in mountain uplands during summer. However, no difference was found in the carbon footprint of sheep milk from different systems and breeds when soil carbon sequestration was included in the calculations. Four different approaches to estimate and include soil carbon sequestration in the carbon footprint calculations were tested. This study highlights the importance of including soil carbon sequestration in the carbon footprint calculations. Furthermore, it highlights the climate mitigation potential of the grazing systems.

Potential strategies of adaptation of mixed sheep-crop systems to changes in the economic environment in a Mediterranean mountain area

In the Mediterranean regions, sheep farming systems are mostly located in less favoured areas and play a multifunctional role. Nevertheless, those systems have experienced a strong decline in the last decades, which has led to the abandonment of pasturelands and other socio-economic changes in some areas. Traditionally, sheep farming systems are associated to cereal crops and remain common in Mediterranean areas. The objectives of this study were (i) to evaluate the possible adaptation strategies for sheep-crop mixed systems in the Sierra and Cañones de Guara Natural Park (SCGNP) to changes in the agricultural policy measures and the labour market, and (ii) to approximate the value of grazing as an environmental function provided by these systems. Four types of mixed sheep-crop systems (MSCS) in SCGNP were established in a previous typology (Bernués et al., 2004. Cahiers Options Méditerranéennes 62, 195–198). In 2007–2008, a survey was carried out 46 farms (95% of sheep farms that used the Natural Park). From that information, four farms were selected, one for each type of MSCS to be modeled. Mixed linear programming models were developed. Five socio-economic scenarios were simulated depending on CAP conditions, availability of labour (farmer pluriactivity), and prioritization of grazing. Under the scenario of total decoupling of the CAP subsidies, the best Gross Margin was obtained by the mixed farm with large flock and oriented to cereal cultivation (MSCS3) and the mixed farm with a large flock (MSCS2), but labour productivity was highest in the most cereal-oriented mixed systems. Off-farm work was economically profitable in the majority of the MSCS, which may lead to a decrease in the livestock farming activity and changes in land use with a reduction in the area leased for grazing, and in the area used for the cultivation of lucerne and sainfoin. Under current conditions (total decoupling of subsidies, high cereal prices), the total production of barley was sold, i.e., not fed to livestock. In contrast, in the scenarios of no subsidies, maximization of the use of pastures, or reduction of barley price, the farmhouse barley consumption for feeding livestock increased. The most livestock oriented farm (MSCS2) was the type of mixed farming system that should receive the least economic compensation for grazing as an environmental function provided by this farm and the most cereal-oriented systems required the most compensation. Nevertheless, the MSCS studied were highly diverse in the distribution of land use and trade-offs exist among the environmental functions performed by them.