SHEEPNET is coordinated by IDELE

"SheepNet is a thematic network project about practice-driven innovation to improve sheep productivity (number of lambs weaned/ewe mated): a critical component of farmers’ income and therefore of the sustainability and attractiveness of sheep farming. SheepNet will establish durable exchange of scientific and practical knowledge among researchers, farmers and advisors, through a multi-actor and transdisciplinary approach at national and international levels and by the broad involvement of European Agriculture knowledge and Innovation Systems. This will promote the implementation and dissemination of innovative and best technologies and practices for the improvement of sheep productivity. To maximize impact and ensure a wide coverage of different farming systems, SheepNet will bring together six main sheep producing EU countries, plus Turkey, and Australia, New Zealand, and every relevant EU network.

BovINE is coordinated by TEAGASC - AGRICULTURE AND FOOD DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

BovINE will tackle urgent sustainability challenges faced by beef producers by bringing together beef farmers, farming organisations, advisors, researchers and all relevant actors across 10 member states to close the divide between research and innovation in Europe. There are 255,000 farms in the EU bovine meat sector, yet no network focused solely on their needs has been established to date. Coordinated by Teagasc (IE), BovINE is built around the multi-actor approach to implement more intense cooperation between researchers, advisors, farmers and relevant actors to facilitate greater exchange and acceptance of co-created solutions. BovINE draws on the EU, national and regional connections of the 18 consortium members to appropriate networks, on the four related key themes of socio-economic resilience, animal health and welfare, production efficiency & quality and environmental sustainability.

HNV LINK is coordinated by CENTRE INTERNATIONAL DE HAUTES ETUDES AGRONOMIQUES MEDITERRANEENNES

"High nature value (HNV) farmland designates “those areas in Europe where agriculture is a major land use and where that agriculture supports, or is associated with, either a high species and habitat diversity or the presence of species of European conservation concern, or both”. They are an important component of European agriculture, notably in terms of biodiversity, cultural landscape, territorial cohesion, quality products and employment. However, abandonment, degradation, economic and social marginalisation are long-standing challenges for the associated farming systems which are still under considerable pressure.

NEWBIE is coordinated by STICHTING WAGENINGEN RESEARCH

Sustaining a cohort of new entrants is crucial to the ongoing vitality, resilience and competitiveness of the agricultural sector and rural regions in Europe. New entrants bring with them innovation and entrepreneurialism, as well as practical skills and networks developed on farms and through off-farm employment. However, new entrants face considerable challenges in entering the sector, particularly access to land, capital, labour and markets, but also business skills and knowledge development on both applied and theoretical levels. Analysis of Eurostat figures suggests that there is not an adequate replacement rate of young farmers in many European countries, although there is evidence of considerable innovation and comparatively high rates of new entrants in others (Zagata and Sutherland, 2015).