It is not a straightforward task to quantify the level of jobs generated by the sheep sector. This is because many roles in the meat processing sector, advisory sector and many other areas crossover between beef and sheep.

Therefore many jobs related to sheep and beef often come under the beef or drystock umbrella, due to the higher value of the sector.

That said, the sheep sector has witnessed impressive growth in recent years, with export performance growing from €180m in 2011 to €230m in 2015.

This growth has created many roles in marketing and in trading higher volumes of value-added cuts and products into existing and emerging markets and retailers.

Closer to farm level, roles in advisory have been stifled in recent years due to the embargo on recruitment in the public sector, with Teagasc staff numbers reducing, and only a minority of positions refilled.

Reports suggest this may change in the near future, which would hopefully stimulate opportunities for agricultural graduates.

The low pace of recruitment has witnessed growth in jobs in the private advisory sector, with a number of new consultancy firms established and recruitment within existing firms. This process is likely to continue with the launch of knowledge transfer programmes for sheep and beef farmers in 2016 and a continuation in GLAS and commonage plans.

A higher level of optimism in the sector and renewed interest at farm level in recent years has also generated higher levels of employment in the areas of animal nutrition and health, grassland and crops and soil science.

This is likely to continue in an environment of an increasing emphasis on production efficiency.

Research is also responding to farmer demand for the latest technical advice and has created opportunities for students to further their knowledge in masters, PhD or post doctoral research in University College Dublin School of Agriculture and Food Science and Teagasc.

If you are interested in a career in the agri-industry, come along to the Irish Farmers Journal and open eir Agri Careers Fair, which takes place in the RDS on 3 March 2016. For more information, click here.