Sheep Industry Fund (SIF)
SIF Approved Projects 2026/27

Projects

Approved Funding

Investment Priority 1: Animal Health 

SA Sheep Biosecurity Program 

Service Provider: Department of Primary Industries and Regions SA

Summary: The South Australian Sheep Biosecurity Program combines the established endemic disease control and traceability programs that have supported our sheep industry over many years. 

Benefits to Industry: The Sheep Biosecurity Program will allow for efficient allocation of resources across the state to assist sheep producers with on-farm disease control, traceability and compliance with biosecurity legislation.

This project also addresses Investment Priority 2: Traceability. 

SA Biosecurity Extension

Service Provider: Livestock SA

Summary: The South Australian Livestock Biosecurity Extension Project (SALBEP) is a vital initiative designed to strengthen biosecurity preparedness, disease prevention, and animal welfare outcomes across the South Australian livestock sector.

Benefits to Industry: SALBEP equips producers with tools to prevent, manage, and respond to biosecurity threats, strengthening resilience, protecting animal health, and safeguarding market access. Targeted training, workshops, and communication initiatives drive best-practice adoption, reducing disease risks and improving productivity.

Field validation and proof‑of‑concept to extend the M. ovipneumoniae lateral flow assay (LFA) program

Service Provider: Adelaide University

Summary: The aim of this project is to complete field validation and proof-of-concept testing for the Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae lateral flow assay (LFA) by integrating on-farm sampling, reference diagnostics and a small cull-sheep study.

Benefits to Industry: For industry, the combined benefit is two-fold: improved, rapid diagnosis of M. ovi-associated pneumonia at farm level, and a stronger, more diverse culture collection that underpins ongoing research and tool development.

These funds are rolled over from the previous financial year. 

Sheep Blowfly Sterile Insect Technique - Implementation

Service Provider: South Australian Research and Development Institute

Summary: Implementation of the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) to control sheep blowfly in a 4-year pilot project on Kangaroo Island. 

Benefits to Industry: Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) offers effective blowfly control, reducing reliance on mulesing and chemicals, lowering production losses, and improving welfare. With flystrike costing SA over $60 million annually, the Kangaroo Island pilot could deliver $88 million in benefits over 25 years, plus gains from premium non-mulesed wool and meat markets.

Toxoplasma gondii Vaccine for Sheep 

Service Provider: Adelaide University 

Summary: This project seeks to create an efficacious Australian vaccine for the prevention of T. gondii associated abortion and reproductive losses in sheep will be ready for commercialisation and use by South Australian sheep producers. 

Benefits to Industry: Successful completion of this project will yield a commercial ready vaccine that can be used by producers to mitigate the impact of T. gondii in South Australia and throughout Australia. 

This project also addresses Investment Priority 5: Industry Development

Sheep Pain Mitigation Program

Service Provider: Adelaide University 

Summary: Rapidly reindicate drugs to treat chronic pain through the use of tests to quantitatively measure pain and demonstrate drug efficacy and associated productivity gains. 

Benefits to Industry: Effective pain mitigation improves productivity, profitability, and consumer trust. This project will measure pain objectively and demonstrate benefits like faster weight gain in lambs and improved resilience in ewes. Reducing persistent pain supports animal welfare, extends productive life, and aligns with the SA Red Meat and Wool Blueprint 2030 focus on sustainable, consumer-supported practices.

This project also addresses Investment Priority 5: Industry Development

Investment Priority 3: Predator Control

Eradicating Wild Dogs from Sheep Country 

Service Provider: Department of Primary Industries and Regions SA

Summary: Continues the coordinated program to eradicate wild dogs from within the Dog Fence through integrated control measures, including aerial baiting, ground baiting and targeted trapping. The program aims to remove remaining wild dogs, reduce predation on sheep and support increased production across South Australia's sheep industry.

Benefits to Industry: The program delivers coordinated support to eradicate remaining wild dogs inside the Dog Fence, improving sheep survival and lambing rates, supporting producer confidence to restock affected areas, and strengthening productivity across the South Australian sheep industry. 

Investment Priority 4: Advocacy / Industry Development

SA Sheep Industry Development

Service Provider: Livestock SA

Summary: To provide strategic leadership, industry representation and policy advocacy that supports a profitable, sustainable and resilient South Australian sheep industry. The project drives industry development, coordinates stakeholder collaboration and ensures effective management of the SA Sheep Industry Fund on behalf of sheep producers.

Benefits to Industry: Supports advocacy and representation on issues affecting sheep producers, including biosecurity, animal health and welfare, market access, land use, drought resilience and industry sustainability. Enables strategic leadership and collaboration across the sheep meat and wool value chains, facilitates industry engagement with government and key stakeholders, and ensures the effective governance and administration of the SA Sheep Industry Fund to meet legislative requirements and industry expectations.

Investment Priority 5: Industry Development

South Australian Sheep Expo 

Service Provider: South Australian Sheep Expo Council Incorporated

Summary: Ensure that the South Australian sheep industry attracts young people that will engage and contribute to the long-term viability of the industry by developing industry capability and capacity. 

Benefits to Industry: The SA Sheep Expo continues to set a foundation for attendees to build confidence and identify pathways to further careers in the sheep industry, and act as a stepping stone into other educational programs.

Farm Gross Margin and Excel Guide 2027 

Service Provider: Ag Excellence Alliance

Summary: This project will provide South Australian producers with an updated Farm Gross Margin and Excel Guide to assess enterprise profitability, manage risk and support informed business planning and investment decisions.

Benefits to Industry: Provides producers with free access to a practical business planning tool that supports enterprise benchmarking, profitability analysis, risk assessment and informed farm management decisions.

Empowering SA Sheep Industry Women

Service Provider: Women Together Learning

Summary: This project provides two scholarships for South Australian sheep producers to participate in the Stepping Into Leadership program, equipping emerging industry leaders with practical skills in decision-making, communication, influence and leadership while strengthening networks across the agricultural sector.

Benefits to Industry: Builds leadership capability within the South Australian sheep industry by supporting women to take on greater industry, business and community leadership roles. It strengthens decision-making capacity, industry participation and professional networks, contributing to a more skilled, connected and resilient sheep industry.

SA Merino Sire Evaluation

Service Provider: SA Merino Sire Evaluation, C/- Merino SA

Summary: SAMSET benchmarks Merino sires in SA to support informed selection and drive genetic improvement. Operating under the Australian Merino Sire Evaluation Association (AMSEA) and Merino SA, the trial contributes to ASBVs and provides valuable data to enhance breeding strategies across the sheep industry. 

Benefits to Industry: Industry and regional benefits include independent benchmarking, increased genetic evaluation accuracy, industry engagement and awareness, alignment with the SA Red Meat and Wool Blueprint goals, unique SA production system representation and the use of a non-mulesed evaluation site to further enrich genetic evaluation processes.

Junior Livestock Education Day   

Service Provider: Upper North Farming Systems (UNFS)

Summary: The Junior Education Day (JED) is a hands-on livestock skills and industry engagement program designed to build the capability, confidence and career pathways of young people across regional South Australia.

Benefits to Industry: The program develops a skilled future workforce by improving young people's livestock handling, animal health and welfare knowledge, strengthening connections between schools and industry, and supporting the long-term productivity, resilience and sustainability of South Australia's livestock industry.

This project is currently not progressing through SIF due to timing issues.

Adelaide University Meat Judging Team

Service Provider: Adelaide University 

Summary: Adelaide University Intercollegiate Meat Judging (ICMJ) Program provides university students with practical, industry-based training in livestock production, carcase evaluation, meat quality and value chain decision-making. The program aims to develop the next generation of skilled professionals entering South Australia’s sheep and red meat industries.

Benefits to Industry: The ICMJ program supports workforce capability within South Australia’s sheep and red meat industries by providing university students with practical, industry-based training that prepares them for careers across the livestock supply chain.

Sheep and Wool Producer Communications 

Service Provider: AWI Extension SA

Summary: AWI Extension SA (formerly Sheep Connect SA) remains Australian Wool Innovation’s lead extension program in South Australia, delivering information, skills and capability development for wool producers. The 2026–29 project focuses on producer engagement and communications, with priority areas including eID and individual animal management, flock rebuilding, business management (including drought preparedness and recovery, cost of production and workforce), and environmental stewardship.

Benefits to Industry: The proposed project will continue to benefit industry, through the engagement of producers in gaining further knowledge and skills to improve their productivity, profitability and resilience.

Lead Ag Teacher for South Australia 

Service Provider: AgCommunicators 

Summary: The Lead Agriculture Teacher supports and mentors new and experienced teachers to deliver high-quality food and fibre education across specialist agriculture programs and broader science and technology curricula. The role strengthens teacher capability, connects schools with industry and increases student engagement with agriculture and related career pathways.

Benefits to Industry: The program builds the future workforce of South Australia's livestock and agricultural industries by increasing the quality and reach of agricultural education in schools. Through teacher mentoring, curriculum support and stronger industry-school connections, the program encourages more students to study agriculture, improves awareness of career opportunities across the food and fibre sector, and helps develop a pipeline of skilled future producers, employees and industry leaders.

At Call Fund

Service Provider: Livestock SA

Summary: A flexible funding mechanism that enables timely investment in emerging priorities, strategic opportunities and unforeseen issues affecting South Australian sheep producers outside the annual funding round. Any unspent funds are returned to the Sheep Industry Fund at the end of the financial year. 

Benefits to Industry: Provides the industry with the agility to respond to emerging challenges and opportunities, support high-value projects that fall outside standard funding cycles, and ensure the Sheep Industry Fund remains responsive to producer and industry needs throughout the year.

Small Project Fund

Service Provider: Livestock SA

Summary: A pre-approved funding pool that supports the delivery of smaller projects and activities that provide direct benefits to South Australia's sheep industry. Any unspent funds are returned to the Sheep Industry Fund at the end of the financial year.

Benefits to Industry: Provides an efficient mechanism for funding low-cost, high-value initiatives that deliver practical benefits to sheep producers, support industry development and enable timely action on emerging priorities.

Total Livestock SA Application

Total Industry Funds