According to programme adviser Ciaran Lynch, a major factor to consider when increasing ewe numbers is to assess if there are ways of housing ewes over the winter or feeding ewes outside. “There is little point in increasing numbers if you don’t have a plan in place. Letting ewes run over a large part of the grazing area over the winter months is not an option if you want to have grass in spring. In planning for increased numbers, the first place to start is to see if you can make use of or convert existing facilities at a low cost to house ewes.