**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE SHEEP INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTES NEARLY $6 BILLION ANNUALLY TO THE US ECONOMY, WITH GROWING ETHNIC DIVERSITY STRENGTHENING DEMAND. SHEEP FARMS OUTNUMBER DAIRY CATTLE, PIG, AND BROILER ENTERPRISES, WITH DISTINCTIVE BREED-TYPES DISPERSED ACROSS CLIMATICALLY-DIVERSE REGIONS AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS. BREEDING ROBUST ANIMALS THAT PERFORM WELL UNDER THESE CONDITIONS IS PARAMOUNT TO THE INDUSTRY'S SUSTAINABILITY. HOWEVER, ROBUSTNESS AND CLIMATIC RESILIENCE TRAITS ARE LARGELY ABSENT IN US SHEEP GENETIC EVALUATIONS. THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF THIS PROJECT WILL BE TO DEVELOP THE BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE AND TOOLS NEEDED FOR SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF GENOMIC SELECTION FOR ROBUSTNESS AND CLIMATIC RESILIENCE IN THE MAJOR US SHEEP BREED-TYPES (HAIR, SEMI-PROLIFIC, FINE-WOOL, TERMINAL-SIRE). FURTHERMORE, IT WILL PROVIDE TRAINING TO THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENTISTS WITH INTEREST IN SHEEP BREEDING, WHICH IS GREATLY NEEDED TO ENSURE CONTINUED COMPETITIVENESS AND ADVANCEMENTS IN THIS IMPORTANT AGRICULTURALSECTOR.THE FUNDING FROM THIS PROJECT LEVERAGES RESOURCES FROM EXPERIENCED SHEEP BREEDERS IN VARIOUS US CLIMATIC REGIONS, TWO LAND-GRANT INSTITUTIONS, AND THREE USDA ARS CENTERS. IT ALSO UTILIZES EXISTING AND COMMITTED GENOMIC AND PHENOTYPIC DATASETS FOR FOUR MAIN US BREEDS (I.E., KATAHDIN, POLYPAY, RAMBOUILLET, SUFFOLK), WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM NATIONAL SHEEP ORGANIZATIONS, BREED ASSOCIATIONS, AND SHEEP PRODUCERS. THE ACTIVITIES PLANNED INCLUDE GENERATING CRUCIAL INFORMATION NECESSARY FOR INTRODUCING GENOMIC TECHNOLOGIES INTO THE US SHEEP INDUSTRY. REFERENCE DATABASES WILL BE BUILT COMBINING GENOMIC DATA AND PERFORMANCE RECORDS. THE GENETIC DIVERSITY PRESENT IN THESE US BREEDS WILL BE DETERMINED. THROUGH GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES, GENETIC MARKERS FOR INDICATORS OF ROBUSTNESS AND CLIMATIC RESILIENCE IN SHEEP WILL BE SOUGHT. ADVANCED METHODS TO IMPROVE THE PREDICTION OF GENETIC MERIT FOR BOTH NOVEL AND TRADITIONAL TRAITS WILL BE ESTABLISHED. TWO PHD-LEVEL STUDENTS WILL BE TRAINED.THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT, KEY RESULTS WILL BE COMMUNICATED TO INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS TO FACILITATE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECT OUTCOMES.AS MAJOR OUTPUTS, GENOMIC-BASED POPULATIONAL PARAMETERS WILL BE ESTIMATED. NOVEL ROBUSTNESS AND CLIMATIC RESILIENCE TRAITS THAT CAN BE EASILY MEASURED IN INDUSTRY FLOCKS WILL BE DEFINED. NEW ANALYTICAL PIPELINES AND RESOURCES WILL BECOME AVAILABLE TO THE US SHEEP INDUSTRY. GUIDELINES FOR THE OPTIMAL IMPLEMENTATION OF GENOMIC SELECTION FOR THESE TRAITS WILL COME ONLINE AT A NATIONAL SCALE. AS THE OVERARCHING GOAL, STAKEHOLDERS AND THE NEXT GENERATION OF SHEEP INDUSTRY LEADERS AND SCIENTISTS WILL BECOME CONVERSANT IN THE ROLE OF GENOMICS IN SHEEP BREEDING, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF SELECTION FOR IMPROVED ANIMAL ROBUSTNESS AND RESILIENCE. THE ANTICIPATED SOCIETAL IMPACT WILL BE IMPROVED WELFARE AND WELL-BEING OF SHEEP RAISED IN VARIABLE CLIMATIC CONDITIONS AND INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY AND LONG-TERM ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF THE US SHEEP INDUSTRY, WITH CONTRIBUTIONSTO ENSURING GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY.