The European Union pays a subsidy to farmers who keep sheep. This subsidy is known as Sheep Annual Premium (SAP). There is a limit to the amount of subsidy that any farmer can claim, governed by how much quota the farm possesses. A farmer who has 100 units of quota may only claim the subsidy for 100 breeding ewes or ewe lambs, even if he has many more sheep in total. Originally, every farmer who registered was given some quota by the government. Now, if they need more quota it must be bought or leased from another farmer who has some to spare. Quota is not needed to keep sheep, only to claim the subsidy.
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