Called the Ovine SNP50 BeadChip, its backers said the tool would pinpoint small genetic differences that produce a variety of commercially important traits in sheep.
This would accelerate the rate of genetic gain in sheep in areas such as disease resistance and improved and healthier meat products.
The research was done by the International Sheep Genomics Consortium (ISCG), an international partnership of scientists and funding agencies.
ISCG researcher Brian Dalrymple said in a statement that in the coming year work would begin on sequencing six sheep genomes.
So far, the research had created a virtual sheep genome in which scientists had identified "the best bet"about where hereditary information was contained on the 26 chromosomes.
"During 2009, as sequencing costs continue to decline, we plan to complete the sequencing of six individual sheep genomes," the statement said.
"This will be really important as the availability of reference genome sequences will open up a range of possibilities."
The initial sheep gene sequencing was done at the University of Otago and the Human Genome Sequencing Centre at the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, in the United States, and by a California company, Illumina Inc.
Wider genome research was done by AgResearch, Australia's CSIRO and Illumina, with the New Zealand work funded through Meat and Wool New Zealand-owned Ovita.