Promising Western Australian research findings into sheep feed efficiency and methane emissions have been delivered at an international livestock genetics conference in New Zealand.
Promising Western Australian research findings into sheep feed efficiency and methane emissions have been delivered at an international livestock genetics conference in New Zealand.
Preliminary results from a joint Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) and Meat and Livestock Australia project has flagged the potential to select for more feed efficient sheep which produce less methane.
Speaking at the 26th Association for the Advancement of Animal Breeding and Genetics Conference in Queenstown, DPIRD research scientist Brittany Bolt said feed-use efficiency and reducing methane emissions in sheep were critical strategies for enhancing market access, profitability and the long-term sustainability of the sheep industry.
"Over the past two years we have collected feed intake, liveweight and growth from 756 weaners from MLA's Resource Flock at DPIRD's Katanning Research Station, which uses industry nominated genetics from Merinos, maternal, terminal and shedding breeds," she said.
"From our measurements, we found that liveweight and growth account for 72 to 89 per cent of variation in average daily intake.
"When we adjust average daily intake for liveweight and growth, we can identify animals that are consuming more feed and those that consume a lot less at the same liveweight and growth.
"There is significant variation across and within all breed types in the study, which suggests that there is opportunity to select for more feed efficient animals."
Researchers also used Portable Accumulation Chambers to measure methane on the Resource Flock weaners.
"Methane is an important part of understanding productivity efficiency as methane is a bi-product of ruminant digestion - energy that is not used for growing muscle, wool or fat - it can be viewed as wasted energy," Ms Bolt said.
"Like feed intake, liveweight and growth are major drivers for methane production, generally, the greater the liveweight and growth the greater the methane produced.
"What this means is, if we are selecting only for reducing methane, we are sacrificing production.
"Our research so far has demonstrated a large amount of variation in both feed intake and methane production. We have been able to identify animals that are consuming less feed, producing less methane with the same amount of liveweight and growth as animals that are conversely eating a lot and producing more methane.
"This research highlights the potential for genetic improvements to help reduce methane emissions and enhance feed efficiency in sheep, offering pathways to a more sustainable and profitable sheep industry."
Ms Bolt said researchers were still in the early stages of data collection.
"We will continue to collect feed intake and methane data in Katanning over the next three years," she said.
"The feed intake and methane data collected here in WA, will ultimately contribute to the development of new Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBVs) to allow producers to select for more efficient and productive sheep."
