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Breeding to reduce emissions in sheep flocks
Selective breeding can lower the carbon footprint of the UK sheep industry while maintaining production efficiency.
Through long-term cumulative genetic improvement, farmers can boost flock performance while cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per kilogram of meat produced.
How breeding can reduce emissions
Selecting sheep that are genetically more prolific, with better lamb survival and longer productive lifespans, mean fewer resources per kilogram of meat. One of the biggest changes sheep farmers can make to reduce emissions is to increase the number of lambs a breeding ewe produces over her lifetime.
Consider reducing adult size as smaller ewes tend to produce less methane.
Genetic selection to increase the carcase yield of muscle relative to fat will also reduce the amount of methane produced per kilogram of saleable sheep meat.
Rams with high breeding values for growth and carcase traits – which will also accelerate days to slaughter.
Selecting sheep with greater parasite resistance will also reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as there will be fewer productivity losses from parasites.
Around 50-60% of the carbon footprint on a typical UK sheep farm comes from enteric methane generated by sheep as they digest feed. Projects like Breed for CH4nge focuses on breeding productive, efficient maternal sheep with a naturally low carbon footprint.
Historic rates of genetic gain in the sheep industry deliver annualised benefits of £14.7m a year according to an AHDB funded study.
The study report sets out a vision for improving the sheep sector in the UK through breeding and concludes that in parallel to that economic benefit, emissions intensity in the UK sheep industry is expected to reduce by 0.23% per year.
To make selection for environmentally beneficial traits in sheep easier, breeding indexes are being developed which focus on environmental rather than economic outcomes.
In the meantime, farmers can select breeding stock based on individual traits that are known to enhance overall flock efficiency using estimated breeding values (EBVs) to enhance lamb survival or reduce ewe mature weight.
The tools currently available to British sheep farmers include those offered through the Signet Sheepbreeder Service and by breeding companies such as Innovis.
However, the relatively low use of breeding values means that the full potential of environmental gains are not being realised. Greater uptake is needed to improve traits affecting whole flock efficiency.
Learn more about EBVs and indexes
Aligning environmental and economic benefits
Production efficiency is understandably important to sheep farmers when it comes to breeding choices because of its link to flock profitability.
Breeding for production efficiency brings environmental benefits too. Take the example of keeping females in the breeding flock to optimum mature size, animals that will successfully rear lots of lambs over their lifetime. This is not only good for output, but it reduces the carbon footprint of sheep production too.
Research for AHDB by AbacusBio shows the ideal mature ewe size in UK systems is 55–65 kg. In many cases, breeding females on UK farms exceed these weights. This is another area where breeding for environmental benefits could also enhance farm revenue as bigger ewes need higher levels of maintenance feeding.
In finished lamb production, reducing days to slaughter also has environmental benefits. Genetic selection for these traits and others, by using EBVs to aid ram choice, enhances economic and environmental attributes.
Many of the tools needed to identify the best breeding animals are already available for British sheep farmers, and several developments are underway to direct these tools more specifically at reduced environmental impact.
Selective breeding allows farmers to make the performance improvements that will reduce emissions, without driving systems changes that may have other undesirable consequences.
Key actions for farmers
- Before making breeding choices, assess the flock and choose the best animals to breed replacements from
- Use EBVs – available on charts at sales and also on the Signet website
- Start performance recording with services like Signet to improve your flock
- Consider genomic testing for a more detailed picture on the genetics of your flock
- To hit environmental goals, prioritise breeding traits such as:
- Days to slaughter
- Mature weight
- Carcase weight
- Lamb survival
- Prolificacy
- Productive lifespan
- Look out for new environmental indexes and research findings from projects like Breed for CH4nge
Find out more on reducing emissions on farm
Agri-Tech: Breeding low methane sheep
Breed for CH4nge
The aim of the project is to selectively breed productive, efficient maternal sheep with naturally low carbon footprints. The project is measuring the phenotyping and genotyping. They are also logging additional traits through PACs and other existing technologies.
Find more innovation from the UK Agri-Tech centre
Further information on breeding to reduce emissions
