GENETICS
Research
Breeding low methane sheep James Hoban reports on development of sheep with lower methane emissions.
L
ow methane-emitting sheep are a reality. After more than 10 years measuring methane emissions and selecting for lower-emitting sheep, AgResearch is now able to measure individual animals onfarm. Suzanne Rowe and her colleagues have shown methane emission is heritable, can be measured and breeders can select for it. Work started with progeny test flocks going through respiration chambers 10 years ago. After three years of this, scientists got to the point of having a high-methane flock and a low-methane flock. They have continued from that base for several generations. The AgResearch flock is annually lowering methane emissions by 2-3%, though Rowe
expects wider industry change to be about 1% each year if the breeding approach is adopted. Because it is cumulative, this offers a significant opportunity to lower emissions. It appears inevitable that farmers will have to account for greenhouse gas emissions at some level. Onfarm reductions will be needed for New Zealand to meet targets the Government has committed to. Enteric methane is the gas produced by ruminants as they digest feed. Reductions in methane are firmly in the Government and Climate Change Commission’s sights. It accounts for 35.2% of NZ’s total greenhouse gas emissions and 73.1% of our agricultural emissions. Of that methane emission, dairy cattle are
responsible for 48.4%, beef cattle 20.3% and sheep 29.4%. Rowe explains that despite climate change research being a focus for the Government, this picture does not bode well for sheep research. “It’s hard to get research money for sheep now because dairy cattle are the problem. Beef cattle are at 20% so if you sum those together most of the research now is in cattle.” The commission has accepted methane is a complicated gas in that its reduction will have implications beyond financial. It is a short-term biogenic gas and lowering emissions has potential to turn farming and communities upside down. In their targets, the commission has granted methane
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