Thursday, 18 January 2024 12:55

Low methane sheep already a winner!

Written by  Staff Reporters
AgResearch claims that low methane sheep provide farmers with a practical tool to help them lower emissions from their flocks. AgResearch claims that low methane sheep provide farmers with a practical tool to help them lower emissions from their flocks.

A research project breeding sheep which emit less methane, with the potential to reduce methane emissions if these sheep can be farmed throughout New Zealand, has picked up a prestigious award.

The AgResearch team behind the project was recently award the Royal Society’s Pickering Medal, which is awarded for innovative technology that has generated significant impact or commercial success.

Key contributors to the research are Dr Suzanne Rowe, Dr John McEwan, Dr Peter Janssen, and Dr Graeme Atwood. Rowe leads the programme, with key expertise from McEwan on animal genetics and genomics, with Janssen and Atwood on the rumen microbiome and methane production.

Low methane sheep provides farmers with a practical tool to help them lower emissions from their flocks. It also offers the world a scientific solution to reducing agricultural contributions to global greenhouse gases.

The AgResearch team first developed technology and scientific protocols to effectively measure the gas output of individual animals. It then identified genetic and microbiological markers of low methane production.

For more than a decade they have used this information to select healthy sheep which not only emit less methane, but also produce high-quality meat and wool. AgResearch has worked closely with the sheep-farming industry to implement the breeding approach more widely.

The project has been a global first for any species, with the opportunity to reproduce the success of the programme for other livestock and accelerate global efforts to mitigate anthropogenic climate change.

Several mitigation strategies for livestock are currently being explored to meet New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions target of 24-47% less methane, below 2017 levels, by 2050. Of the various approaches, breeding of lower methane-emitting ruminants has the advantage of being permanent and cumulative.

This research has shown that after only three generations of breeding, the sheep bred to emit the least methane produce close to 13% less methane than the highest emitters per kilogram of feed eaten.

AgResearch’s elite “research flock 2638” has been developed over three decades from sheep representative of New Zealand’s national flock to cumulatively enhance specific traits.

In 2021, the research team recorded a drop of over 2% in methane emissions from flock 2638, while continuing to improve performance in other traits that are relevant to industry, such as the quality of meat and wool.

The researchers estimate that incorporation of this low-methane breeding trait into New Zealand’s entire sheep flock would reduce methane by 0.5 to 1% annually, with ongoing reductions from further breeding.

The low-methane breeding research is supported with funding from farmers through the Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium, and from the government via the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre. AgResearch says it has also worked closely with Beef + Lamb New Zealand on engagement with farmers and plans to scale-up this technology.

More like this

Farmers want certainty

OPINION: We've been having constructive conversations with the Government recently around climate change and emissions from food production, but now is the time to see these conversations turn into action.

Grasslanz scoops top science award

The Government's plan to merge the seven crown institutes presents exciting possibilities for plant technology company Grasslanz Technology, says chief executive Megan Skiffington.

Featured

Farmers urged not to be complacent about TB

New Zealand's TBfree programme has made great progress in reducing the impact of the disease on livestock herds, but there’s still a long way to go, according to Beef+Lamb NZ.

Editorial: Making wool great again

OPINION: Otago farmer and NZ First MP Mark Patterson is humble about the role that he’s played in mandating government agencies to use wool wherever possible in new and refurbished buildings.

National

Machinery & Products

Farmer-led group buys Novag

While the name and technology remain unchanged and new machines will continue to carry the Novag name, all the assets,…

Buhler name to go

Shareholders at a special meeting have approved a proposed deal that will see Buhler Industries, the publicly traded Versatile and…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Make it 1000%!

OPINION: The appendage swinging contest between the US and China continues, with China hitting back with a new rate of…

Own goal

OPINION: The irony of President Trump’s tariff obsession is that the worst damage may be done to his own people.

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter