WA sheep feed efficiency and methane emissions project update delivered at New Zealand conference

WA research on sheep feed efficiency and methane emissions has been delivered at an international livestock genetics conference in New Zealand.

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development research scientist Brittany Bolt presented preliminary findings from a joint DPIRD and Meat and Livestock Australia project that has indicated potential to select more feed efficient and methane-reduced sheep.

Ms Bolt presented the preliminary findings at the 26th Association for the Advancement of Animal Breeding and Genetics Conference in Queenstown on June 24.

She said a critical strategy for growing market access, profitability, and the sheep industry’s long-term sustainability was sheep feed efficiency and reduced methane emissions.

“During 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 in the joint project utilised portable accumulation chambers on Resource Flock weaners to measure methane.

“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.”

Ms Bolt said the research 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,” she said.

“This research highlights the potential for genetic improvements to help reduce methan emissions and enhance feed efficiency in sheep, offering pathways to a more sustainable and profitable sheep industry.

Feed intake and methane data will continue to be collected at in Katanning for the next three years.

“The feed intake and methane data collected here in WA, will ultimately contribute to the development of new Australian Sheep Breeding Values to allow producers to select for more efficient and productive sheep,” Ms Bolt said.

Agriculture and Food Minister Jackie Jarvis said the research is “critical” for helping producers adapts and access new meat markets while the sheep industry is facing significant change.

“The conference provides a platform to present WA’s research on methane and feed efficiency traits, fostering collaboration with global experts, industry leaders, and breeding groups to drive innovation in livestock genetics,” she said.

“Attending the conference will bolster Brittany’s expertise in livestock genetics, and means she will bring that knowledge back to WA to support the development of genetic strategies to improve sheep productivity.

“This research is a credit to the work of DPIRD and its scientists, and with Brittany and Amy representing the next generation of local scientists, I think our industry is in good hands.”