Sheep farmers will have the opportunity to help reduce their flock’s carbon footprint through both improved ewe efficiency and lower methane emissions following the results from Breed for CH4nge, a ground-breaking £3 million research project.
Funded from Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme, the project has been delivered by Innovate UK as well as 11 industry wide partners, including the National Sheep Association (NSA). Sheep breeding company Innovis has led the innovative work.
Flock data gathered from 40 varied flocks confirmed that methane emission is heritable. The findings have led to the development a new breeding value (EBV) for methane output. This EBV feeds into the new Breed for CH4nge index that ranks animals on their breeding potential for a naturally low carbon footprint.
The new breeding tools will be available this season for maternal rams from Innovis and will soon be available across the other performance-recording maternal sheep breeder groups involved in the project.
The Breed for CH4nge index will be made available to all other maternal performance recording sheep breeders via Signet, providing them with the opportunity to reduce enteric methane, currently contributing 50% to 60% of a sheep enterprise’s carbon footprint.
NSA chief executive Phil Stocker said: “The Breed for CH4nge project’s intention from the start was to inform the wider sheep industry and breeders and make available strategies for improving ewe efficiency and lowered methane emissions.
“I now hope all sheep breeders can look at and make use of what this project has achieved.”
