In a world first, New Zealand sheep farmers now have the ability to breed animals that emit less methane.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) Genetics has launched a "methane research breeding value". Breeding value (BV) is used to help select important traits ram breeders want to bolster in their flock, such as low methane-producing animals.
The launching of this significant breeding tool is thanks to a 10-year, multimillion-dollar collaboration between the Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium, New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre and AgResearch, supported by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and Ministry for Primary Industries.
Ram breeders wanting to pursue the methane breeding value will need to measure a portion of their flock using Portable Accumulation Chambers. These chambers are on an AgResearch-operated trailer, which travels to farms. Sheep spend 50 minutes in the chambers, where their gas emissions are measured. This happens twice, at a 14-day interval. The resulting information is then used alongside other genetic information to calculate the methane breeding value.
King Country stud breeder Russell Proffit's family has been producing rams for 40 years. Twenty years ago, Raupuha Stud began breeding lower-input sheep — naturally able to stave off common health ailments and requiring fewer interventions.