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Project Code [2022IRLNZ129]
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Primary Funding Agency
DAFM
Co-Funding Organisation(s)
n/a
Lead Organisation
Teagasc
Project Abstract
As well as contributing to cumulative gains, breeding programs also boast the advantage of having high adoption requiring no change to farming practices. While (preliminary) estimates of genetic variation in enteric methane emissions exist for sheep (Ireland and New Zealand) and beef (Ireland), no such estimates exist in dairy. Whereas enteric methane phenotypes on grazing sheep exist in Ireland and New Zealand, no such data exists in beef with limited data in dairy cows. Moreover, the infrastructure is lacking to compile sufficient gold standard methane emission data from which to: a) develop standard operating procedures to quantify enteric methane emissions, which could include predictor traits, and b) quantify the (genetic) variability. These factors are necessary to develop a roadmap for reducing enteric methane emissions with specific reference to pastoral production systems. The objective of this multi-sector study is to: a) develop standard operating procedures for the collection of enteric methane data recognising the trade-off between accuracy of individual phenotypic estimates and number of phenotyped individuals, b) estimate the extent of genetic variability in different phenotypes reflecting methane output, c) develop generic models, populated with parameters estimated from the earlier objectives, to underpin a roadmap for optimal breeding program design, and d) link the genetic gain models to inventory models to quantify the contribution of different breeding schemes to reducing greenhouse gas national inventories; the proposal will operate across the sheep, beef and dairy sectors of Ireland and New Zealand and leverage the industry learnings and research to-date across countries and industries. The proposal will integrate the respective subject matter expertise in each country as well as the International Committee on Animal Recording (ICAR) working groups. The outcome will be a fully costed roadmap on ruminant breeding strategies per country along with the expected gains achievable in reducing enteric methane emissions.
Grant Approved
�1,595,246.52
Research Theme
Carbon Stocks, GHG Emissions, Sinks and Management Options
Initial Projected Completion Date
28/02/2027