Money has run out, but we must keep genomics scheme — Sheep Ireland
Over 13,000 pedigree sheep assessed during three-year OVIGEN genomics project
PEDIGREE sheep breeders are being encouraged to build on the benefits of a threeyear genomics evaluations pilot programme by ensuring that funding is available for the continuation of the research.
The OVIGEN sheep genomics research project, under which over 13,000 pedigree sheep had genomic evaluations completed since 2014, comes to an end this year.
At the Sheep Ireland stakeholders meeting at All Mellows College in Athenry last week the achievement of the pilot programme was described as being too beneficial to the industry to let its continuation fall by the wayside.
Led by Sheep Ireland, and working with Teagasc and UCD, and supported by funding from OVIGEN, the pilot programme has been aimed at forming the reference population for Ireland’s first genomic breeding values for sheep.
Eamon Wall of Sheep Ireland told the breed representatives that funding for the project has now run out and alternative ways of financing the continuation of the genomic testing of sheep are required.
“The completion of OVIGEN is this year and the budget has been spent now. There is really no more money for genotyping or for visiting of the flocks,” he said.
He described it as having been “a massive investment in our pedigree sheep breeds” which hopefully will return a longterm legacy for Irish sheep breeding, but he warned that genotyping must be continued if the ultimate benefits are to be realised.
He said: “If we pull down the shutters now and say ‘wasn’t that a nice project’, we’re going to pretty much lose all the benefits that we have accrued up to now. That’s the key message; we need to keep it going.”
Sheep Ireland has undertaken to partially cover part of the cost of the tests, if the breeders agree to pay €10 per ram/ewe tested.
Discussions have opened between Sheep Ireland and the breed societies and other stake holders on the future of the scheme with plans to enter a new phase of testing within a month if agreement on the funding can be finalised.