Scientists look at how to make sheep far greener

Initiative will measure feed efficiency and animal emissions

Scientists are working to breed sheep which produce less greenhouse gases to reduce their impact on the environment.

The Grass to Gas initiative, led by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), will measure two key factors affecting the environmental consequences of livestock – feed efficiency and methane emissions.

Its goal is to develop new ways to identify animals with a lower impact, which can then be selected as part of breeding programmes.

Nicola Lambe, a sheep geneticist at SRUC, said: “The project aims to produce tools to measure, or accurately predict, feed efficiency and methane emissions from both individual animals and sheep systems, which will provide the international industry with the means to breed, feed and manage sheep with reduced environmental impact as part of genetic improvement initiatives.

“It will also contribute towards addressing the argument about the effect of eating meat on global warming.”

The first phase of the three-year project will test different methods for their ability to accurately predict feed intake and methane emissions from sheep.

Researchers will investigate the relationship between these two factors from sheep housed both indoors and at pasture and differences due to breed, parent, genetic line or breeding values.

Data will be analysed to quantify the economic and environmental benefits of improvements in feed efficiency and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

SRUC is leading the Grass to Gas initiative looking at sheep breeding.