Breeding more important than market returns

The UK’s exit from the European Union is already raising questions about the level of subsidies available to farmers in the future. This is relevant to both the UK and EU member states as with a UK contribution in excess of €10bn to the EU budget, additional funds will need to be found to prevent a deficit in the Common Agricultural Policy post-Brexit.

While in theory there will be higher funds available to the UK, there is no guarantee that agriculture will receive any more support as it contributes just 0.7% to the UK’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Sheep geneticist and management consultant Murray Rohloff spoke at the recent Northern Ireland National Sheep Association (NSA) event in Ballymena livestock market. The focus of his presentation was using the experiences of New Zealand to outline pathways of improvement in an era of potentially lower farm supports.

Murray started off by outlining that the way New Zealand coped with the removal of subsidies cannot be used as a blueprint for the UK, or other EU states, due to the variation in farm size, breed make-up, market dynamics, etc.

He believes, however, that there are numerous lessons that can be adopted by farmers in the UK and Ireland to improve farm profitability irrespective of the level of subsidies in the future. This, he says, will also help to insulate farmers from any reduction in global sheep prices caused by Brexit-related trading imbalances.

Breeding is an integral part of many of the seven factors Murray outlined.

1 Better control of pasture

“Lambs are particularly sensitive to sward digestibility. If you don’t get it right then you are basically removing your potential to make money. Better control of pasture in late spring/early summer will define how profitable your enterprise is.

Profit relates to days to slaughter which in turn is influenced by the quality and quantity of dry matter consumed but also by having the type of animals that can best perform in a grass-based system. This factor is 80% controlled by the farmer and 20% by the breeding programme in place”.

2 Better fit of early spring feed supply

“Sheep farmers are essentially dairy farmers for the first six weeks of lactation. You don’t see a dairy farmer tighten up or discount cows in early lactation. The aim has to be to ensure spring feed supply satisfies ewe demand. If not, ewes will not reach peak lactation and lamb performance will be an uphill battle”. With the exception of unusual weather events, Murray says that achieving this is 100% down to the farmer and is influenced by grassland management and selecting a lambing date that best suits the farm.

3 Match lambing percentage and functionality to environment

“The lambing percentage and functionality of the breed selected must suit your environment. If your output is too low you won’t have enough mouths to manage grass and cover costs. On the other hand, if you have too high a lambing percentage for the environment you are in there will be high losses.

“New Zealand systems are geared for outdoor lambing and there has been huge cost savings in improving survivability and health traits. Some New Zealand farmers are now looking at one labour unit of 4,000 ewes, with over 90% born unassisted. I realise there are big differences between the New Zealand and UK system but there is still room for improvement.”

This, Murray says, is 100% driven by breeding and care should be taken to implement a breeding policy that optimises the farm’s potential, labour availability and facilities.

4 Better control of worms

“Worm control is the number one animal health problem globally. I was one of two farmers in the world that developed sheep with worm resistance.”

Development in this area is slow but it holds huge potential in an environment of increasing anthelmintic resistance. The breeding element of this is low at present but is something that Murray says should be fully utilised where available.

5 Ability to thrive and finish on grass

“Breeding animals that have the ability to thrive and finish in a grass-based system has been the focus in New Zealand for the last 30 years. The UK is full of breeders who are selecting sheep that thrive and excel on concentrates. This is the opposite of what is desired by the commercial farmer.

“The behaviour and physiology of breeders and their animals has to be different. This is 100% the role of the breeder but it has to be driven by market demand. In New Zealand, there were over 4,000 ram producers providing rams for over 40m ewes when subsidies were removed.

“Some did not transform to a grass-based system and over time their market has disappeared. Now, 578 breeders provide rams for a flock of 19.8m ewes, with 99% of rams sold recorded.

“Commercial farmers are going to have to learn that they have to reward farmers producing good rams; if this doesn’t change then the focus on show sheep over functional animals won’t change.”

6 Increasing ewe & ram longevity and average ram-serving capacity

“The average ram longevity in the UK is just 2.1 years. We expect to have rams in New Zealand for at least four years that are capable of serving between 100 and 150 ewes in a year. We have to ask ourselves why we have rams that have difficulty in getting ewes pregnant.”

Murray is a joint venture owner of EasyRams UK, which aims to produce rams from a grass-only diet that will excel in commercial enterprises.

He says if the industry adopts this approach there is huge potential to reduce costs and increase output but again states that for this to happen there must be a marked change in the mindset of pedigree and commercial farmers.

7 Ability to shorten the winter

Murray says that breeding sheep that can excel in a grass-based system and suit the environment in which they are located will in turn allow feeding programmes to be tailored for better feed allocation, which in turn has the ability to shorten the winter, he says.

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Special focus: sheep breeding and sales season