Travel Report
Patricia Johnson (Massey University)
REPORT FOR NZSAP ANIMAL SCIENCE AWARDS
PATRICIA L. JOHNSON
PhD CANDIDATE
MASSEY UNIVERSITY
Purpose
The first part of the trip involved visiting agricultural research institutes
throughout the United Kingdom with the aim of meeting researchers and learning
about their projects and the industry in which they are working in. The second
part of the trip involved attending the World Congress on Genetics Applied
to Livestock Production in Montpellier, France, where I presented a paper.
Itinerary and Important Contacts
Monday the 5th August 2002
Roslin Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland
Met with:-
Steve Bishop
- A kiwi
- Traditionally his research has focused on genetics of production aspects
in sheep
- Recently moved towards QTL work which although production related moved
him towards the molecular aspects of genetics
- Increasingly looking for QTL for disease resistance in pigs and sheep, with
the biggest project in sheep looking at scrapie resistance in sheep
Grant Walling
- Spent time doing post-doctoral work at AgResearch Invermay three years ago
- Working on QTL for production traits in sheep
- Involved with the Sire Referencing Schemes for the Texel, Charolais and
Suffolk in the United Kingdom, and works with the breeders
Thursday the 8th August 2002
Scottish Agricultural College (SAC), Edinburgh, Scotland
Met with:-
Lutz Berenger
- German, who had only been at SAC five weeks
- Previously been working with selection lines in mice looking at size, composition
and metabolism
- Using this knowledge to use the mice as models for other production animals
such as sheep
- Also working with the “Hill Sheep Project”, looking to improve
the genetics of the Scottish Black Face breed
Elly Navajas
- Former colleague from Massey University having recently completed her Masterate
- Only been at SAC for three weeks when I visited
- Main project is looking at linking CT scanning measurements in sheep to
ultrasonic measurements and actual meat quality measurements
Anne-Marie van Heelsum
- Main project is the “Long Wool” project Looking at improving
the carcass attributes of the Blue Face Leicester breed which has traditionally
been a dam breed used to generate mules
Friday 9th August 2002
Aberstwyth University, Aberstwyth, Wales
Met with:-
Will Haresign
- Head of the animal science department at the University
- Research into artificial insemination in sheep
Catharine Nakielny
- PhD student in finishing stages
- Looking at genetic parameters for parasite resistance in sheep
Maddie Lewis
- Farm manager
- Farm contains many purebred flocks of rare breeds within Wales
- Have large Texel and Blue Face Leicester flocks
Tuesday and Wednesday the 13th and 14th of August 2002
Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC), Milton Keynes, England
Met with:-
Gert Nieuwhof
- Sheep geneticist
- Oversees projects funded by MLC at places such as SAC
- Tries to link research results back to on farm use
Jane Connor
- Planner and Forecaster
- Involved in writing summary statistics of the meat industry
- Strong knowledge of the subsidy system
Duncan Pullar
- Currently a sheep scientist, although until recently was working with beef
- Sees his role as covering the middle ground between “genetics”
and “meat”
Sam Boon
- Works within Signet, a company within MLC, as a sheep consultant to farmers
- Signet being similar to SIL in New Zealand
Kim Matthews
- Meat scientist across species
Huw Jones
- Completing PhD, but working for a company associated with MLC
- PhD looking at
o Correlation between ultrasound and CT measurements as predictors of muscularity
o Survey of lamb retailers and abattoirs looking at market signals
o Bio-economic model for predicting lamb value
Chris Warkup
- Meat and genetics scientist
- Also heavily involved in reporting back to government on industry views
on issues such as genetic modification
Henry Lewis
- Involved in livestock export/import
- Discussed impacts of BSE on this
Derek Armstrong
- Veterinarian
- Strong knowledge of scrapie resistance issues within the UK
Wednesday 14th August 2002
Gaynes Park, Epping, England
Met with:-
Richard Clay
- A registered Texel breeder
- Based replacement policy on selection index of Sire Referencing Scheme
- Although not directly affected by foot and mouth, lost income through inability
to sell rams because of movement restrictions
- Taking scrapie resistance of animals into consideration when choosing replacements
Thursday 15th August 2002
Wye College, Wye, England
Met with:-
Geoff Pollot
- Geneticist and teaches animal breeding/growth and development
- Has a number of students from Africa and the Middle East
- Traditionally meat orientated in research, but currently milk orientated
Monday 19th – Friday 23rd August 2002
World Congress of Genetics Applied to Livestock Production, Montpellier, France
1400 conference delegates.
Main Sessions Attended:-
- Breeding ruminants for meat production
- Selection theory and experiments in farm and lab animals
- Breeding ruminants for milk production
- Exploration of molecular information in farm animals
- Behaviour and welfare
- Growth and meat quality
- Design of breeding programmes
Met with (in addition to a number that I had already met on my trip):-
Basil Wolf
Aberstwyth – Wales
- Met Basil whilst he was on sabbatical in New Zealand, was on holiday when
I visited Aberstwyth
- Working on sheep genetics
Geoff Simm
SAC – Scotland
- Intended to meet Geoff when visiting SAC but he was on holiday
- Is one of the senior researchers at SAC involved with most of the projects
that are carried out there.
David Fyfe
Yelmah Pig Breeding Company Adelaide – Australia
- Met his father last year at AAABG always interested in the lasted QTL work
Brian Wickham
Irish Cattle Breeding Federation Society Ltd – Ireland
- New Zealander who used to work for LIC
- Provided knowledge of the state of the Irish dairy industry which is a much
better state than their UK counterparts
Chris Kelly
Landcorp – New Zealand
- General Manager
Findings of Relevance to New Zealand
My trip throughout the United Kingdom concentrated on the sheep industry.
Although already aware of it, the key thing that I came to understand even
further through my visit was how lucky New Zealand farmers!!!
I was very much unaware as to the “subsidy” system that supports
the United Kingdom sheep industry. Currently the supplement is 21 Euros for
every breeding ewe, this contributes a significant proportion of on farm income
and so there is not the drive by farmers as there is in New Zealand to be
increasing the productivity of their animals. So although research is carried
out by the research institutes to look at ways of improving productivity and
improving the quality of the animals produced, farmers albeit interested do
not show the same level of interest that their Kiwi counterparts do.
Nor was I aware as to the extent that the BSE crisis has ongoing repercussions
for the meat industry in the United Kingdom. No animal (sheep, cattle etc.)
can be slaughtered over 30 months of age for human consumption, which effectively
means any breeding animals must be destroyed of by other means. This then
affecting the exporting ability of the industry.
In New Zealand we were made very much aware of the impact of the Foot and Mouth crisis last year on the farmers who lost animals. The breeder that I visited did not actually loss any stock, and so was not compensated by the government. However because of the movement restrictions he was unable to sell stud rams and was not compensated for this and so suffered a significant loss of income.
Perhaps the biggest issue within the sheep industry in the United Kingdom
that we have heard very little about within New Zealand is the “scrapie
eradication” program. Scrapie has existed for centuries within the UK
and is not a real problem in itself however there is sufficient evidence that
scrapie could mask the symptoms of BSE in sheep and so has potential human
implications. Scrapie resistant animals do exist and their genotype has been
determined and so it is the plan of the United Kingdom governments to set
about DNA testing sheep with the aim of breeding scrapie resistant sheep.
Derek Armstrong of MLC gave me the following numbers –
“of the 70,000 flocks in the UK 15,000 registered and this is the area
that has been first targeted for breeding for scrapie resistance. Of the registered
breeders only 1,500 showed interest in breeding for scrapie resistance and
of those only 150 have carried out tests so far. Under the current plan and
rate of implementation it will take 30 years to get to the desired point.
Ideally they are wanting to breed a UK population of ARR/ARR or ARR/??? genotype
animals.”
But it is clearly evident that in years to come breeding for scrapie resistance
is going to become a key selection objective of sheep breeders in the United
Kingdom, and so will lessen the rates of genetic gain for other traits.
However despite all of the “doom and gloom” facing the UK sheep
industry – probably the highlight of my tour was going on farm to visit
with Richard Clay. His father established their Texel flock in the late 1980’s
and as soon as the UK sire referencing scheme was established in the early
1990’s they became involved with it. They show strong faith in the geneticists
who established the selection indexes for the scheme and have based their
selection on this index. As a result they have seen gains in every year in
the genetic merit of their animals based on the index. They also have a commercial
flock in which they use their own rams and have seen the effects of using
the index filter through to their commercial flock. They are strong advocates
for the sire referencing scheme having been involved for 11 years, which as
a geneticist trying to convince New Zealand Texel breeders of the merits of
a sire referencing scheme it was very pleasing to see.
So New Zealand researchers are very lucky in that the farmers that we are
trying to help do not have to contend with much that their United Kingdom
counterparts have and continue to. As a result it means that we have the potential
to be helping make gains in New Zealand, which United Kingdom researchers
do not have the chance to do. However we must be aware that we may have to
start looking at areas of concern in the United Kingdom such as scrapie resistance
in the future.
The NZSAP Awards Funds were put towards the travel costs.
Thank You
Thank you to the NZSAP for awarding me a Animal Science Award as attending
an international conference on the other side of the world is expensive and
if it were not for funding received, attending the conference may not have
been a reality. But instead it was a reality which I thoroughly enjoyed and
gained a lot from which will help me in furthering my career in research.