‘Landmark’ EBLEX project could add £150m annually to farm profits
12/01/2015
The four-year project will be carried out by EBLEX with Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and has a projected increase in farm-level profit of 39% and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 22%
The project will initially agree industry-wide protocols for measuring feed efficiency and taking and storing tissue samples for analysis. Facilities will be installed on selected commercial farms to measure feed efficiency with around 1,800 cattle providing the data.
The results will be used to develop Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) for traits relating to feed efficiency and produce a set of possible business models for the continued recording of feed efficiency parameters.
EBLEX head of research and development Kim Matthews said: “We are very excited about this research project. Feed is one of the main costs in any beef enterprise. Therefore this research has huge potential for beef farmers in the UK.
Defra (the UK’s Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) will provide £1.5 million funding and £250,000 will be funded by EBLEX, making it the largest project in terms of cost that EBLEX has undertaken.
Elizabeth Truss, Secretary of State for the Environment, said: “I want to forge a future for British farming, based on innovation, technology and the quality of our great British food.
“That is why we are helping fund this new research using biotechnology to identify what genes make the best beef cattle. This landmark project is expected to contribute to £150m a year in farm profits and is just one example of how food and farming is embracing the future to become a high-tech, powerhouse industry.”
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