A new project aiming to help drive genetic improvement in the British sheep industry has been announced.

The study is funded by Defra and led by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) in collaboration with the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), the National Sheep Association (NSA), AbacusBio and the Centre of Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL).

Firstly, the project will produce a review.

The review will report on the latest developments in approaches globally to genetic improvements and detail how these can be applied to the UK sheep flock.

Breeding goals will then be discussed, with a view to delivering genetic gain in maternal upland, maternal lowland and terminal production systems.

The breeding goals will then be selected by a consensus among all stakeholders and actors.

Strong position

Dr Joanne Conington, livestock geneticist at SRUC, said: “It is timely because in the post-Brexit era, we are in a very strong position to influence how best to increase efficiencies in sheep meat production.”