fbpx
Print this page
Wednesday, 06 May 2015 14:07

Unlocking secrets behind footrot

Written by 
Estimates suggest that footrot costs New Zealand’s fine wool sector up to $10 million each year. Estimates suggest that footrot costs New Zealand’s fine wool sector up to $10 million each year.

New Zealand’s fine wool sector is a step closer to eradicating footrot thanks to ground-breaking research in sheep genetics.

The FeetFirst project, part of a Primary Growth Partnership between the New Zealand Merino Company (NZM) and the Ministry for Primary Industries, is using genetic testing to identify fine-wool sheep with resistance to footrot.  Researchers are now close to developing a simple test for growers to eliminate footrot using selective breeding.

Estimates suggest that footrot costs New Zealand’s fine wool sector up to $10 million each year in lost productivity and treatment, according to NZ Merino.

John Brakenridge, NZM chief executive, says finding an answer to reduce footrot in fine wool flocks would significantly improve the sector’s profitability.

“Footrot is one of the biggest barriers to producing fine wool.  It also limits the expansion of fine wool breeds beyond the high country because wetter, warmer conditions are more conducive to infection.”

“The answer will be a simple and effective genetic test that farmers can use to combat footrot through selective breeding.”

Geneticists based at the Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit of the University of New England have done initial tests on the dataset to see how accurately a sheep’s resistance (or susceptibility) to footrot can be determined from DNA samples.

NZM production science manager, Dr Mark Ferguson, says the goal of the project is to develop a new genomic breeding value (gBV).

“Genetics plays a major role in fighting footrot because some sheep are genetically less susceptible to the disease.  The development of an accurate gBV will be a major breakthrough in allowing breeders to predict footrot resistance from a single DNA sample,” he says.

The next phase of the FeetFirst project is to further build the accuracy of the gBV through progeny testing of an additional 100 fine-wool rams over the next two breeding seasons.

“We’re making encouraging progress,” says Ferguson. “Ultimately we could see footrot bred out of the New Zealand fine-wool flock. That would be a tremendous result for farmers and the fine-wool industry.”

More like this

Featured

Australia develops first local mRNA FMD vaccine

Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.

NZ household food waste falls again

Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.

Editorial: No joking matter

OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.

National

Machinery & Products

Tech might take time

Agritech Unleashed – a one-day event held recently at Mystery Creek, near Hamilton – focused on technology as an ‘enabler’…

John Deere acquires GUSS Automation

John Deere has announced the full acquisition of GUSS Automation, LLC, a globally recognised leader in supervised high-value crop autonomy,…

Fencing excellence celebrated

The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards,…