A scientist in Scotland has hailed the birth of an IVF calf, that hails from a research project to develop “highly methane-efficient animals”, as a potentially significant moment for the UK dairy industry.
Professor Richard Dewhurst, who is head of the Dairy Research Centre at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), believes the birth of the calf named “Hilda” could play a key role in helping the dairy sector cut carbon emissions.
Prof. Dewhurst, who previously led research units in Wales, New Zealand, and Ireland, is the SRUC lead on the Cool Cows project which is focused on “accelerated breeding for low methane emissions and high feed efficiency”.
Hilda, who is part of the Cool Cows project, is the first member of the famous Dumfries-based Langhill Herd – which the SRUC said is a “vital source of data for the UK dairy industry for more than half century” – to be born through IVF.
According to the college fertilising Hilda’s mother’s eggs in a lab resulted in the next generation of the Langhill Herd arriving eight months earlier than previously possible.
The Cool Cows project aims to demonstrate a unique combination of reproductive technologies (OPU-IVP-ET) and new genomic tools which can “be used to to select genetics primarily for reduced methane production whilst maintaining production to produce a number of highly productive, highly methane-efficient cattle”.
IVF calf
Prof. Dewhurst said: “With global consumption of dairy produce continuing to grow, breeding livestock for sustainability is extremely important.
“The birth of Hilda is potentially a hugely significant moment for the UK dairy industry.
“We will use a new genomic assessment alongside existing production and environmental efficiency indices to select elite, methane-efficient heifers for breeding”.
He said the Cool Cows project will “produce a greater number of offspring from these donors, rapidly establishing a nucleus of highly methane-efficient calves.”
The project is a partnership between Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), Cumbria vets Paragon and Semex has received £335,000 from the Digital Dairy Chain’s Collaborative Research and Development Grant Competition.
Project lead Rob Simmons, director and lead vet – advanced breeding at Paragon, also said that genetic improvement in methane efficiency “is going to be key to continuing to provide nutritious food to the public, while controlling the impact of methane emissions on the environment in the future.”
Separately Stuart Martin, programme director of Digital Dairy Chain, said he believes Cool Cows is a “groundbreaking project”.
“With the environmental impact of farming being a critical global issue, projects that look for innovative solutions to mitigate this impact are vital to the industry.
“The birth of the first Cool Cows calf marks a significant milestone, promising significant results for the future of sustainable farming,” Martin.
