Sheep Industry News August 2022

SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION Continued from Page 32

tures to assess how well animals are coping with their environment, such as how oft en they visit water sources.

Th is can also be used to develop traits related to grazing effici cy when integrated with weight data, because the amount of weight gain by an individual relative to how far they have traveled is an indicator of how well the animal is using the feed resources in its environment. GPS data can also be used from a management perspective, including to identify areas that are being grazed more heavily, which can be an indicator of more desirable feed, but also might warrant consideration for a s hift in animal management to prevent overgraz ing. Patterns in the data can be used to identify changes in animal behavior that might be indicative of the presence of predators. We are planning on integrating GPS data with observational data col lected by herders to identify challenging areas on our landscape – such as high tra ffic areas for predators – to inform our management practices. Information on animal social networks can also be collected as a natural part of using GPS data; in particular, ewe-lamb proxim ity data, which might be indicative of maternal behavior and could impact survivability of the lamb. Th is work – funded by an Agricultural Genomes to Phenomes Initiative seed grant – will demonstrate the potential to use GPS data for both management and genetic selection to increase perfor mance of rangeland sheep. GENOTYPING THE FLOCK We are excited to implement genomic testing using an Illumina genotyping array with 50K markers as part of our standard opera tions in the University of Nevada-Reno’s R aft er 7 fl ck. Our aim is to genotype most of the animals in our approximately 3,000 head fl ock to facilitate our enrollment in NSIP genetic evaluations. Th is e ff ort has a direct tie-in with the research eff orts conducted by Dr. Ron Lewis and Dr. Luiz Brito as part of their Sheep GEMS project. Our goal is twofold: fi st, to be able to provide the industry with this valuable resource to identify animals that will suit their produc tion needs; and second, to gain a better understanding of the genetic mechanisms driving novel traits associated with performance in a rangeland environment, particularly some of the novel traits dis cussed in this article. SUMMARY More sustainable agriculture can be achieved through manage ment practices and selection of resilient animals that maintain a high level of performance and require less intervention. Integra tion of precision agriculture tools and genomics allows us to make progress on both fronts by providing data-driven solutions to the challenges producers face today and into the future.

We are putting the fi nal touches on a proto type at our Main Station Field Lab in Reno, Nev. (Figure 1, previous page), with plans to deploy the system at our Great Basin Research and Extension Center in Eureka, Nev., where the R aft er 7 fl ock is kept. Th weight data will be used to develop

Figure 2: GPS collars.

indicators of resilience, which we will use to estimate the heritability of these traits and assess their correlation with production traits. Th data collected from this system can also be used for fl ock management in two major ways: fi st, electronic IDs can be used to take stock inventory and identify when animals go missing; and second, tracking of weight can inform producers of drops in perfor mance, which might be indicative of a scarcity of high-quality feed in the area being grazed or a pathogen moving through the fl ck. GPS DATA COLLECTION GPS data can be used to capture measurements of land use behavior on individuals, which has been shown to have a genetic component in cattle. Th development of low-cost GPS devices (Fig ure 2) has enabled the collection of these data on large numbers of animals, enabling their use for development of traits related to land use behavior, such as hillside usage. Th data can also be integrated with knowledge of landscape fea COMPLETELY UPDATED Sheep Production Handbook Fully Searchable USB

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