How will genetics feed the world?

An interesting article discusses how livestock farmers are going to feed the world in the future with 100% more food required by 2050.

It states that genetics will play a role in improvements in yield but other factors are nearly as important.

It appears more intensive livestock production ( dairy and pig production) has made significant gains in genetic improvement but beef producers have made little progress.

This signals huge opportunities for significant gains for this sector as todays genetic technology allows better recognition of "hidden genes" to be identified and exploited.

NZ farm animals have shown big improvements in productive value in the last few years with the sheep sectors lift in performance through improved fertility and growth rates a highlight as it strives to remain competitive against changing land use.

Another sector that has shown huge genetic progress as an industry is the velvet business. The national velvet competition shows this improvement with winners going from 5kg heads to 11kg + antlers in 25 years of intensive selection.

Deer farmers will be hoping similar progress can be made in the venison sector where progress is only just starting.

Why has the NZ beef sector not embraced an industry driven genetics scheme to exploit the potential for imporovement in their animals production?

As soon as the phrases "genetic improvement" and "new technology" are used in the same breath, the image that many laymen create is one of monsters and Frankenstein food, writes Chris Harris from the Beef site. This year's Oxford Faming Conference brought the questions on genetics, new technology, genetic modification and improvements in agriculture into sharp focus.

At a time when the global population is growing and growing largely in the underdeveloped and developing countries, the need to produce more food, more efficiently is unquestioned. It is predicted that by 2050 the world's population will need 100 per cent more food and according to the UN FAO 70 per cent of it must come from efficiency enhancing technology.

How that increase in production can be met sustainably and economically is the big question taxing scientists, politicians, farmers, processors and consumers alike. The problems of feeding a growing population have raised the question among some lobby groups over whether there should be any livestock farming at all and whether a vegetarian diet is the most sustainable way forward. However, not only is the global population growing but it is also growing in wealth and with that growth in wealth comes a desire and need for a more refined diet that includes meat and eggs.

But as this wealthier population demands more animal protein, the agricultural sector must find ways of meeting that demand. As the Oxford Farming Conference heard this year, genetics has a big role to play in the improvements of yield - whether it is in crops or in animal protein - but genetics are not the sole solution. The improvements in yields in both crops and milk over the last 50 years have been 50 per cent down to improvements in breeding. The other half of the answer has come down to improved feed and feeding, improved housing and an improved environment and care of both crops and livestock.

Mark Smith, the global bovine product development and production director at Genus said that in the last 50 years improvements in pig litters had seen a growth from 14 piglets per sow to around 23 and the improvements in the animal and the conformation while partly coming from genetic selection had also come from improved production management. This had also led to better feed conversion rates, better conformation and more lean meat and less manure, producing less impact on the environment.

The improvements between 1962 and 2009 had seen 71 per cent more pigs, 38 per cent less feed used, 39 per cent more lean meat and 50 per cent less manure produced. The improvements are 60 per cent down to genetic improvement. In dairy herds genetic improvements in the herd over the last 40 years have contributed to increased milk yields through genetic selection, by looking at more traits than in the past to ensure the production of a dairy cow that is more fertile and more productive.

He said that livestock farming units are going to grow and there is going to be less labour in each unit and there are going to be environmental constraints to produce food sustainably."Genetics have contributed approximately 50% of the phenotypic improvement we have seen over the last 50 years and basically, we need to produce more from less and genetic improvement is going to be key to this," he said.

However, there have been vast discrepancies over the last 50 years in the advances in genetic improvement between the different species and sectors. While the dairy herds have seen a 60 to 70 per cent improvement, the pig herds have only seen a 30 to 40 per cent improvement and the beef herds have had negligible genetic improvement.