Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued Order No. 762, announcing 21 new livestock and poultry varieties and supporting systems and 17 newly discovered livestock, poultry, and bee genetic resources approved by the National Animal and Poultry Genetic Resources Committee. Tianhua meat sheep, cultivated by a team led by Professors Li Fadi and Le Xiangpeng of the College of Grassland Agriculture Science and Technology of Lanzhou University, in collaboration with the Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County Animal Husbandry Technology Promotion Station and Gansu Agricultural University, is among the new varieties. It has become China's first meat sheep breed adapted to cold climates.
Fifteen Years of Research Breakthrough in Cold-Hardy Breeding
Gansu Province ranks third in the number of sheep in stock, and seventh in the number of sheep slaughtered and mutton production in China. It is a major sheep industry province but not a strong industry province. Among them, fine-wool sheep, semi-fine wool sheep, and their crossbred sheep account for 30.6% of the total sheep stock in the province, and are mainly distributed in vast pastoral areas and agro-pastoral transition areas.
"At present, the meat performance of existing fine-wool sheep varieties is relatively poor, and specialized and large-scale production of high-quality mutton has not taken shape. Also, the overall quality of wool has not been effectively improved," said Le Xiangpeng, a professor at the College of Grassland Agriculture and Technology of Lanzhou University, to the China Science Daily. Therefore, the demand for "guaranteeing wool and increasing meat" in fine-wool sheep production areas has become very urgent. However, there is a serious lack of meat and wool dual-purpose varieties that can adapt to the harsh environment of the above-mentioned areas.
However, the challenge lies in ensuring that meat and wool production are advanced simultaneously without compromising wool yield and quality. Therefore, it is particularly important to cultivate new varieties that have outstanding meat and wool performance and can adapt to the harsh natural conditions of the production area.
As early as 2008, the leader of the breeding team, Li Fadi, and his supervisor Zhao Youzhang, initially conceived the idea of using the breed resource advantages to breed a new breed of meat and wool. After extensive investigation, the research team decided to use South African Merino sheep with excellent meat performance as the paternal breed and Gansu Alpine fine-wool sheep adapted to the cold climate as the maternal breed to conduct small-group crossbreeding experiments. The success of the small-scale experiments allowed the technical route of the breeding team to be widely recognized. Therefore, Tianzhu County was chosen as the key crossbreeding production area for large-scale crossbreeding.
By actively pursuing funding, the breeding team has obtained funding from the National Meat Sheep Industry Technology System, the Gansu Province Major Science and Technology Project, and the Gansu Province Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Le Xiangpeng said, "We treat breeding work as a career and consider Tianzhu County as our second hometown. We work and live with farmers and herdsmen. We can analyze the gene composition and performance data of Tianhua meat sheep in the laboratory, and also weigh sheep in the sheepfold and do heavy physical work. We are committed to writing academic papers on the land."
In 2012, based on market demand and comprehensive evaluation of the growth, development, grazing performance, and adaptability of the first and second generations of crossbreeds, the research team began to establish a group with 62.5% South African Merino blood and 37.5% Gansu Alpine fine-wool blood in the hope of cultivating a new, ideal fine-wool sheep for meat production.
"Breeding research has been conducted since 2009 and has spanned 15 years," introduced Li Fadi, head of the research team at the College of Grassland Agriculture and Technology, Lanzhou University. Facing harsh ecological conditions of annual average temperature of -4 to 8°C, annual rainfall of only 265 mm, and altitude of 2,800 meters, after four generations of continuous selection, the team has successfully developed the first new breed of meat and wool sheep in China that adapts to high altitude, cold, and dry natural environment and grazing, semi-grazing and semi-indoor, and indoor feeding methods.
Tianhua Sheep: A Superior Breed for High-Altitude Animal Husbandry
"Tianhua sheep are known for their large stature, robust constitution, uniform white fleece, and rapid growth and reproductive rates."
Lei Xiangpeng, a researcher, highlighted that this breed is well-suited to the harsh conditions of high-altitude, cold, and arid regions. It also serves as a dual-purpose breed for meat and wool production. Mature rams and ewes weigh approximately 100 kg and 65 kg, respectively, with shearing yields of 6.1 kg and 4.2 kg. Their key advantage lies in their adaptability to extreme high-altitude, cold, and arid environments, and their overall productive performance ranks among the world's leading meat-producing fine-wool sheep.
Originating from Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County at the northeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau on the northern slope of the Qilian Mountains, Tianhua sheep are the first fine-wool meat breed developed for high-altitude cold regions in China. They are suitable for widespread utilization in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and similar areas.
Additionally, this new breed exhibits excellent meat quality and is adaptable to grazing, semi-grazing and semi-confinement, and confinement feeding conditions. It can serve as a primary breed for other fine-wool sheep production areas and as a meat-type crossbreeding sire. It is also a viable option as a meat-type crossbreeding sire for northern pastoral areas and farming-pastoralist regions. Hence, Tianhua sheep have promising potential for extensive application and promotion.
According to sources, in 2022, Tianhua sheep became the only sheep variety included in the Gansu Provincial Committee's Document No. 1. They have received strong support from the Tianzhu County Party Committee and County Government. Tianzhu County has implemented a Tianhua sheep expansion policy, establishing 315 Tianhua sheep expansion groups in 19 fine-wool sheep breeding townships, including Hua Zang Si, Song Shan, and Da Chai Gou, in addition to the original variety development locations. The population size continues to grow.
Compared to the original breeds in the new variety's breeding area, each Tianhua sheep can generate an additional 800-900 CNY in revenue for farmers. Statistics indicate that over 500,000 Tianhua sheep have been marketed over the past 15 years, significantly contributing to the quality improvement and efficiency enhancement of the county's sheep industry. This has also encouraged a growing number of herders to raise Tianhua sheep.
"The successful development of the breed is just the first step on a long journey. In the future, we will optimize the three-tier breeding system for the new variety, continuously select superior breeding sheep, and focus on improving reproductive capacity and growth rate," said Lei Xiangpeng. He added that the next steps include conducting research on the nutritional requirements of Tianhua sheep, evaluating the compatibility of excellent breeds, and implementing standardized breeding practices. They will also continue to research the distinctive characteristics of lamb meat quality and establish a brand for unique high-altitude lamb meat.
