Genetic selection for performance and carcass quality in the UK beef cattle and sheep industries has resulted in a rate of return on investment of 32%.
Excess iodine in the diet of pregnant ewes reduces the ability of lambs to absorb antibodies from colostrum, potentially increasing the risk of disease.
Nutrient restriction in late pregnancy improves the ability of lambs to convert feed into growth, but due to the reduced milk production of the ewe lamb liveweight is lower throughout the finishing period.
Using crossbred ewes will increase lamb output by 20% and have no negative effects on ewe longevity.
Modest restrictions in early pregnancy ewes will not adversely affect the placentas ability to transfer nutrients to the growing lamb.
Supplementing ewes with selenium throughout pregnancy will improve lamb meat appearance at slaughter
Stress due to tail docking in piglets is reduced by using a hot iron compared with blunt cutting.
The variability in piglet birthweight can be reduced by breeding along with other factors such as avoiding very large litters and high backfat gain during pregnancy
White painted handling races can improve handling ease which is of particular benefit to breeds such as Hampshires.
Keep litter mates together to reduce aggression and increase post-weaning weight gain.
