Present situation in sheep breeding in Poland (2) - E. Martyniuk

E. Martyniuk
Department of Genetics and Animal Breeding, Brwindw, Poland

Sheep husbandry in Poland was traditionally directed towards wool production. After the war the home-produced wool was in demand and the wool price was subsidized by the State as a part of anti-import politics. In the 60’s and in the 70’s the population size was relatively stable and amounted about 3.5 millions. In that period the total income in the sheep sector for 70 % depended on wool production.

In the early 80’s, thanks to the increasing opportunities to export lambs to the EC market, especially to Germany and Italy, the sheep population started growing and reached almost 5 millions in 1986. At that time the relation of wool and fat lambs share in the total income inverted - the output from selling lambs for export has risen to 60 -70 %.

The deterioration of Polish national economy in the late 80’s which had led to the political changes and finally to the introduction of free market economy influenced to a tremendous extent the situation in agriculture and especially in the sheep sector. Wool prices became exceptionally low and the demand for home- produced wool decreased because of the recession in the textile industry and at the same time because of easy access to high quality wool on international market. Profitability was rapidly decreasing as total income depended only on selling lambs. The temporary enclosure of the EC market in spring 1993 made the situation even worse. The ownership transformation of state farms generally hastened reduction of livestock number, most of all in species where profitability was low.

All these factors in connection with high inflation, rapid increase in prices of means of production and difficulties in cash flow led to the liquidation of many flocks, specially in the public sector. From 1990 the fall in sheep number has been dramatic as it is shown in the Table 1. In 1992 only 45% and in 1994 only 2 1% of total population of 1990 was left.

The decrease was higher in the public sector, both in commercial and breeding flocks - in 1986 only 42% of ewes under recording scheme were kept at private farms while in 1994 the proportion was over 74%. The number of flocks involved in performance recording in the public sector has fallen from 676 in 1986 to only 18 1 in 1994 - at the same time the average flock size decreased from 478 to 220 ewes (Table 1). The extinction of so many large flocks, some of them of a high genetic value, created a very disadvantageous situation in terms of implementation of breeding programs and genetic improvement.

In the last official GUS inventory, from June 1995, the estimated population size on the basis of a 2% sample amounted to 713.000 sheep in total and 450.000 breeding ewes. (GUS, 1995). At present the situation in sheep sector seems to stabilize and the reduction in total population size as well as in the number of sheep in pedigree flocks is much lower.

Since February 1 st, 1995, the Polish Sheep Breeders Association was given by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Economics the full responsibility over activities connected with sheep breeding like implementation of breeding programs, carrying out performance recording, evaluation of breeding value and licensing, keeping the flock-books, managing subsidies from the Biological Development Fund and so. Previously, the Central Animal Breeding Office with its regional branches was in charge of breeding work carried out in all farm species, also in sheep. This decision was the first one on the way to structural transformations which should enhance breeders participation and influence breeding process.

The first year of Polish Sheep Breeders Association’s activity was difficult as it became necessary to adopt the new structure, to sort out performance recording and pedigree data bases (data were moved from 17 Regional Animal Breeding Offices to 12 Regional Association branches) and to overcome many difficult problems, also connected with taking over technical staff involved so far in the breeding work.

Table 1. The total population size and the total number of ewes under recording scheme with the number of flocks involved in breeding work both in public and private sector in 1986-1995 (sources: CABO Annual Sheep Reports and GUS Inventories).

* Mean flock size as the number of ewes in flock books
** Data provided by the Polish Sheep Breeders Association

So the full data for 1995 are not available yet and the further information will be mainly based on results of performance recording carried out in 1994.

The data on breed structure in ewes under recording scheme is presented in Table 2.

Table 2. Number of ewes entered into flock books under recording scheme as of 31"’ December 1994. CABO Annual Sheep Report, 1995.

Polish Merino is the most numerous and genetically stable breed and also the most suitable one for meat production, so its share in number of ewes recorded as well as in commercial population is systematically increasing.

Polish Lowland sheep consist of several different varieties, they are meat-wool sheep of uniform coat, developed on the basis of local breeds upgraded by Polish Merino and English Longwool. They may also be used in fat lambs production but only as maternal side in crossbreeding system as their conformation is not satisfactory in purebreds.

Polish Longwool sheep it is the common name of several varieties which originate from local primitive sheep crossed with different imported breeds, such as Romney March, East Friesian, Leine, Texel or others, always without Merino influence. As Polish Longwool sheep used to be selected mainly towards wool their usefulness in meat production is limited. What is being confirmed by a fast rate of reduction of the flocks of these sheep - about 50% in pedigree stock in the last decade.

Polish Mountain sheep is one of our native breeds, hardy and well adapted. It originates from old Carpathian Cakiel of Podhale region and is traditionally milked. The breed is still kept in the Carpathian mountains although the population size has decreased very much since 1986. Production lambs for slaughter resulted in increasing interest in commercial crossbreeding - a method hardly used before as wool production was done mainly in purebred flocks. This encouraged development of terminal sire breeds, both these already kept in Poland, like German Black-headed as well as newly imported ones, like Suffolks. At the moment the number of pedigree ewes of meat breeds is sufficient to produce rams required for crossbreeding.

A population of prolific breeds, like Finn, East Friesian, Olkuska, Romanov and Booroola is very small but more and more important as these breeds are used now in the breeding program aiming at upgrading reproduction performance in maternal breeds.

There is also a number of small populations of different pure breeds, some of them native and regarded as gene resources - like Polish Heath sheep or Swiniarka, the others are remains of population brought in the past to improve our sheep, like Leine, Texel or Romney March.

In total 26 sheep breeds and varieties, 8 synthetic lines and 7 advanced backcross meat populations are being kept in Poland.

As over 74% of ewes recorded and over 80 % of all sheep are kept on private farms, the results of performance recording are presented for this sector (Table 3). Generally, in the public sector the performance level is about 10 - 15% lower. This difference is more pronounced in the case of reproductive features, especially litter size and number of lambs reared per mated ewe. For instance, in 1994 the mean prolificacy in 27.0 17 Merino ewes kept in 84 flocks of the public sector was 127.5 % and the fecundity 109.7 % while in 38.040 ewes from 3 13 private flocks the respective values were 134.4 % and 118.3 %. These differences are even higher in Lowland and Longwool sheep.

Table 3. Mean performance level in ewes of most numerous breeds under recording scheme in private sector in 1994, (CAB0 Annual Sheep Report, 1995)

An increasing interest in meat production forced to reconsider f breeding objectives in Polish sheep breeding as well as to intensify commercial crossing.

A development of new breeding program started in 1990 (Rzepecki, 1990); the final indices based on genetic parameters estimated in 1993 were proposed by Rzepecki et al. (1993).

Selection in main maternal breeds: Polish Merino, Lowland and Longwool sheep is based on a two-trait index which includes mean prolificacy of a dam and own lamb body weight at the age of 70 days. There are three possible breeding goals: meat, prolificacy or dual purpose.

According to the objective different economic values are applied to calculate index formula. These relative economic values for ewe prolificacy: lamb body weight in the index are respectively: 390:30,900:30 and 600:30. In the case of terminal breeds and their backcrosses the economic values are 240:30.

The breeding value is estimated using the following formula:

I = 50 + b₁ (x₁ - ml) + b₂ (x₂ - m₂)

where:

- b₁ and b₂ - regression coefficients
- x₁ - average litter size of dam
- m₁ - population mean, assumed as 1.00
- x₂ - body weight at 70 days, adjusted for type of birth (single) and dam age (2-4 years old).
- m₂ - population mean for the breed within the breeding objective

The indices are calculated by the Sheep and Goats Breeding Department of the National Research Institute of Animal Production, the data are provided by the Polish Sheep Breeders Association. In 1994 in total 23.524 ram-lambs were indexed and 16 200 in 1995.

Assuming that slaughter lambs production is the main aim of Polish sheep husbandry, it is most important to improve reproductive performance in maternal flock, especially as the present level of fecundity is not sufficient to secure profitability of sheep farms. The program on prolificacy improvement in national sheep population was introduced in 1994. The purpose of this program is to improve in size of litters by upgrading Polish local breeds through crossbreeding with prolific breeds available in the country, e.g. East Friesian, Finn, Olkuska, Romanov and Booroola.

The final genotype of ewes in maternal breeds should contain l/4 of the prolific genotype and 3/4 of the local breed genotype. The program is based on the utilization of F1 rams (by prolific sires and out of local dams of mean litter size at least 150%). In 1995 the first F1 rams have been used for crossing both in pedigree and commercial flocks.

Some breeds like Polish Mountain Sheep, Olkuska or Polish Heath sheep have been given specific breeding objectives. They have also separate programs aiming at improving milk production or litter size or at maintaining genetic diversity.

Although commercial crossbreeding is widely used at present in Poland, in fact there is no special crossbreeding program. One way terminal crossing with the sires available like Suffolk, Berrichon du Cher, Black-headed Mutton and Ile de France or with rams of the synthetic meat lines is the most common solution.

The carcass quality is not the important issue yet as lambs are exported alive, mainly for Italian or Spanish market at body weight around 13 -30 kg. It may have to change with the introduction of new regulation on long-distance transportation and the necessity to sell carcasses instead of live animals.

The development of breeding programs and the dissemination of genetic progress are supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Economics, through the Biological

Development Fund (Ministry Instruction, 1995). Although every pedigree breeder is contributing to cover costs of running recording services, a part of the Biological Development Fund is allocated in support of these activities. This support was transferred from the Regional Animal Breeding Offices to the Polish Sheep Breeders Association from 1995 onwards.

The Biological Development Fund also provides special premiums which are paid to the pedigree breeder when his stock is sold out. It allows farmers cheaper purchase of breeding animals, especially males. For instance the premium for selling a breeding ram in 1995 varied from 117 to 180 US$ depending of its index value.

There are other premiums available: for two-tooth replacement ewe in pedigree flock and for ewe-lamb sold to a new established meat or prolific purebred flock. To assist the implementation of the new prolificacy improvement program there is a special premium available for those breeders who have decided to join the scheme. In 1995 about 12 000 ewes were covered by this premium. In the last two years there were special temporary premiums for replacement ewe-lambs in commercial flocks to encourage increasing the sheep production.

There is also a small continuing support for several breeds regarded as genetic diversity resources, which amounts to about 17-19 US$ per ewe in given number of flocks. The total direct support for sheep breeders in 1995 is estimated at about 3.5 millions US$, i.e.: approximately 7% of the whole amount provided for all domestic animal species.