Recently, a research team led by Professor Li Fadi and Professor Le Xiangpeng from the College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology of Lanzhou University, successfully cultivated the Tianhua meat sheep breed. The research is in collaboration with the Department of Animal Husbandry Technology Promotion of Tianzhu Tibetan autonomous county and Gansu Agricultural University. China's first meat sheep breed is adapted to high-altitude climate, after 15 years of relentless efforts.

The first meat sheep breed in China adapted to high-altitude and cold climate, "Tianhua Meat Sheep," cultivated by a research team in Gansu province. [Photo provided to gogansu.com]

The Tianhua meat sheep is the third sheep breed cultivated in Gansu province since 1949. It has a wide adaptability and is suitable for breeding in northern pastoral areas and agro-pastoral transition zones. This newly cultivated meat sheep breed is characterized by its large body size, rapid growth and development, excellent meat and wool quality, relatively high reproductive capacity, and strong adaptability.

Its comprehensive production performance ranks among the world's top meat-type fine-wool sheep. Professor Li Fadi stated that the successful cultivation of the Tianhua meat sheep not only resolves the issues of slow growth, low reproductive capacity, long feeding cycle, poor meat quality, and wool quality degradation of the original breeds in high-altitude regions and surrounding areas but also meets the critical demand for wool preservation and meat production in high-altitude regions,   providing a high-quality seed source for the upgrading and replacement of sheep breeds in these areas.

The first meat sheep breed in China adapted to high-altitude and cold climate, "Tianhua Meat Sheep," cultivated by a research team in Gansu province. [Photo provided to gogansu.com]

The breeding work commenced in 2009. Faced with the harsh ecological conditions of an annual average temperature of -4 to 8 C, an annual precipitation of only 265 mm, and a high altitude of 2,800 meters, the breeding team created a new meat sheep germplasm containing 62.5 percent South African Merino blood and 37.5% Gansu Alpine Fine-Wool Sheep blood using Gansu Alpine Fine-Wool Sheep as the maternal line and South African Merino as the paternal line. After four generations of continuous selection, this new breed of meat-type fine-wool sheep was finally successfully cultivated, with adaptability to high altitudes, cold, and arid environments, and compatibility with grazing, semi-grazing and semi-feeding, and feeding methods.

Moreover, the Tianhua meat sheep has extensive application prospects. Compared with the original breeds, each Tianhua meat ewe can increase the income of farmers and herders by 800 to 900 yuan ($111 to $125). During the cultivation period, over 500,000 Tianhua meat sheep were marketed, generating an incremental economic benefit of over 400 million yuan ($55.6 million). This has effectively enhanced the value of the local sheep industry and injected strong impetus into rural revitalization and industrial development.