LGC has genotyped over 300,000 sheep since 2001, and exhibits its scrapie genotyping services at Ireland's 2004 National Ploughing Championships
LGC, an independent analytical laboratory providing advanced chemical, biochemical and forensic analysis, will be displaying information on its scrapie genotyping services at the 2004 National Ploughing Championships, which will be held near Tullow, Co Carlow, Ireland, 28-30 September.
LGC has been supplying its genotyping services direct to Irish sheep farmers since May 2004, following its nomination as an approved genotyping services provider as part of the Irish government's policy to eliminate the disease scrapie from its national flock.
LGC offers its scrapie genotyping services in Ireland in conjunction with Oldcastle Laboratories.
Based in Co Meath, Oldcastle Laboratories provides Irish farmers with a single point of contact for all aspects of advice and delivery of the service, ensuring the timely dispatch of LGC's easy-to-use sampling kits to farmers, and transporting samples to LGC's laboratories in Teddington, south west London.
David Miles, head of LGC's genotyping services, said: "LGC recognises that speed of turn round is crucial to flock owners.
"With this in mind, we report all results within two weeks of receipt of a sample - indeed, we report the majority of results within six working days.
"Our experience, combined with the specially developed, leading-edge technology (Maldi-Tof mass spectrometry) we use to genotype sheep, means we can also offer efficiencies of scale that can be passed direct to the customer, the sheep farmer".
LGC has a proven track record in identifying scrapie-resistant sheep and has been genotyping sheep since 2001 when the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) introduced the National Scrapie Programme (NSP) for Great Britain.
As well as Defra and more recently DAF, It also works closely with the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Departments in Scotland and Wales and the total number of sheep we have tested for scrapie resistance has now reached 300,000.
