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Adding value to the Irish Sheep Industry by highlighting rams with the top genetics.

2 © Sheep Database Limited 2010

• Sheep breeding progress in Ireland

Trailing far behind the Beef & Dairy Industries

Sheep Ireland - Background

Sheep

Beef

Dairy


What can genetics deliver?

10 times heavier

Lack of oxygen

Heart defects

Leg defects

Balanced breeding goal

SUSTAINABLE genetic gain


• Single minded breeding goal – unsustainable!

Previous Sheep breeding scheme

Growth

Rates


• Balance of all essential breeding traits

Current Sheep Ireland breeding scheme

Breeding

Goal

Growth

Maternal

Health

Lambing

Sheep Value Index

Production Maternal

Lambing Health

Growth Rate

Daughters'

mothering

ability

Lambing

ease Footrot

Carcass traits Lambing ease Survivability

Faecal

Egg

Count

Days to

slaughter

Efficiency of

finishing

progeny


On farm Measurements

• Examples of on farm measurements:

Live-weight

Lambing difficulty

Genetic evaluations not possible without data

Information currently collected

weights, lambing difficulty, number lambs

born, ultrasonic fat and muscle

New measurements

carcass data, health data, ewe milk yields,

mature ewe weight, meat quality

DATA

DATA

DATA!!!!


Importance of genetics

• Genetics is permanent and cumulative

Good genes introduced remain & are

built on

Bad genes introduced. . . !!

• Difficult / impossible for management to

compensate for bad genetics


Q. How do we plan to achieve our goal?

A. By producing more profitable rams to

Irish commercial sheep farmers

Sheep Ireland - Objective


Weights

Muscle &

Fat

Scanning

Ancestry Mating

Information

Lambing

information

More Profitable rams – only identified by

collecting information


• On appearance – No difference

• Lifetime Performance – Potentially very different

Spot the difference!

What’s the difference?

A single lambing record tells us

very little about a ram/ewe.

Sheep Ireland

Evaluations

More records =

better evaluations


• Accuracy of evaluations critical to progress

• Low accuracy – slow progress

LOW ACCURACY %

Accuracy %

Ten lambs in

ONE flock

20%


• 100% accuracy – Ram does exactly what it

says on the tin

HIGH ACCURACY %

Accuracy %

Ten lambs

in Ten

flocks

80%+

1.2 kgs difference at weaning

Validation of Production Sub-index

Progeny performance (born 2012)

Evaluations 2011 Vs

Vs Vs &

Results - Weaning weight

All rams 34.4 kg 35.6 kg

Accuracy

4 kgs difference at weaning

Validation of Production Sub-index

Progeny performance (born 2012)

Evaluations 2011 Vs

Results - Weaning weight

60% 30.3 kg 34.3 kg

Accuracy

Importance of Accuracy


• High Production Index rams with High accuracy %

• 4kgs extra weight at weaning

• Approx 2 weeks earlier

• Less labour input

• Less veterinary costs

• Less feed costs (grass/concentrates)

• Stronger ewe lambs

• Higher likelihood for ewe lambs to breed in 1st

season

Improved flock Genetics


• Maternal benefits far outweigh the benefits in lamb

growth performance

• Using rams of high Maternal Index will result in:

• Higher lambing %

• Less lambing difficulty

• Higher number of lambs reared to weaning

• Moderately sized ewes with high output

• High weight gain to 40 days – milk

Improved flock Genetics


Beef Industry Progress

*5 Star animals are €250 more valuable at sale

than 1 Star animals

Based on 0.5 million mart records collected

during 2011.

Similar results will apply to 5 Star sheep…

Sheep Ireland


Genetics

• The way in which an animal grows and develops is

influenced by a number of factors

• Feeding

• Disease

• Climate

• Management

• GENETICS

• Only this last element - genetics - is passed on to the next

generation.

• The Sheep Ireland genetic evaluations highlight the

animals with the best genetics.

Environmental influences

How to use the €uro-Star’s when

purchasing a Ram

5 Stars: Top 20%

4 Stars: Top 60-80%

3 Stars: 40-60%

2 Stars: Bottom 20-40%

1 Star: Bottom 20%

€uro-Star Categories

• Similar to how a hotel is evaluated:

• 5 Star is the best

• 1 Star is the worst

Sheep €uro-Star Catalogue - Example

% Rank

Rams rating within

Star Value

Star Rating

Help give an instant indication as

to where an index for a particular

animal places it compared to all

others within its breed.

5 Stars: Top 20%

4 Stars: Top 60-80%

3 Stars: 40-60%

2 Stars: Bottom 20-40%

1 Star: Bottom 20%

Overall Sheep

Value

Gives the overall

€uro Star Rating

of the Sheep.


• Pedigree Data

• LambPlus

• Commercial Data source

• MALP (Maternal Lamb Producers Group)

• CPT (Central Progeny Test)

• *Commercial farmers joining in 2013

Sheep Ireland - Structure


• Approx one third of registered pedigree breeders now

participating.

• 33,766 Commercial sheep farmers (Dept of Agri –

census 2011).

• Approximate annual ram demand of 15-16,000 rams,

based on a breeding ewe population of 2.5 million.

• 2012 LambPlus recorded over 6,000 rams.

• Large number of non-pedigree sold annually.

LambPlus – Pedigree Data


MALP – 30,000 lambs performance recorded

• Main objective:

• Demonstration of €uro-Stars

CPT - 15,000 lambs performance recorded

• Main objective:

• Linkage of Pedigree Flocks

Commercial Data – since 2009

What is MALP?

•Provides data to Sheep Ireland to Demonstrate the

benefits of using €uroStars.

•Group of 15 Commercial Flocks

•Record Maternal information on rams

•Maternal Lamb Producer Group

•Technology

•EID Tagging for ease of data recording

•Single sire mating for identifying Parentage

•Recording

•Lambing, 40 Day/Weaning/Slaughter weights.

•Daughters retained & swapped between flocks.

What is the CPT?

•CPT – Central Progeny Test.

•Helps increase links. By increasing links we can increase

accuracies.

•2013 CPT Program:

•35 Rams

•7 Breeds

•2100 Ewes

•Laparascopic AI – 4 Flocks

•7 days

Why use Artificial Insemination?

• Allows us to identify the sire used 100% accurately

• Many different sires can be used

• Full control over use of rams – allowing us to maximise linkages

• Lambs born together under the same conditions

• Rams evaluated as fairly as possible

Benefits for Farmer

• Majority of lambing complete in 3-4 days

• Even bunches of lambing when it comes to drafting

Disadvantages of AI

• A lot of labour required at lambing

• Difficulties in poor weather

• Not economically viable on commercial scale

Central Progeny Test

Intensive Lambing Period

• ANDREW MOLONEY (Co. Offaly) - 105 lambs born on the

15th March.

• JAMES NAPPER (Co. Meath) - 149 lambs born on the

16th March.

• JOHN LARGE (Tipperary) - 173 lambs born on the

15th March.

• UCD (Co. Dublin) - 99 lambs born on the 11th March.

Central Progeny Test


What’s coming down the road?

Future Direction

• More Pedigree Breeders recording

• More Commercial Farmers recording

STAP will be instrumental in this process

Expansion of our recording base

• Compliance will be verified by Sheep Ireland.

• Recorded rams purchased from 2010 - eligible

• Form will be circulated to all STAP

participants to create database of rams in

STAP flocks.

STAP - TASK 1

• Online ram search to be

launched soon to help

farmers/facilitators check and

find recorded rams.

STAP - TASK 1

• Compliance will be verified by Sheep Ireland.

• Data recorded via www.sheep.ie.

• Individual website access will be provided to

all participants that choose this option.

• Facilitators can be provided with access to

their group records.

TASK 2

http://www.sheep.ie/

Individual Farmer

Username & Password

entered here

Option A – Weight Recording

• 50% of lambs – up to max of 100 lambs

• 2 weights

• Lambs need to be accurately identified in some way

• Tags recommended – management tags/NSIS

• Spray – Least favorable option

• Weights recorded on-line

• Group summary reports will be available to benchmark

performance

TASK 2

Option A – What benefit?

• Huge variation within every flock in terms of ewe & lamb

performance

• If farmers could identify poorer lambs & poorer

performing ewes – informed decisions could be made to

improve output

• Option A will allow farmers to benchmark their

performance against others

TASK 2

Weight recording sheet

Option B – Maternal Flock Recording

• Recording necessary on minimum of 20 ewes required

• What is to be recorded

• Lambing – DOB, lambing difficulty, birth weight

• 40 day weight – between 30 & 60 days of age

• Weaning weight – approx 120 days of age

• Performance report generated by Sheep Ireland

TASK 2

Option B – What benefit?

• Again there is huge variation within every flock in terms of

ewe performance

• By identifying better performing ewes and in-turn their

lambs – progress can be made annually.

• Farmers can select replacements from:

• Twin lambing ewes

• Ewes that lamb with no interference

• Ewes that conceive to first service – fertility

• Ewes that rear lambs to slaughter weight at first draft

• Many other measurements can be maintained…………….

TASK 2

Option C – Identifying Parentage of Lambs

Recording necessary on minimum of 20 ewes

• Single Sire Mating or Double Sire Mating – detailed

protocol on www.sheep.ie

• What is recorded

• Mating group (Full list of ewe tag numbers)

• Ram Identity (Full details recorded – NSIS, pedigree

number etc)

TASK 2

http://www.sheep.ie/

Option C – What benefit?

• Help to evaluate ram performance.

• Major differences are recorded between the progeny of

different rams.

• These differences are seldom/never identified.

• Some rams are profitable, some are problematic.

• Identification of lamb Sires will contribute hugely to the

Sheep Ireland €uroStar evaluations

• Hopefully leading to a commercial flock recording service

TASK 2

Questions

• Thank You

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