Sheep Genetics is the national genetic information and evaluation service for the meat and wool sectors of the sheep industry delivered as LAMBPLAN and MERINOSELECT. The purpose of Sheep Genetics is to improve the quality, scope and utilisation of across-flock, and where appropriate, across breed genetic information for the Australian sheep industry.
Backed by quality assurance procedures and minimum accuracy standards, Sheep Genetics hosts a database of some 3 million animals, reflecting data from more than 1000 flocks around Australia. Together with the Australian sheep industry, MLA and AWI have facilitated genetic evaluation for prime lamb and wool producers.
The Sheep CRC contributes large amounts of data to LAMBPLAN and MERINOSELECT from the Sheep CRC’s Information Nucleus. This information includes:
Choose from the tabs below for more detailed information.
ASBVs stand for Australian Sheep Breeding Values. They are the national language for benchmarking sheep based on their genetic merit and are produced by Sheep Genetics. ASBVs describe a sheep’s breeding value for a trait, e.g. fleece weight or body weight, and express the relative breeding value of sheep across different breeding flocks of that breed (or across breeds in the case of Terminal breeds). They are equivalent to estimated breeding values (EBVs) used in other livestock industries e.g. BREEDPLAN in the beef cattle industry.
Several case studies are available on the use and benefits of ASBVs - download the individual case studies below.
The Merino Sheep Breeding Trainer Guide has been developed by Sheep CRC and Meat & Livestock Australia to allow vocational and education trainers (primarily in the TAFE, Agricultural College and School systems) to deliver up to date knowledge and skills in the area of Merino breeding to their students. It is designed to be used in conjunction with three Power Point presentations, produced by the Sheep CRC on developing a breeding objective, selecting a stud and rams and selecting ewes.
Selection Assist enables producers or their advisors or classers to compare results from different breeding directions, so as to choose which is most applicable to their flock. The program predicts the likely outcome of selected breeding objectives. It also shows the impact of reproductive rates and where the progress can come from within a flock.
Visually assessed traits are included in the breeding objective of all stud and commercial sheep breeders, regardless of their target market or environment.
Sheep Genetics provides you with practical information on the genetic potential of your sheep. Sheep are ranked according to various production characteristics using Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBVs) across flock or Flock Breeding Values (FBVs) within flock. See Sheep Genetics brochures available for download below. To download other publications click here.
Download the genetics publications below.
This Conference combined world class science with its practical application.
This Conference combined world class science with its practical application.
During LambEx 2012 the Sheep CRC hosted a genomics breakfast workshop - download the papers from the workshop below.
This article appears courtesy of Meat & Livestock Australia (www.mla.com.au)
These proceedings are from the showcase conference of the Australian Sheep Industry CRC 'Wool meets Meat - tools for a modern sheep enterprise' conference held in Orange (NSW) during 2006.
Some 35 organisations, covering the full length of the sheep supply chain, are supporting an extension of the highly successful Cooperative Research Centre for Sheep Industry Innovation (Sheep CRC). The Sheep CRC is entering its final year ready to reach – and in many cases exceed – the objectives set by the Commonwealth in 2007 for its seven current research programs. “The current Sheep CRC is delivering on all of its...
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http://www.sheepcrc.org.au/information/news/industry-backs-crcs-track-record-of-success-18-06-2013.php
A syndicate of leading White Suffolk breeders is adopting large-scale DNA testing to identify breeding animals carrying genes for tenderness and eating quality. By placing meat quality traits at the forefront of its genetic selection during ram breeding, the Superwhite group is positioning itself as a key supplier of rams which will help industry continue to meet consumer demands for tender and flavoursome lamb. “Meat...
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http://www.sheepcrc.org.au/information/news/superwhites-using-genomics-to-meat-future-expectations-08-05-2013.php
Sheep producers located in Australia’s cereal zones have a new guide filled with practical advice on smarter management practices and tips on breeding easy care, labour saving sheep. The publication called ‘Sheep – the simple guide to making more money with less work’, was first launched in Western Australia in 2011 and following on from its popularity in the west, it has now been adapted for use across the country.
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http://www.sheepcrc.org.au/information/news/sheep-guide-focuses-on-more-money-from-less-work-29-04-2013.php
The use of Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBVs) to drive genetic improvement has resulted in a bottom line boost of $2.42/head/year at the Tarcutta, NSW, Merino operation of Grant and Annette Burbidge. While visual selection plays an important role in selecting breeding stock, only rams with ASBVs are considered for use in the Burbidges’ nucleus ram-breeding flock to ensure that genetics are aligned to production...
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http://www.sheepcrc.org.au/information/news/asbvs-deliver-more-profitable-merinos-at-tarcutta-03-04-2013.php
Time is running out for sheep breeders to participate in the Sheep CRC’s popular Genomics Pilot Project, with a limited number of DNA parentage tests remaining for sale before the program closes at the end of April. In a sign of the sheep industry’s growing confidence in genomic breeding tools, almost 17,000 tests – covering parentage genes for all breeds as well as the horn/poll genes in Merinos – have already been...
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http://www.sheepcrc.org.au/information/news/time-running-out-for-sheep-producers-to-snap-up-dna-parentage-tests-18-03-2013.php
A multi-pronged approach of grazing management, regular monitoring, resistance testing and strategic drenching, has been the key to managing worm burdens in the 20,000-head flock at Kurrajong Park, Coolah. Livestock manager at the Paspaley Rural property, Shane Curtis, believes that staying on top of worm populations has been the key to reducing the number of drench applications each year while also keeping the Merino flock...
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http://www.sheepcrc.org.au/information/news/grazing-management-lowers-worm-burden-at-kurrajong-park-18-02-2013.php
The jury is in and the verdict is clear: the use of objective breeding values in selection programs deliver more productive sheep. A review of results from more than 50 industry trials – including data from research sites, on-farm demonstration sites, producer groups, progeny tests and flock selection trials – has concluded that breeding values and associated technologies are delivering real economic value to the...
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http://www.sheepcrc.org.au/information/news/trial-results-prove-value-of-asbvs-in-sheep-selection-04-02-2013.php
Selecting breeding stock with superior in-built resistance to worms is delivering improved growth rates and more resilient lambs for New England breeder Martin Oppenheimer.
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http://www.sheepcrc.org.au/information/news/asbvs-key-to-worm-resistance-and-resilience-at-petali-30-01-2013.php
Effective use of DNA technology can reduce the chance of breeding horned Merino rams by 80% in just one year and completely remove the horn gene from the flock in just seven years, according to new data from the Cooperative Research Centre for Sheep Industry Innovation (Sheep CRC).
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http://www.sheepcrc.org.au/information/news/dna-testing-delivers-poll-flock-fast-07-01-2013.php
Leading Western Australian Merino breeder Michael Campbell believes new DNA technology will dramatically improve the sheep industry’s productivity, offering potentially huge labour savings on farm.
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http://www.sheepcrc.org.au/information/news/sheep-dna-tests-a-potential-labour-saver-19-12-2012.php
