Friday 5th April saw the first ram sale of 2024 at Exeter Livestock Centre on behalf of the Centurion Group of Dorset Breeders. An entry of 43 Signet recorded sheep, which attracted buyers in person and online across the UK.
Sheep
Dorset sheep breeders take carcase traits to a new level
For over 50 years, Poll Dorset and Dorset Horn sheep breeders have measured the performance of lambs on their farms with the aim of enhancing their value at the abattoir.
RamCompare is recruiting new flocks this season
RamCompare is on the look-out for new farms to recruit across England and Wales. The project collects data from birth to slaughter from commercial UK farms. RamCompare host farms provide a minimum of 300 ewes which are mated to performance recorded terminal sires. All flock data is collected using electronic identification (EID) and all commercial lambs are reared as one management group within a fast-finishing system.
AHDB funding to support CT scanning in 2024
AHDB are keen to support performance recording flocks based in England that wish to use SRUC’s CT scanning service. AHDB will provide a support payment to SRUC of £55/lamb to support CT scanning services. Breeders can chose to take their lambs to Edinburgh or go to one of the mobile venues set up by SRUC.
Shropshire sired lambs evaluated for carcase traits
Over the past four years Shropshire breeders have been involved in RamCompare, the UKs national progeny test. Data from the project demonstrates the role this native breed plays in the commercial sheep sector and predicts a ram’s economic worth to a flock. This information provides a useful insight for commercial buyers to select the right rams to achieve their lamb enterprise objectives.
Scoring Wool Shedding in Signet Recorded Flocks
In most wool shedding flocks it is expected that over the course of time a very high proportion of the adult sheep will shed out completely. Breeding evaluations need to pick out the variation between animals, so scores need to be collected before the entire flock has shed their fleece (and score the same!)
Farm Event - Breeding for better carcases and the genomic opportunity
Friday, 24 May 2024, 11:00am - 3:30pm, Sandlands Farm, Frisby on the Wreake, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, LE14 2NS
At this event, we will introduce the value of genomics (the study of genes) and explain how important it is for future ram breeding decisions. We will help you to understand how to use performance traits to benefit your pedigree flock or your commercial lamb enterprise.
New Signet publications for terminal sires
Signet has recently updated the range of publications for terminal sire breeders, find electronic copies of the booklet in this article.
A Genomic outlook for sheep genetic evaluations
Genomic information enables predictions of genetic merit to be made using measures of an animal’s DNA, rather than being solely reliant on data derived from measurements taken on them and their relatives. Genomic approaches do not replace our current genetic analyses but build on them – introducing an additional genomic step that greatly increases the accuracy of our predictions.
Adjusting the scale of the Hill Sheep Index
To support ram breeders in 2024 the index will be rescaled to better reflect the variation within the population, whilst operating from a higher initial starting point. The ranking of rams will not change, but the average index within each breed will be closer to £10 than the current starting point of £1.