Abstract

Declining global commodity price trends for meat and wool emphasize the need for greater genetic and production improvement across the sheep industry. In response to this, Sheep Improvement Limited (SIL), a joint-venture company between the Meat and Wool Boards, was set up to develop a national database and sheep genetic improvement system incorporating the three previously existing schemes, FlockLinc, Studfax and Animalplan. The SIL system began commercial operation late in 1999 and works on the basis of a wholesaler (SIL) - retailer (SIL bureaus) - customer (ram breeders and their clients) chain. Sheep production performance information flows into the database, is processed by a state-of-the-art genetic engine, and genetic improvement information goes back out to ram breeders and their clients, all via the internet. Studies have shown that some progressive breeders and breeder groups are already making up to two percent genetic improvement per year for lamb and wool traits. This adds up to a cumulative annual improvement in income in a 2,000 ewe commercial flock of about $2,450. Uptake of this rate of genetic improvement by 50% of commercial sheep farmers would result in around $20.8m greater national annual income from sheep.

KG, Geenty

Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production, Volume 60, Hamilton, 180-183, 2000