Banking on Merino bloodlines
10 years’ information from wether trials compares many commonly used Merino bloodlines to identify performance differences
By Melissa Marino
While Merino Superior Sires (MSS) deals with rams, the Merino Bloodlines Package turns its sights to wether trials, identifying bloodlines to satisfy a range of commercial woolgrowers’ breeding objectives, including returning the highest profits.
Analysing wether trial data gathered over a 10-year period to 2004, the package compares many commonly used Merino bloodlines to identify performance differences and subsequently the best ram source for specific breeding outcomes. An updated package of data from 1996 to 2006 is due for release later in 2007.
The wether trials and on-farm comparisons being run across Australia aim to reveal the genetic performance of bloodlines in wool production, wool quality and profitability.
AWI and the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) have been funding trial sites to collect additional data, such as staple length and strength, worm-egg counts, meat characteristics and staple profile.
To qualify for inclusion in the bloodline analysis wethers must have been bred from the same bloodline for at least five years. Accuracy ratings are given according to the number of sheep that have contributed to the results.
The analysis takes out all environmental factors between trials and years, leaving only the genetic variation between the bloodlines. By referring to the publication Merino Bloodline Performance, woolgrowers can then easily compare the different bloodlines’ strengths and weaknesses and assess the benefits and financial returns.
Fleece weight, fibre diameter, wool quality traits and body weights were measured as part of the 2004 analysis of 166 bloodlines.
Of those, the 71 bloodlines deemed to have medium to high accuracy were featured with detailed performance ratings on factors including clean fleece weight, fibre diameter and body weight. Each of those bloodlines is also presented with a gross margin per dry sheep equivalent (DSE), based on average eastern Australian wool market values and calculated according to the economic values of all traits, including wool quality.
Using the tables featured in the package, commercial woolgrowers can then quickly and easily identify the performance of certain bloodlines in relation to particular traits, including their gross margins of profit.
NSW DPI Merino Bloodline Performance project leader Sally Martin says the analysis shows substantial differences in bloodline profitability based on production. “The difference between the top 20 per cent bloodlines and the bottom 20 per cent was more than $5 per head per year,” she says.
The Merino Bloodlines Package can be found online at www.merinobloodlines.com.au. Hard copies can be obtained by phoning the NSW DPI bookshop on 1800 028 374. The 1996–2006 analysis will be available in August 2007.
More information: Sally Martin, 02 6382 1077, sally.martin@dpi.nsw.gov.au;
Return to Breeding for profit supplement