New sheep-selection guide in sight
Within weeks classers and breeders will be able to use a truly national set of standardised visual scores to consistently describe, record and class sheep for accelerated genetic gain. And in as little as 12 months, Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBVs) for these visually assessed traits will be released by Sheep Genetics Australia (SGA).
Dr Troy Fischer, AWI’s sheep productivity program manager, says the national guide of scoring standards (the first of its kind) will provide a common language for the visual assessment of sheep and facilitate the submission of visual data to SGA.
“After much consultation with industry, the Visual Assessment Scores pocket guide is designed to provide sheep classers and breeders with an industry-accepted set of visual standards – a national currency if you like – that will deliver the consistent description of important phenotypic traits,” Dr Fischer says.
In addition to a national reference for the classing of sheep by stud and commercial breeders, the visual standards will enable breeders to record and submit score data and pedigree information to SGA to progress development of across-flock ASBVs for various traits.
“Breeders and producers place significant emphasis on these traits when making selection decisions, hence the inclusion of these traits into SGA is anticipated to have a positive impact on adoption and utilisation of genetic information,” he says.
The ‘wool quality’ and ‘conformation’ traits outlined in the guide are based on illustrative interpretations of visual standards adopted by the Australian Merino Sire Evaluation Association (AMSEA), while the ‘breech’ traits are an updated version of the Visual Breech Scores guide released to industry by AWI in May 2006.
A prototype of the guide was developed with advice from SGA, AMSEA and the AWI Merino Consultative Group. It was then road-tested with a cross-section of stud and commercial sheep classers, advisers, breed associations and individual breeders.
An example of visual trait guidelines, as will be outlined in the new booklet.
The traits focus on:
- conformation – jaw, shoulder/back, feet/legs, face cover, body/neck wrinkle;
- wool quality – fleece rot, colour, crimp/character, staple weathering, dust penetration, staple structure and pigmentation; and
- breech – revised scores for breech cover, crutch cover, breech wrinkle and dag.
“Following the release of the Visual Assessment Scores to industry, and following collection and submission of sufficient amounts of good-quality data to SGA, it is anticipated that ASBVs will be routinely available for these traits from mid-2008,” Dr Fischer says.
More information: the Visual Assessment Scores guide, printed on waterproof paper, will be available from late August by contacting the AWI Helpline, 1800 070 099
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