SHEEP CRC says genetic gain is key for the future of livestock industries and its new online tool aims to simplify producers' genetic selection.
James Rowe, Sheep CRC chief executive, forecast the industry's future focus when he launched said the organisation's new www.RamSelect.com.au tool in Sydney today.
He said the tool was designed to assist selection of rams based on their potential within a certain flock.
He demonstrated that in a 10 year period, selecting rams in the top five per cent of their breed could equate to a productivity gain of $50,000 gains in a flock of 3500 head.
“The concept is simple – you select animals with the best genetic merit for the purposes that you’ve got in your production system, and you use those animals to breed the next generation,” he said.
“It is a very simple concept, but actually doing it is very difficult, and it is this complexity that prevents sheep producers from capturing the full benefits of genetic gain.”
This analysis has been simplified by RamSelect, which uses Lambplan, Merinoselect and Dohne Australian sheep breeding values (ASBVs) to rank which sires best suit the breeding objectives of a particular operation.
The tool is available for free and imports rams directly from sale catalogues uploaded to the Sheep Genetics website.
Sheep producers can select their breed, type and buying region before specifying which traits to emphasise.
RamSelect will then draw on all rams currently registered for with Sheep Genetics and rank them on their suitability.
RamSelect was developed by Sheep CRC, Telstra, Pivotal Labs and NSW Department of Primary Industries.