Wool producers from across Victoria and south-east South Australia came in droves to attend a forum held at the Kealy family's Curlew Merino stud at Charam, east of Edenhope.
The big crowd came to listen to a presentation from Mark Ferguson, Nextgen Agri, who spoke about the benefits of using Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBVs) in making breeding decisions.
Dr Ferguson, a former Victorian, now based in Christchurch, New Zealand, said the use of ASBVs could help sheep producers make better decisions.
"There is a whole heap of stuff there that is not immediately evident visually but by using ASBVs you can identify key traits."
Curlew co-principal Tony Kealy said ASBVs were an important part of the stud's decision making process.
"We are focusing a lot on traits such as worm resistance, which can help save a lot of money but is not something you can pick up on when choosing rams by eye."
Gregor Heard
Gregor Heard is ACM's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his 15 years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector.
Gregor Heard is ACM's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his 15 years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector.
