This 4 year project aims to demonstrate the decision making process and additional management skills required to successfully join ewe lambs.

The project involves working with 4 groups located in the Young/Harden, Wellington, Wagga/Junee and West Wyalong areas. The groups and core participants represent different production systems, sheep breeds and environments.

2024 - Project Field day - 21st February - Click here for details to register for the field day click here.

Check out the podcast with FarmsAdvice where Sally talks about the project.

In 2022, five (5) Merino breeders from NSW and Victoria provided cull rams that were sent to a central host property to collect Footrot phenotypes.

A new project has now been funded and SheepMetriX pleased to be part of the project team with Murdoch University, neXtgen Agri and AGBU (funding from AWI and Animal Health Australia).

This project will support sheep producers to utilise existing tools and management strategies available to transition to a non-mulesed flock.

The project objectives are to assist group members to:

• Identify their breech strike risk factors (environmental, genetic and management),

• Demonstrate and evaluate cost/benefits of possible options for reducing risk, and

• Develop their own management strategy (5-year plan) to reduce this risk.

Wether trials have been a part of the genetic benchmarking landscape for over 30 years. They play a role in benchmarking your flock’s performance. Sally has been involved running wether trials since 1999 and has assisting Craig Wilson conduct trials since 2004.

2023 a new trial is being set up to evaluate each team in two different production systems – feedlot (Condobolin) and pasture/grazing crops (Wagga Wagga) and focus on the meat and wool traits respectively.

In 2023 the teams will be randomly split into two groups with Group 1 (Meat) going into a Feedlot run by Fletcher International Exports near Condobolin to capture growth and carcase trait measurements. Group 2 (Wool) will run on a property near Wagga Wagga and their wool traits will be assessed over two shearings.

SheepMetriX will be assisting with the data collection, wool and meat valuations, data analysis and reporting. Click here to down load the entry form.

Ralph Diprose – using genomics for ewe lamb joining

SheepMetriX partnered with the South West Slopes Merino Breeders to run the 2021 SWS Sire Evaluation.

SheepMetriX manage the site activities and provide independent data collection and management for all of the 15 entrants. It is worth mentioning that sire evaluations are just that, an evaluation of a sire - this is not a bloodline comparison.

15 Sires are being evaluated over 2 years (2021 to 2023).

Anderson Poll, 160729 (Link)

Brooklyn, 191277

Bundilla Poll, 191826

Grassy Creek, 180553

Greendale, 170029

Hazeldean, 18002529

Hazeldean, 19000266

Kerin Poll, 190902

Lach River, 140366

Mulloorie, 160059 (Link)

Mumblebone, 191128

Pooginook Poll, 190453

Tallawong, 180085

Wantana Hills, 180008

Yarrawonga, 171162

The UNE/MerinoLink & MLA DNA Stimulation Project has been a major genetics adoption program in Merino sheep breeding industry which ran from January 2018 to July 2022.

The project focused on working with the project participants to strategically use the genetic and genomic tools currently available to double their rate of genetic gain by 2022.

The project involved intensive mentoring by a scientist and genetics service provider who gave both breeders and their genetics service providers involved in the project the opportunity to upskill and network through one on one meetings and group workshops. This resulted in better knowledge, understanding and more accurate breeding values, that provided breeders with the ability to better utilise tools to increase genetic gain in their flocks.

Over all the collective group was able to increase the rate of genetic gain by 134% in the duration of the project compared to the previous five years.

This project forms a framework to demonstrate that rates of genetic gain can be improved via co-investment models, relationship building and upskilling of people.