ON FARM SHEEP Balancing act Australian Sheep “Adding muscle and fat to the been actively improving our SNAPSHOT: Breeding Values trait mix means breeding recording processes so we Chad and Louise, (ASBVs) have in the resilience needed to can do so, and we’re looking helped drive significant handle challenges. Even forward to tracking it closelyGeorge and Kerry genetic progress in the under pressure, the animal from now on,” Chad said. Taylor, Wellington, NSW Mumblebone Merino can maintain a highercondition score, allowing itGood nutrition helps S Stud flock and have to produce wool, maintain Chad said improving ewe helped produce more healthy bodily function management and nutrition balanced animals, says and reproduce itself has also helped to drive owner Chad Taylor. through lambing. genetic progress in the flock, as well as on-farm Chad (pictured), his wife “Without productivity and profitability. Louise and Chad’s parents reproduction Ewes are scanned to identify George and Kerry produce twin bearers, with all dry Area: fine/medium wool Poll there is no ewes removed from the flock, 2,800ha Merinos at Wellington in production.” including maidens. central-west NSW. Enterprise: Chad said he feared current Twin-bearing ewes are Poll Merino stud, wool, The Taylors run about 4,000 lambed down in mobs of surplus ewe and wether ewes, with a mix of ram sales, strong wool prices would lamb sales encourage breeders to 100, with enough grass to wool sales, wether lamb and keep them in good order surplus ewe sales driving again focus too heavily on Livestock: fleece traits, at the cost of throughout lambing. 4,000 Merino ewes the business. They were early adopters of ASBVs the “doing ability” of animals .“Doing this has lifted the and started measuring and conversion of foetuses in Pasture: Reaping the rewards twin-bearing mobs to over Mostly native entering data for genetic Chad now selects for traits evaluation in 2004. 170%, which equates to an Soil: that underpin the three extra 15% of lambs across Chad aims to breed rams that profit drivers of Merinos: Granite, shale and light basalt the whole joining,” Chad said. combine early maturity and wool traits, growth rates Rainfall: high fertility with high wool and reproduction. “We’ve marked over 130% for the last two years. 550–600mm values, and has increasingly “We have a heavy selection turned to the more traditional emphasis ongoth, at “More lambs at marking time, meat traits of eye muscle and muscle, in conjunction combined with high lamb Chad and Louise Taylor depth and fat cover to drive E: info@mumblebone. with wool quality measured survival, means more lambs com.au this genetic progress. through fleece weight, at classing time, and extra Fleece focus cost micron and CV (a measure of classing pressure has seen Likemany wool producers, co-efficient variation of fibrethe genetic progress of our Chadsaid he used to focus diameter) ASBVs,” he said. sheep really take off. heavily onfleece weight “In ASBV terms, our sale ram “With the extra numbers, and micron when identifying average for fleece weight we now class out 45% of desirable genetic traits, has increased from +1 to +12, our maiden ewes. Having resulting in sheep that at the same micron, since extra numbers also allows underperformed in growth 2004; average muscle depth us to sell our surplus ewes and reproduction. has increased from –0.6 to at 5.5 years instead of 6.5 “Selecting heavily +1.2; fat cover has increasedfor fleece years, making them more ight, without measuring from –0.2 to +0.8, and staple attractive to the restocker we and terminal breeder.” ■ oer traits, often leads toth length has increased from animals with much lower evelsl+8 to +14.” of muscle and fat,” he said. The Taylors also record and “Muscle and at form thef use the number of lambs genetic energy reserve an weaned (NLW) ASBV, a anima draws on when underl key trait for improving pressure from nutritional reproduction. challenges such as in “We don’t have enough data drought, during lambing or yet to track our change in due to worm burden. NLW accurately, but we’ve 17