Sheep Ireland’s aim is to increase the genetic merit of the national sheep flock for economically important traits. With ram sale season now upon us, and most sales including €uroStar evaluations in their catalogue, it is worth taking some time to understand how to use this information to your benefit.
The result of the data collection and processing work of Sheep Ireland is the generation of €uroStar indexes, which can be a useful selection tool for pedigree and commercial farmers when making breeding decisions. Data is collected on various traits that affect a flock owner’s profit margin and is then combined together into the various €uroStar Evaluations. LambPlus, the performance recording service offered by Sheep Ireland, has resulted in greater data collection and higher availability of performance-recorded rams in the sale season.
Easy access
It has never been easier for farmers to identify and source the right genetics for their flock. The majority of lowland breed societies in Ireland host their flockbooks on the national database. In turn, the €uroStars are visible in each society’s sales catalogues for the performance-recorded animals.
For farmers who prefer to buy directly from the breeder, www.ramsearch.ie is the main source of rams available. It allows farmers to look up the details of individual rams and search for local performance recording breeders. It is also a great tool to find SIS-approved rams.
The replacement and terminal indexes are designed and weighted using a bio-economic model to aid the selection of animals that will produce the best genetics for the industry, and to rank these animals on the predicted profitability per lamb born. The euro (€) value beside each of these indexes represents the predicted difference in profit that each lamb sired by this ram will have over and above the average.
Genomic evaluations
Sheep Ireland introduced genomic evaluations in 2020, which involves submitting tissue samples for genotyping. That allows Sheep Ireland to look at the DNA profile of the animal to better predict how animals and their progenies will perform in the future.
€uroStars attached to an animal remain ‘within breed’, ranking each index in 20% groupings, whereby one-star represents the bottom 20% of the breed for that trait and five stars represent the top 20%. The higher the stars, the higher the predicted profitability of that animal within that breed. The €uro-values of each trait and index can be compared ‘across breeds’, which allows any two rams to be compared to each other regardless of breed.
Guidelines about how to use the €uro-Stars for ram purchasers:
1. Identify what aspect(s) of your flock’s performance you would like the ram to improve:
Production ability of your lambs (growth-days to slaughter, carcase weight, etc). Maternal ability of your ewes (weaning weight, number of lambs born, etc).Lambing ease of your ram(s).2. Select the ram(s) based on the traits you want to improve most in your flock.
3. Pay attention to the Accuracy % figures of the €uroStars at all times. Accuracy % represents the amount of data attached to a particular animal or bloodline and is displayed for each index. The more information available, the higher the accuracy will be.
4. The €uroStar figures should be used as a tool to help in the selection process. The higher the Accuracy % of the figures, the more confidence you can place in the Index.
5. The selected ram should, of course, meet the buyer’s requirements from a physical check and a visual viewpoint.
Sheep Ireland’s aim is to increase the genetic merit of the national sheep flock for economically important traits. With ram sale season now upon us, and most sales including €uroStar evaluations in their catalogue, it is worth taking some time to understand how to use this information to your benefit.
The result of the data collection and processing work of Sheep Ireland is the generation of €uroStar indexes, which can be a useful selection tool for pedigree and commercial farmers when making breeding decisions. Data is collected on various traits that affect a flock owner’s profit margin and is then combined together into the various €uroStar Evaluations. LambPlus, the performance recording service offered by Sheep Ireland, has resulted in greater data collection and higher availability of performance-recorded rams in the sale season.
Easy access
It has never been easier for farmers to identify and source the right genetics for their flock. The majority of lowland breed societies in Ireland host their flockbooks on the national database. In turn, the €uroStars are visible in each society’s sales catalogues for the performance-recorded animals.
For farmers who prefer to buy directly from the breeder, www.ramsearch.ie is the main source of rams available. It allows farmers to look up the details of individual rams and search for local performance recording breeders. It is also a great tool to find SIS-approved rams.
The replacement and terminal indexes are designed and weighted using a bio-economic model to aid the selection of animals that will produce the best genetics for the industry, and to rank these animals on the predicted profitability per lamb born. The euro (€) value beside each of these indexes represents the predicted difference in profit that each lamb sired by this ram will have over and above the average.
Genomic evaluations
Sheep Ireland introduced genomic evaluations in 2020, which involves submitting tissue samples for genotyping. That allows Sheep Ireland to look at the DNA profile of the animal to better predict how animals and their progenies will perform in the future.
€uroStars attached to an animal remain ‘within breed’, ranking each index in 20% groupings, whereby one-star represents the bottom 20% of the breed for that trait and five stars represent the top 20%. The higher the stars, the higher the predicted profitability of that animal within that breed. The €uro-values of each trait and index can be compared ‘across breeds’, which allows any two rams to be compared to each other regardless of breed.
Guidelines about how to use the €uro-Stars for ram purchasers:
1. Identify what aspect(s) of your flock’s performance you would like the ram to improve:
Production ability of your lambs (growth-days to slaughter, carcase weight, etc). Maternal ability of your ewes (weaning weight, number of lambs born, etc).Lambing ease of your ram(s).2. Select the ram(s) based on the traits you want to improve most in your flock.
3. Pay attention to the Accuracy % figures of the €uroStars at all times. Accuracy % represents the amount of data attached to a particular animal or bloodline and is displayed for each index. The more information available, the higher the accuracy will be.
4. The €uroStar figures should be used as a tool to help in the selection process. The higher the Accuracy % of the figures, the more confidence you can place in the Index.
5. The selected ram should, of course, meet the buyer’s requirements from a physical check and a visual viewpoint.
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