Last year, Beef + Lamb Genetics ran a series of advertisements over many weeks.
The main thrust of this series was that picking a ram has never been easier.
It had come up with a single index figure for both dual purpose – maternal worth and terminal worth breeds.
The advertisement said “Every ram sold by an SIL breeder now has a single index figure – one number that is comparable across all rams of all breeds. The higher the number, the better the ram”.
The maternal worth figure is made up of growth (50%), reproduction, lamb survival and wool with a minor input for adult size.
The advertisements implied but didn’t specifically state both maternal worth and terminal worth should be the main or only selection criteria for rams.
This series of adverts was the target of considerable criticism from ram breeders and in some quarters it reached the point of anger.
No doubt SIL Genetics placed the adverts with the best of intentions and would not have envisaged any adverse reaction from ram breeders.
Now, farmers tend to grumble a lot about matters that upset them but seldom take their concerns to the appropriate sources.
I have certainly heard these concerns and share some of them so took it upon myself to serve as a messenger to make SIL Genetics management aware of the situation.
There is a general feeling the key role of SIL is to use the raw production data provided by ram breeders, convert it into breeding values (BVs), give them the appropriate economic weightings and come up with both individual figures and rankings for various traits and also an overall ranking – maternal worth.
That they do very well.
However, many ram breeders believe it is not their role to advise farmers on how they should select rams.
Sheep farmers today are the survivors of almost 50 years of declining wool prices, are farming considerably larger properties with minimal labour to remain economically viable. They are, therefore, very capable, practical people who know their farms, their sheep and the environmental and animal health issues facing them.
They know the best breed and type of sheep for their properties.
They do not need to be advised by well-meaning people who have no practical experience of farming in their environment or what rams they should buy.
Though not intended, I am sure, some might have seen the ad as under-estimating farmers’ abilities.
My experience is that many ram buyers are very savvy when it comes to understanding the records in my sale catalogue after picking up on the odd error and questioning me on some of the finer details.
On a number of occasions SIL personnel have stated structural soundness is important but it is up to ram breeders to ensure that only sound sheep in this regards are presented for sale.
However, that is not mentioned in the advert.
It also needs to be stated maternal worth does not include facial eczema tolerance and/or worm resistance. So, when we try to strike a balance between maternal worth, structural soundness and disease factors, ram selection becomes a more daunting task.
Now, for a few general comments on performance recording. Since performance recording for sheep was introduced in 1967 there has always been an overall index and ranking for the performance traits recorded.
Over the years it has been refined and improved, especially when near relatives were added to the equations. Maternal worth and terminal worth are the latest additions.
Over this long period, I believe, many farmers have viewed these overall figures as absolute.
They are not.
They are a prediction or a forecast of how an animal should perform in the traits involved. Once a ram or ewe have progeny on the ground they develop their own productive index. The more progeny the more accurate the figure.
All performance recording programmes assume all animals have equal treatment and opportunity. That is largely the case in the dairy industry where all cows over the year are in one mob.
In the sheep farming situation ewes generally are mated and lambed in different paddocks, where stocking rates, fertility, fungi and worm levels can vary considerably.
Where lambs are concerned the disease factor can be major in compromising growth rates, which in turn affects the overall index. For example, in my area pneumonia has been found in two trials to affect the lungs of between 94% and 96% of lambs.
However, some are affected only slightly while others have major problems.
This disease has a disastrous effect on both growth rates and wool weights, which will have a significant impact on the overall index and the animal’s ranking in the flock.
Sure, where sires are used in different flocks and in different locations, that might mitigate the impact. Most of these environmental factors will tend to compromise any indices and rankings.
Another factor influencing the accuracy of the maternal worth figure is human error.
Since the advent of DNA parenting a number of sires have been found to be incorrect in the information presented. Invariably, in preparing the raw data to go to SIL, mistakes will be made and errors like wrong birth dates can have an impact on the final index.
I believe the accuracy of performance data and maternal worth is far better in sheep-friendly environments like most of the South Island and the North Island areas of Manawatu, Hawke’s Bay and Wairarapa where FE is not an issue.
However, in warmer, more humid regions, performance figures can be compromised by environmental and disease factors.
Having sounded rather negative in some of my comments let me say I have been an advocate of performance recording since the early 1950s.
That was the result of finding the daughters of one sire were producing only 60% lambing while another sires’ daughters had a 140% lambing. As a result of that I developed a card index system for each ewe to record ewe performance – something unheard of at that time.
Let me say that I value greatly the reports provided by my bureau with all the SIL information. They are studied at length and are certainly a major selection and culling factor along with a correct structure, FE tolerance, worm resistance and a constitution that can cope with my environment.
Let me also say the SIL personnel I have had dealings with are very capable professional people who are making a major contribution in our sheep industry.
