Choosing our truths
neXtgen Agri
Helping livestock producers to feel more confident and make great genetics decisions.
Welcome,
And just like that, it is the end of January and school kids are enjoying their last few days of freedom before their school year starts again. Fine-wool ram sales are in full swing in New Zealand, keeping the team on this side of the ditch busy.?
Either side of the ditch, ram sale season is always an interesting time for people-watching and seeing the traits that buyers are zeroing in on. It's also interesting to read ram catalogues and see how stud breeders market their stock. One thing that is always interesting is how people interpret their animals being below average for a trait or set of traits. My favourite response is from those people who decide that the particular breeding values that aren't good in their sheep don't work. They are happy to believe that 20-plus other breeding values work but, for some reason, the same system doesn't provide a functional breeding value for these particular traits.
There are only ever three reasons a breeding value doesn't accurately reflect the genes of the animal in question:?
1) insufficient genetic linkage for that particular trait, therefore it cannot be predicted accurately in an across-flock analysis;?
2) the appropriate data hasn't been collected to predict the trait; or?
3) the data hasn't been submitted to the analysis or hasn't been submitted in a usable form.?
There are some occasions where collecting the appropriate data is problematic. This mainly applies to health traits where the breeder often relies on the right environmental conditions to invoke a challenge that enables genetic variation to be expressed. Footrot is our current example, where shifts in genetic potential have made the thresholds required to get a breeding value generated problematic and will need to be reviewed and adjusted.
What is concerning is that some breeders choose to discredit particular breeding values for 'not working' as a reason for their sheep being below average for a trait. Often these same breeders pick and choose the information that goes in their catalogues, providing great information on the traits their sheep are superior in and not providing anything on the traits where the sheep are inferior.?
For all ram buyers out there: information missing from a catalogue, where you would expect to see it, is a red flag that the animals are inferior for these traits. Get on the phone and ask the stud breeder to supply ALL of the information you need to make a balanced ram selection. Equally, stud breeders downplaying some breeding values and promoting others is a very clear signal that their animals are inferior for the traits they are talking down. I've seen it play out repeatedly for the last 20 years. The clearest indicator that a stud isn't good at a particular trait is them publicly discrediting that trait or the people that focus on that trait.
Finally, if you are reading this and haven't visited The Hub recently, I encourage you to click one of the links below and read the great articles that the team have been putting together. I'm very proud of the talent we have at neXtgen Agri and their passion for providing great information for livestock producers.
Onwards and upwards,
Ferg
The Hub
Next month’s Hub LIVE event
New articles on The Hub
Keep your feet: assessing foot structure in sheep and cattle - Phoebe Eckermann
Reaping the benefits of pregnancy scanning - Amy Lockwood
Hillcroft Farms UltraWhite stud classing video?
You can also find this video on the neXtgen Agri YouTube channel.
领英推荐
Producer survey - Precision Sheep Management (PSM)
Thank you to those who have already completed the PSM producer survey. The prize draw for the pair of RM Williams boots will close on Friday, 31 January.
The survey is open to individuals (aged 18 years or older) across Australia who own and/or manage sheep production enterprises of more than 100 sheep.
You'll find more information about the project and the survey here.
Head Shepherd
New episodes
From the Head Shepherd archives
Future Fibre Farming
You’ll find the neXtgen Agri team at the following events ready to chat about all things fibre goats. We’ve got some great information available for producers considering adding fibre goats to their enterprise.?
For more information about the Future Fibre Farming programme and our fibre goat extension work with AgriFutures Australia, visit the Goat Fibre Gateway.
Circle app
To get the most out of The Hub on your mobile, we recommend downloading the Circle app (Circle is the hosting platform for The Hub):
The Hub is the home of the Head Shepherd podcast and the neXtgen Agri community. It’s where you can dig deeper into livestock genetics and on-farm innovation. You’ll find like-minded people from all facets and levels of the industry, each bringing their own unique experiences and perspectives.