Sound ram selection the key to productivity

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 3, Issue 27, 26 November 1985, Page 18

Sound ram selection the key to productivity

Sound decisions by farmers when selecting rams will give rise to real gains in productivity. But commercial farmers first need to look critically at performance and selection objectives of the ram breeder. Unfortunately the sheep industry still has many ram breeders who do not objectively record the performance of their stud flocks. RECORDING By objectively I mean recording the fertility background of each ram, the weaning weight and hogget fleece weight. These traits are of significant economic importance to commercial farmers. If the 'parent' flock is not making progress in these areas and if animals are not selected along these lines then commercial farmers' flocks won't make progress either. Breed societies, such as the Coopworth and WiltsKire societies, insist ,that registered breeders are members of Sheeplan, the flock recording scheme operated by MAF. Both societies realise the importance of having measured information of ram performance to make progress in fertility, meat production and wool weight.

But even with all the records, the animal may still not be the best buy. The ram also must be sound in constitution and free of disease such as Brucella ovis. It is the responsibility of the ram breeder not to present to the client any unsound rams. In summary, select a ram breeder who is making objective decisions in his flock, and be well aware of the unrecorded 'run' rams presented for sale. I am often asked by farmers what procedures should be followed when selecting rams. For a start all rams should be constitutionally sound and veterinary inspected. Go through the rams and discard animals which don't appeal, and then move to the records and base the final selection on overall productivity, i.e. highest INDEX, of the animals. FLEECE If the selection objective for your flock is to increase wool weight rapidly you may fine tune your decision by selecting rams with the highest breeding value for fleece weight. Remember, the information is measured production

from that animal, and gives a clear comparison of overall productivity between that ram and his mates in the pen. If you are a commercial Romney, Coopworth or Perendale farmer, the end use of the wool will be for carpet production and the most important criteria becomes the production of sound fleeces with plenty of weight. DOLLARS It is however the number of bales going out the gate that will determine the final dollars in the bank. In a paper presented at the Society of Animal Production Conference this year by George Wickham of Massey University, it was suggested that emphasis should be placed on fleece weight, partly as a result of economic weights and partly because it seems likely to result in favourable changes in wool quality traits. He saw no need to add any wool quality traits to the Sheeplan index. Remember, selection of rams on wool style reduces the selection pressure that can be.put on rams based on their productive value.

The heritability of fertility is very low, which means only a small amount of progress each year is made in increased flock fertility. Because of this the fertility background of rams purchased should be considered important. You may question the merit of trying to produce more lambs in light of the present return for sheepmeat, but when you sit down and work it out, it is far more profitable to produce twin lambs at $ 1 3 each than try and get all the singles to $26. Another benefit associated with higher lambing percentages, allows greater culling of replacement hoggets, hence improvement of the performance of the flock in the future. The ram selling season is just coming into full flight and commercial farmers have a real opportunity to make sound decisions in selecting sires to improve productivity in their flocks. Use the information provided by your ram breeders who are only too pleased to assist in interpreting productive information on rams available for sale. Will Wilson, Farm Advisor, Waimarino County