New gold and silver tags for rams to show farmers top genetic quality

The tags for rams are hoping to help farmers identify top genetic quality

New gold and silver tags for rams are hoping to help farmers identify top genetic quality.

Signet, the national genetic evaluation service for cattle and sheep, is helping sheep producers identify top quality rams with yellow ‘gold standard’ and white ‘silver standard’ identifiers.

They point towards performance recorded rams with superior EBVs which have been classed as being in the top 10% and top 25% of their breed.

HCC’s (Meat Promotion Wales) Industry Development Officer, Gwawr Parry said: “The main aim of this concept is to enhance the overall genetic improvement of sheep flocks across the country and assist producers to make profit from the performance of their rams.

“High index rams can increase profitability by £3-4 per lamb; over its lifetime, this has the potential to add over £1,000 to the flock income, an amount which should not be discounted.

“It has been proven that using EBVs to select rams with the best breeding potential for growth, carcase and maternal traits will boost the productivity of a flock. Signet’s new tags, which are supported by HCC, will help breeders find the right rams for their flock.”

HCC is also currently working with Signet and other industry partners on the nation-wide RamCompare project which aims to capture and incorporate data from commercial farms and abattoirs to include in genetic evaluations and develop a combined breed analysis of rams across the UK.