Using Estimated Breeding Values as a Tool to Breed Better Sheep

The factors that influence livestock performance can be divided into those that are due to an animal's breeding potential, as determined by its genes, and those due to the environment in which it is reared. It is important to get both these aspects of production right, but whilst the management of a sheep can be changed throughout its productive lifetime, breeding potential can only be influenced by the genetic value of its parents. This makes the selection of breeding stock extremely important. The only influence that a ram has over its offspring is through its genes, so it is vitally important to assess this element of a ram's performance separately from the combined visual impact created by feeding, management and breeding. Choosing a high-performing ram by eye alone can lead to unpredictable results, so ram buyers and pedigree breeders can really benefit from an objective way of assessing the genetic potential of rams. The best way to do this is by performance recording.