BRUAN Poll Dorsets stud principal David Gordon said using ASBVs, coupled with new industry technologies to achieve superior breeding values, are of top priority to further develop the Condah stud.
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"Our main breeding objectives are growth and muscle, we continue to address carcass shape and lean meat yield, of which muscle is a major contributor," he said.
"We're doing a lot of DNA testing, looking at meat eating qualities so going forward we can keep the product as good as we can without making wrong decisions that could affect the eating quality of lamb."
From this year Sheep Genetics will replace the Carcass Plus index with the Terminal Carcass Production (TCP) index, which focuses on improving the key production traits of growth and muscle, while simultaneously maintaining eating quality.
David said there was still a lot of emphasis on the individual ASBVs to keep balance.
"In a market where our clients are not being paid for eating quality and they see no on-farm benefit, we will still have to be very competitive in the traits they want to buy," he said.
"TCP will help slow the selection for poor eating quality (for the industry as a whole).
"Australian lamb is of good eating quality, but we want to improve it by looking for traits such as intramuscular fat, shear force or tenderness and lean meat yield."
David said genetic testing and Lambplan ASBVs helped clients identify the best sires for their specific needs.
"It is vital for producers to understand their key profit drivers for their enterprises and to select rams that suit their production systems best," he said.
The Gordons also run 5000 first-cross ewes, which they join to their own Poll Dorset rams, for their prime lamb enterprise. David said using their own rams over the commercial flock means they get to see the progeny of their rams first-hand.
"We are very commercially driven, and we're aiming to produce the best possible genetic values for our ram clients, suitable to their operations in south-west Victoria, which is where the majority of them are from," David said.
"Their gains are our gains, so we want to make sure we're continuing to grow and improve."
Bruan Poll Dorsets annual sale will be held on-property at Blacks Road, Condah on October 21.