Limiting lamb losses

Mr Silcock is heading a trial to test whether additional fat scoring sires equate to improved lamb survival.

More than 1200 Merino ewes have been weighed, condition scored, electronically tagged and artificially inseminated to sires including three extreme fat and muscle scoring rams.

The trial is taking place at Mepungah Pastoral Company (host of the 2014 Elders Balmoral Sire Evaluation trial) and aims to challenge the theory that an additional measurement of fat results in 18 per cent more live lambs on the ground.

"The most important way we can improve profitability, on top of what we are already doing, is improve the early lamb survival," Mr Silcock said.

"Merino early lamb survival isn't good so there is a vacuum there that we need to address.

"There has been predictions out in the industry that fat will have a big impact on that and we want to know whether we should tell producers whether they need to focus more on fat in their ram selection criteria – but before we can say that with certainty, we need to show them that it works."

The lamb survival of the three extreme fat scoring sires will be compared to the progeny survival of the remaining average scoring rams.

He said the evaluation would then be repeated by lambing down the ewe lambs and comparing their results, which will show the maternal effect.

However the trial has hit a hurdle, with funding needed to complete the final stage of the research, which identifies lambs to their sires with a DNA test.

Department of Environment and Primary Industry, Australian Wool Innovation and Meat & Livestock Australia have been approached for support.

"We need to get DNA funding to continue the trial and rejoin those ewe progeny naturally so we can reassess them to see if there is a continuation of any survival difference," Mr Silcock said.

The plan is to continue the trial for at least two generations, which Mr Silcock believed would give the findings strength and increased fertility analysis of the sires.

"We have to find a way to put it into a commercial model that can then be rolled out to the average commercial farmer – but first we need to prove and show the theory," he said.