Inverbrackie Border Leicester stud principal Lynton Arney is a big believer in using performance recording to take the guesswork out of sheep breeding.
And it is working in the stud he runs with wife Claire.
“There have been times when I have not believed the data but the progeny have proved the figures right in the first place," he said. The Strathalbyn stud has been measuring traits in its flock since 1990 and the majority of its highest ranking sires on the Sheep Genetics maternal database have an Inverbrackie prefix.
Mr Arney says these figures ensure they are breeding “productive sheep” for their clients with predictable performance.
Inverbrackie collects data on its 950 stud ewes and sale rams for up to a dozen traits, from growth and fertility to worm resistance.
“Growth is important because that is what we get paid on in our lambs, but we have been able to find those curve benders with high early growth and lower adult weight,” he said.
“We are not interested in breeding sheep with long legs,” he said. “You don’t get many chops out of a leg – we are more interested in the carcase on them.”
Mr Arney said they were excited about debuting in Sheep Week.
“It is not about people coming to write down ear tag numbers of their pick sale rams but rather people being able to see mobs of our sheep and how we manage them,” he said.
