Merino Breeding Objectives Under Climate Change

Author(s)
Graham, P
Swan, Andrew
Banks, Robert
Publication Date
2015
Abstract
Breeding objectives were constructed for Merino enterprises operating in environments subject to forecast climate changes to 2030. These were derived using gross margins per dry sheep equivalent (DSE) from the GrassGro pasture model at three locations in New South Wales, Yass, Woolbrook, and Narrandera, and two enterprises, wool and dual purpose. Gross margins were predicted to be lower under forecast climate change, particularly at Narrandera. Simple breeding objectives were derived using GrassGro data, and selection index predictions based on these showed that losses in profitability could mostly be offset, and improved. The GrassGro breeding objectives were strongly correlated with those currently used in the MERINOSELECT genetic evaluation system, although there were differences in outcomes for body weight.
Citation
Proceedings of the Association for the Advancement of Animal Breeding and Genetics, v.21, p. 245-248
ISBN
9780646945545
ISSN
1328-3227
Link
Language
en
Publisher
Association for the Advancement of Animal Breeding and Genetics (AAABG)
Title
Merino Breeding Objectives Under Climate Change
Type of document
Conference Publication
Entity Type
Publication

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