An update on genetic progress in the Australian sheep industry

Abstract

Substantial genetic progress has been made by the Australian sheep industry in the era of across-flock genetic evaluation which began in the early 1990s. Rates of gain in standard indexes increased throughout the 2000's for maternal breeds and terminal sires, but have plateaued or slightly decreased since 2010. For Merinos, the rate of gain has remained relatively constant over the same period. Average rates of gain for each breed group are currently as high as 94% of "potential" gain for terminals sires, 84% for Coopworth and maternal composite flocks, 49% for Border Leicesters, and up to 47% for Merinos. However, the top 20% of breeders are exceeding potential gain for all breed groups except Border Leicester, and it is the poor performance of the bottom 20% of breeders which leads to lower performance on average for a breed group, particularly for Merinos.