Design and Purpose of the Merino Lifetime Productivity Project

Abstract

The Merino Lifetime Productivity project is a major research initiative undertaken by industry with funding support from Australian Wool Innovation, aiming to develop Merino breeding and selection strategies that will maximise the lifetime productivity of Merino ewe enterprises. The project involves mating 134 diverse industry sires across five sites around Australia to generate up to 5,500 Merino ewe progeny that will be annually evaluated through life for a wide range of wool, growth, carcase, reproduction and disease resistance traits. It is planned that all ewe progeny will be genotyped and will add to the genomic reference population for the Merino industry.