Optimal development of the Australian sheep genetic resources

Abstract

The Australian sheep industry is at a crossroads where technical opportunities allow rapid genetic change, and market developments tend to favour a shift in profitability from wool to meat production. A key question is how the existing genetic resources should be developed optimally to maximize future profitability across the Australian sheep industry. Breeding objectives need to be developed jointly for wool and terminal sire breeds, taking into account the joint use of these breeds in a crossbreeding system. A simple model was trialed, optimizing profit per unit of feed, suggesting that a crossbreeding system remains in place with specialized wool and meat breeds. Optimal development involves increased body size for meat breeds but increased wool production and quality and decreased body size for wool breeds that also serve as dams of prime lambs. Both wool and meat breeds should increase reproductive rate.