Genetic progress in Australian young sire programs: A model for increasing the rate of genetic improvement

Abstract

Young sire programs (YSP) are an essential tool for developing and maintaining high rates of genetic gain in sheep breeds of Australia. The five YSP have a significant participation rate (between 18-51% of recorded data), higher rates of genetic gain and greater accuracy of key traits used in commercial lamb production. In addition due to the structure of the YSP, average linkage between the flocks is higher which contributes to greater genetic progress through across flock and across breed comparisons. Clearly YSP offer significant advantages to the breeders that participate and these benefits will continue to increase as new technologies that rely on high data quality such as genomic selection start to be implemented.