The April edition of the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) Research Update podcast offers sheep producer’s information on Recording Performance Data during Lambing. This information is provided by Dr. Tom Murphy of the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Nebraska.
Dr. Murphy said, “An animal’s genetic value for all of its traits for the rest of its life starts at conception. As soon as that egg and sperm meet, that animal’s genetic value is more or less fixed for the rest of its life. So, really performance reporting begins at mating, when we turn rams out with our ewes to form the next season’s lamb crop.”
Records that are often the most important to an operation’s bottom line, number of lambs weaned, weight of lambs weaned, are observed from lambing and after, Murphy said. In fact, lambing is one of the few times many producers have the opportunity to closely observe their ewes and witness their maternal traits firsthand.
To learn more and to hear this podcast, go to the ASI website, sheepusa.org.