1. Roseville Park Merino Stud
Ramselect Workshop
Roseville Park Merino Stud

2. Welcome Workshop Outcomes
Determining the profit drivers of your flock in your environment
Selecting a breeding objective for your flock
Using breeding Values and visual assessment to select rams
Who can help?

3. Relevant Roles in Industry
Chair NSWSMBA Scientific liaison Committee
Councillor NSWSMBA
Merino Consultative group – advising to AWI on S.G
Industry representative to Sheep CRC, MLA, AWI and CSIRO on Sheepgenetics & INF
Served four years as industry rep. on advisory committee to S.G (AWI & MLA)
Founding Director of MERINOLINK (Involved in R&D Temora Research Station)
Trangie Sire Evaluation committee.

4. Introduction “If you can’t measure it, You cant’ manage it”.
Why does Roseville Park use ASBV’s
Client demands
Roseville Park Breeding Objectives
How we measure to achieve these objectives

5. Sire Evaluation Entered over 25 sires since 1990 Good linkage
Measures expensive traits
Tests rams in a wide range of environments

6. What have we achieved?
Genetic gain through sheep genetics information 10 years
YCFW +8.5% to +13.8%
YWT +0.2% to +3.6%
Raw data terms in our own flock
FW 6.5KG to 7.4kg which is a 13.8% gain
FD 19.5 to 18.0mic which is a 7.6% reduction
YWT 88 to 122KG which is a 38.6% gain

7. Profit Drivers
Important to work out the KEY profit drivers in your flock.
Fleece weight, Body weight, Micron and fertility.
Heritability of traits
FW = 35% - 45%
FD = 50%- 55%
WT = 25% -35%
Fertility = 5% -10%

8. Profit Drivers Assess the right situation for your environment
Implement all of these factors into your long term breeding objective
Concentrate more on individual traits than the indexes.

11. Matthew Coddington Roseville Park Merino Stud
Proof of profit
Matthew Coddington
Roseville Park Merino Stud

12. Proof of Profit
In 2011/12 Roseville Park sold just under 700 rams for an Av. $1177
The biggest seller of ram semen in NSW selling 3295 doses which was 945 doses more than the second highest seller of semen
Also marketed semen and embryos to Uruguay, Argentina, South Africa and New Zealand

13. RP09-0014 5,000 doses semen sold Body weight – 151.5Kg Micron- 16.8
CF% %
EMD – 41mm
ASBV’s
BW- +6.3
FD- -1.8
CFW
Index- 176

14. RP09-0014 Looked good from 2 weeks old
Out of a ewe that was Grand Champion Medium wool Dubbo National 2006
Weighed 113kg 13months
Unbeaten as a 1yo March shorn Bendigo
Midstate Hogget ram

15. RP09-0014 2 year old results Champion Medium wool ram Sydney Royal
NSW champion Pair Bruce Merriman Breeders Group
From all information we were able to join him confidently to over 300 ewes and use in ET

16. Progeny Results One Oak Merino Stud Top price at Hamilton $19,500
Son has won Champion March shorn and Junior ram at Bendigo and Dubbo
Midstate hogget and Riverina Ram of the year
Champion March shorn Medium and Fine/Medium ewes and rams at Dubbo National and also two reserves
30 sons in the ram sale
13 out of 16 reserves
All 9 ewes in shed

17. Sire Evaluation Entered into the INF
New England, Balmoral and Temora Research Station Sire Evaluation
Temora results
High Measured and Visual Performance results

18. Classers Grade (Visual assessment)

19. Measured traits and classers grade

20. Information Is POWER!
The more information that you can supply or find out about your flock the more in control you can be
Likewise the same can be said by your ram provider
Agents and classers need to be aware of a stud breeder and commercial flock breeders direction of their flock’s and the environment in which they are run to give proper and informed advice.

21. Balance
ASBV’ give a good indication of a rams predicted performance. Take out environmental factors and birth type/ rare type factors
Give cross flock information and can give you information on hard to measure and hard to see traits such as WEC, Staple strength.

22. Balance With that information
you then need to have your breeding objective made up in your mind.
Assess the ram visually for physical or visual faults – such as hocks, pasterns, teeth, black spots etc.
In an auction situation- At home and at the sale.

23. Don’t be afraid to ask
If you need more information about your ram source, it is better to ask than be unprepared before an auction and end up with the wrong ram and become disenchanted with the stud that you are buying from.
Commercial flocks that have a reputable sheep classer or the stud owner classing their flock often can achieve their breeding objectives faster.
This has been proven in wether trials & ewe hogget comps.