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Weekly Update: 21/08/2015

The LambPlus Multi-Breed ram sale

Preparations are well under way for our sale tomorrow (Saturday 22nd August); breeders are asked to start showing up from 9:00am with the sale kicking off at 12:30pm. See Publications/Ram sales for the catalogue and more details on breeds and numbers. Hope to see some of you there!!

STAP 2015

Sheep Ireland is once again involved in STAP Task 1 & 2. This provides a great opportunity for Sheep Ireland to help inform both farmers and breeders the long-term benefits of using the €uro-Stars to help maximise flock performance.

Task 1

Task 1 (The Ram Task) is worth two tasks this year for the flocks that successfully complete it. In order to complete the task Sheep Ireland must receive a Ram Query form with an eligible ram and a photocopy of his dispatch docket before the 2nd October 2015. Rams must be at least 3 stars or higher on the Replacement or Terminal index on the day of purchase. All rams can be checked and found on the Sheep Ireland Online Ram Search prior to submission in order to identify any potential issues with rams as soon as possible. It is also possible to check if a ram was already claimed for STAP in 2013/2014 on the ram search. The number of ram queries per week is starting to build which is great to see.

Task 2

Option A: Weight recording must be submitted by either the STAP participant or the STAP facilitator via their Sheep Ireland account before the deadline. Half the lambs in the flock should be weighed twice up to a max of 100 lambs. It is advised to have a minimum of 2/3 weeks between the weights in order to get the most from the task.

Option B: Maternal flock recording is a mandatory task for any STAP participant that completed the 2014 Option C task, parentage recording. A minimum of 20 ewes should be recorded along with their lambs including 2 weights. This must be completed by either the STAP participant or the STAP facilitator via their Sheep Ireland account before the deadline.

OVIGEN Flock Visits

There has been very few OVIGEN flock visits in the past number of weeks as we concentrated on getting all the requested flocks scanned for Muscle and Fat depth before the premier sales so the information could be included in the evaluations. The vast majority of the scanning has now been done with the exception of some late lambing flocks. With this in mind we will start to contact flocks to arrange more flock visits in order to collect their DNA. We are aware that this will not suit the majority of flocks at the moment as ewes are being mated, however for some late lambing flocks there may still be a window to have the flock visited in advance of mating. So if any flock is in a position to have their OVIGEN flock visit complete in the next few weeks they should contact us on 023 882 0154.