LambPlus Sign up Deadline
We once again remind all pedigree ram breeders that the deadline for signing up to LambPlus for the 2016 season is Tuesday December 1st. Reminder texts will be circulated to all breeders that recorded data with Sheep Ireland last year. To successfully sign-up to LambPlus for 2016, breeders must do two things;
- Complete and return the LambPlus sign-up form
- Each existing Sheep Ireland member breeder must update their own online flock inventory which includes adding the NSIS (department tag number) for each and every sheep within their LambPlus inventory. For breeders that are new to the Sheep Ireland database they must also return a list of all the sheep ID’s (NSIS), to Sheep Ireland so that the flock can be created on the database.
2015 LambPlus Regional Meetings
On Wednesday evening in Tuam we concluded our latest round of LambPlus regional meetings. The Tuam meeting was very well attended by both existing and new breeders interested in signing up for the first time. The level of discussion was very good with some very valid points being raised around the DQI (data quality index) and a similar issue to last year was raised again, about “Why is muscle and fat scanning not compulsory for all LambPlus breeders?”. Some breeders see this as unfair in light of the fact that this service comes at a cost, which needs to be carried by each individual breeder.
One of the extra incentives we have added this year is giving each individual LambPlus flock a score based on the quality, quantity and the timeliness of their data recorded. A part of this score is compiled from scanning information, and flocks that scan their lambs will be rewarded with a higher flock DQI.
The one common thread through all the meetings, was the new genomics project with many breeders interested in what it has to offer them and how genomics will be carried forward for animals born in 2016.
We will be meeting with all the relevant breed societies on December 15th to discuss how each society would like to proceed. The cost of genotyping is not feasible for an individual breeder to carry yet across entire flocks, so a co-funded approach between the societies and the Ovigen project will be the most likely option.
Sheep Breeders Round Table
Sheep Ireland will be attending a 3 day breed biennial conference which brings together breeding programmes from all over the world to present on their own breeding programmes. This is a great event as it allows for the sharing of ideas and to learn from the positives and negatives found in each breeding programme. Sheep Ireland’s Eamon Wall will also be presenting at the event. If you are interested in following the event online then search #SBRT2015 on twitter.