Finalist for the “Most improved LambPlus Flock 2018”: Anne Murphy – Foundry Texels (PXI)

Anne Murphy established the Foundry Texel Flock in 1999 and has been an active member of the LambPlus program since its origins way back in 2009.

Anne boast’s a very impressive DQI of 88%, which shows that Anne is a very keen recorder of valuable data. Anne DNA tags her lambs shortly after birth with the official NSIS tags which is a great help to Anne throughout the year when it comes to data collection. Anne actively genotypes her replacement females and stock rams through the Ovigen project, which will lead to even more accurate evaluations in the future.

Anne regularly submits her stock rams to Sheep Irelands CPT program, which helps to improve the accuracy% and genetic gain of her flock. The average accuracy% of Anne’s 2018 lambs is 41.8% while over the last 4 years Anne’s flock has made gains of €1.61 on the Replacement Index and €0.66 on the Terminal Index.

Anne puts great emphasis on the replacement index as she says ‘It adds to the profit of your flock when you improve the performance of your ewes’. Milk and prolificacy are two traits Anne desires in her ewes as well as trying to maintain the growth genetics in her flock.

Influential Sires:

One of the most influential sires that Anne has used is Oberstown Tuff. A past CPT sire, Oberstown Tuff boasts 5 stars on both the Replacement & Terminal  Index, being in the Top 8% & Top 3% of the breed respectively. Oberstown Tuff has left a lasting impression on Anne’s flock. In more recent years, Greenhill Yemen Boy has been doing the business for Anne. Again, this ram has 5 stars on both the Replacement & Terminal Index. Yemen Boy, a son of Hillcrest Wagner, was awarded the title of ‘Texel Sire of the Year 2018’, which goes to show performance and looks can go hand in hand.