Sheep Ireland attended the Sheep Breeders Round Table which was held on Friday 15th to Sunday 17th November 2019, near East Midlands Airport, Derbyshire, England. The event was well attended by farmers, breeders, researchers, vets and many industry representatives. Sheep Ireland were there representing the progress in genetic gain that the sheep sector in Ireland has achieved over the last number of years. Sheep Ireland’s Manager, Kevin McDermott, was speaking of behalf of Sheep Ireland and gave an insightful presentation on how and why Sheep Ireland exist. Sheep Ireland exist to benefit our farmers, our agri-food industry and our wider communities. We do this by developing and applying science and technology to ensure our farmers and our industry make the most profitable and sustainable decisions. One of the key messages from Kevin’s presentation was the introduction of genomics to the Sheep Ireland database resulting in an increase of up to 24% Accuracy of information, giving commercial farmers more confidence in their selection. Economic Breeding Values’s have never been more accumulate in Ireland. Genetic gain within the country has increased in both Terminal and Replacement Index’s since 2009.
Take a look at Kevin’s presentation by clicking here
Sheep Ireland’s Eamon Wall proudly won title of ‘best poster’ at the Sheep Breeders Round Table. Take a look at Eamon’s poster below
Take a look at some of the tweets from the event below.
@KevinMc_Dermott describing how critical it is to have all stakeholders in Ireland pulling together to maximize genetic progress! Good foundation now in place in Ireland… pic.twitter.com/1dPfVvEJYu
— Sheep Ireland ???????????????????? (@SheepIreland) November 17, 2019
€uroStars on show @SheepBreeders19. Irish index values are now across breed, giving farmers more info. Stars are still within breed for now, to allow farmers pick the best of each breed! #SBRT19 pic.twitter.com/l0o2Ybzlnw
— Sheep Ireland ???????????????????? (@SheepIreland) November 17, 2019
@DataOvi proud to be voted winner of the @SheepBreeders19 poster competition! Standard of posters excellent as usual..thanks for the votes! #SBRT19 pic.twitter.com/W6jMi1BXq3
— OviData (@DataOvi) November 17, 2019