Records for maternal breeding evaluation reaches one million

Signet Breeding Services has reached a major milestone, publishing Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) for more than one million animals within the maternal evaluation.

The maternal evaluation was relaunched in February 2022 following significant developments. This included rebasing EBVs to aid interpretation by commercial ram buyers, updating breeding indexes and enhancing existing EBVs to make them more commercially focused.

Signet Breeding Services is a division of AHDB that provides performance-recording services to sheep and cattle breeders, as well as partnering on projects across the United Kingdom to continue to drive sheep and cattle genetic improvement forward.

Laura Eyles, Senior Signet Breeding Specialist, said:

“Reaching one million records within our maternal evaluation shows the appetite within the industry to performance record. Commercial producers are seeing the benefits of looking deeper into an animal’s background before purchase and utilising data to make informed decisions rather than buying on looks alone. Many buyers are seeking high-index sires to improve their farm’s profitability.

“Ewe-breeding flocks have been involved in weight-recording programmes for over 50 years. The reasons breeders were previously interested in flock recording are the same today. Breeders need an unbiased way to find those rams and ewes in the flock with the best genetic potential.

“In the last 50 years, massive advances in flock identification, record keeping, ultrasound scanning, handling systems, computing power and, more recently, genomics have transformed our ability to use this basic information to identify and breed from sheep with superior genetics.”

The value of genetic improvement to the UK sheep industry exceeds £10.7m per annum (Abacus Review, 2015), and at the farm gate, lambs sired by high-index rams can easily exceed an additional £4 per lamb – with greater added value seen in maternal breeds where genetic gains are expressed year after year.

Data is incorporated from more than 10 different breeds, including Bluefaced Leicester, Charmoise Hill, Easycare, Exlana, Jacob, Lleyn, Romney Marsh, Roussin, Shedding Composites, Tefrom and Wiltshire Horn.

Records are supplied directly by breeders, research institutions and industry organisations, with additional validations and quality-assurance procedures in place to ensure accurate data flows into the evaluation.

Most breeds in the UK performance record through Signet Breeding Services, and it is simple to get started.

For more information, visit signetdata.com.