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Warning bell against specialist breeding of sheep

March 17, 2005

kengeenty.jpgGraziers who breed merino sheep for wool and meat could increase their profit return by up to 40 per cent, according to information to be delivered at the University of New England next week.
Dr Ken Geenty, (pictured) Leader of the Wool Group at CSIRO, will back up his research at the annual meeting of the Australian Society of Animal Production (New England branch) on March 23.
He will show how, using genetic technology and better feeding practices, merinos can be kept as wethers for up to 18 months, producing fine wool before being slaughtered for meat.
If battling graziers decide on this course of action, Dr Geenty said, they would be “taking out an insurance policy” against swinging commodity prices.
“We know from research conducted by the Bureau of Agriculture Research and Economics [ABARE] that wool prices are likely to continue to decline until 2009, while the price of lamb remains strong over the next four to five years,” Dr Geenty said.
“Graziers need to look at diversifying from producing merinos for wool-only to producing merinos for wool and meat.”

Since joining the CSIRO last year, New Zealand-born Dr Geenty has been working on dual-purpose merino sheep.
His work has been carried out jointly with Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) and Australian Wool Innovation (AWI).
Said Dr Geenty: “The selection of merinos with superior meat traits would offer producers an alternative to cross breeding for prime lamb production.
To that end, Dr Geenty’s research targeted 24 superior flocks of merinos, with about 300 yearling rams or ewes from each flock having wool fibre profile and muscle scan measurements collected for analysis, totalling about 6000 animals in all.
The idea was to “identify animals with superior meat characteristics without compromising wool quality”, research which had previously not been carried out before with breeders across Australia.
Dr Geenty found merino lambs up to 18kg had returned about 85 per cent of the price of crossbred lambs over the past two years, yet at heavier carcass weights of about 25kg, the difference in price was only 5 per cent.
The research will be presented at next Wednesday’s meeting.
Also at the annual meeting, Mr Peter McGilchrist, this year’s recipient of the New England ASAP Prize for Bachelor of Rural Science Honours thesis, will talk about muscling on the intermediary metabolism of sheep.
For more information phone Dr Geenty on 6776 1397 or
Lydia Roberts on 6773 2779

Posted by Lydia Roberts at March 17, 2005 11:31 AM