Merino Bloodline Performance

Wool growers can now compare Merino bloodlines from wether trials and on-farm comparisons that have been run across Australia over the past ten years.

The updated Merino Bloodlines Package analysis has been funded by Australian Wool Innovation Limited (AWI) in conjunction with the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries and shows genetic performance of bloodlines in regard to wool production, wool quality and profitability.

The analysis takes out all environmental factors between trials and years, leaving only the genetic variation between the bloodlines. Bloodlines are only reported where wethers have been bred from the same bloodlines for at least five years, and there are accuracy ratings depending on the number of sheep that contributed to the results.

Gross margins per dry sheep equivalent (DSE) have shown substantial differences between bloodlines, ranging from 40 percent above the average gross margin to 13 percent below the average return. This equates to a high of $44.18 and a low of $27.46 for gross margin per DSE. These production differences therefore translate into very significant differences in bloodline profitability.

The Merino Bloodlines Package is also available free of charge from NSW DPI Bookshop at Orange.