Sheep Industry News March 2025

genetic information from their animals with the intent to simul taneously make genomic predictions of breeding values, verifying parentage and identifying genetic condition status. Lewis said the project has a goal of collecting at least 3,000 genotypes per sheep breed to create the reference population. Scott Bowdridge, Ph.D., of West Virginia University and Kelsey Bentley, Ph.D., of Kansas State University led the Genetics Forum through fascinating research findings that the post-weaning fecal egg count estimated breeding values may not just select for parasite resistance but might also be predictive of immunological fitness. Bentley’s research indicated that fecal egg count EBVs appear to be associated with greater antibody protection after clostridial vac cination. Her work suggests that sheep with increased resistance to gastrointestinal parasites might be better prepared for challeng ing environmental conditions containing a variety of pathogenic threats. So does all this genetic selection pencil out to improvements in a producer’s bottom line? Wisconsin sheep producer Cody Hiemke of the Niman Ranch lamb program said he’s heard producers say that packers don’t pay for increased muscling on lambs, but Hiemke says they do, albeit indirectly if you’re selling lambs based on carcass weights. Hiemke calculated the impact of selecting for one EBV – ad ditional muscle in loin depth – finding that a 1-millimeter increase in eye muscle depth resulted in a .3161-percent increase in dressing percentage of that lamb, thus increasing the value of the carcass. When a ram with a high EBV for loin depth is used as sire, that impact is reflected in increased yields in the lambs he sires. Spread that out across hundreds of lambs and you can understand the impact. Hiemke said that selecting for increased muscling benefits producers that direct market or sell on carcass weight due to in

creased dressing percentage. The direct marketer and packer have additional incentive to select for increased muscle due to improved cutability when breaking that carcass into the box. His view is re inforced by a 2007 study found that increased loin muscle area and depth yielded larger and more valuable carcasses. Tom Murphy, Ph.D., of the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Nebraska, noted that producers should be aware that the muscle trait isn’t just a trait of lambs but can be reflected in heavily muscled ewes that might have additional maintenance costs. Hiemke noted that he’s breeding high-growth rams to lower-growth ewes to seek that balance. A second producer panel provided further insights on genetic improvements as experienced in the cattle industry. Wyoming’s Brad Boner raises both Targhee range sheep and Angus cattle; Johnny Rogers of North Carolina runs a Red Angus herd along with hair sheep, while Jeff Clark of western South Dakota runs registered Targhees and is a consultant for the cattle industry. All three noted that while they rely on genetic data, they also still rely on visual selection as well. Rogers said with cattle, the animals need the right numbers in the genetic data, but they also “need to look the part,” as he likes cattle and sheep that are pleasing to the eye and that have good feet and udders to go along with good at titudes. Clarke said functionality is way more important than any estimated breeding value or genomic test. He said, “We look at the numbers, but base our selection more on what we can visually see.” Boner said that he also combines the numbers with a visual ap praisal when looking at herd sires. With 80 percent of his bull sales made to fellow producers within 100 miles of the ranch, those bulls need to thrive in that environment, he said. Rogers agreed, stating, “I think adaptation to the environment they are going to perform in trumps everything else.”

March 2025 • Sheep Industry News • 19