Sheep Industry News October 2023

Next Generation Examines Genetic Future

S heep Genetics USA brought 15 young producers, research ers, university staff and industry personnel to Colorado State University for two days of brainstorming on industry issues and possible solutions in late August as the group considers topics it should attempt to tackle in the months and years to come. The Sheep Genetics Research Summit in Fort Collins, Colo., was moderated by veteran cattle producer Lee Leachman – who was featured in the August issue of the Sheep Industry News for genetic work in his industry. The two-day session generated seven priorities that the group is passing along to the Sheep Genetics USA Board of Directors. Chief among them is how genetic data is entered into the National Sheep Improvement Program and devel oping a software platform to streamline the entering and analysis of that data. “There’s a lot of software investigation in the industry right now among the sectors and the breed associations,” said Superior Farms Director of Producer Resources Karissa Isaacs, who recently joined the board of SGUSA. “We just need to come together on those and be collaborative. One, to bring the cost down, and two, so that ev eryone is on the same platform for ease of data transfer and usage.” Additional goals included finding ways to streamline the collec tion of genetic data – which is essential to allow for implementa tion among large commercial operations – and the addition of paid staff to achieve strategic goals in the next two years. “One of main topics was how to move sheep genetics in all breeds forward in a progressive manner,” said Isaac Matchett, a commercial producer from Michigan. “I agree with data being a priority. Most would agree that there’s value in data and in being able to understand what parts of your enterprise make money and what parts don’t. Collection of that data hasn’t been adopted wide ly within the industry because it’s cumbersome to collect. It takes time at the farm level to collect, so we discussed a lot of avenues to make that a more streamlined process, to improve the technology that is available and the software we have available to get that data from raw data points to a utilizable management tool.” Matchett said he was somewhat familiar with the initial work of Sheep Genetics USA – which began back in 2021 – and was excited to be invited to the summit in Fort Collins. “Genetic progress is a limitation to sheep producers every where,” he said. “If we can expedite the genetic progress we make in all of these breeds, that’s a huge benefit to a commercial pro ducer and a huge benefit to our production potential. I think it’s good to be a part of that conversation.” Andrew Weaver, Ph.D., of North Carolina State University was the lone representative from the hair sheep side of the industry, but felt like many of the problems (and solutions) discussed applied to the industry as a whole.

“The traits we’re interested in and the tools we want to develop are going to go across all breeds,” he said. “Katahdins have set an example for the industry having genomics for a couple of years now. They’ve got their foot in the door there, and can be leaders for the other breeds.” Suffolk producer Gavin Blonquist works with a breed that has also led the way in genetic research and on the technology side with the Digital Suffolk program. As a seedstock producer, he understands the work required to move the industry forward. “Nearly every lamb we weaned this year, the genomic testing is already done,” he said. “That’s sort of expected from the seedstock producers. When the average producer starts looking at all of this, it’s pretty intimidating to see all of the data you need to collect and submit. The extra work it takes to collect that data is a pretty big task for most producers. And it doesn’t always mean an immediate increase in the dollars you’ll get out of your sheep. But down the road, that information is going to be pretty valuable to the produc ers and the industry.” Participants in the summit included: • Sheep Producers: Gavin Blonquist (Utah), Ryan Boner (Wyo.), Kyle Hurley (Iowa), Cameron Krebs (Ore.), Isaac Matchett (Mich.) and Shane Mickel (Utah). • University and Extension Personnel: Brady Campbell (Ohio), Kelly Froehlich (S.D.), Ryan Knuth (Minn.), Chad Page (Ariz.), Christian Posbergh (Mont.) and Andrew Weaver (N.C.). • Sheep Genetics USA Board Members: Rusty Burgett (Iowa) and Karissa Isaacs (Colo.). • Agricultural Research Service: Tom Murphy (Neb.).

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