AUSTRALIAN sheep breeding values (ASBVs) are the latest buzzwords doing the rounds of wool and sheepmeat breeding circles thanks to recent RamSelect workshops run by Leading Sheep, but Winton wool producers Shane and Jodi Axford can vouch for their usefulness.
The pair run a Merino sheep operation at Goolma and although severely curtailed by drought, which has forced them to sell half their flock this year, they are seeing good results from incorporating ASBVs into their buying decisions.
Jodi said they had just finished classing their maiden ewes and were excited to see how the surviveability traits they were selecting for were coming to the fore, especially in such dry times.
"It's motivating to see," she said.
"If we hadn't been using ASBVs we'd probably have a lot more sheep with negative body fat ratings from selecting on look alone.
"Now I can go to a sale and, when I see two rams I like, the figures tell the difference."
The selection tool was developed a number of years ago, but not all studs gathered the information necessary until recently.
ASBVs objectively measure the genetic traits of sheep - what is left when environmental and management effects, such as time of joining and nutrition, are removed from consideration.
New South Wales DPI sheep breeding specialist and RamSelect workshop presenter Alan Casey said more Queensland studs were taking up the genetic measurements and "something different" was happening.
"Commercial people need to look hard at studs up here and realise they've got genetics as good as any," he said.
"The sheep aren't grown on irrigated pastures, and might not look the part, but the genetics are showing that people can have confidence in their ram sources up here."
He told RamSelect workshop participants in Longreach recently that ASBVs meant they could bite the bullet on rams that don't look so good.
"For instance, you know that twins don't get a fair go but it's not a trait that's passed on, it only contributes to how they look," he said.
"If you can understand that a smaller ram can be as good as a bigger one and base your decision on breeding values, you've value added."
The traits that drive woolgrowing businesses in western Queensland, such as fibre diameter, fleece weight, staple strength and body weight, are moderately to highly heritable and can alter the bottom line economically in a dramatic way.
It's this certainty that Shane and Jodi Axford are using to design a sheep "package" that works for them.
They want an animal that is easy care, has a lamb every year plus a good fleece and is saleable at the end, as is ultimately a leader in surviveability stakes.
They have been selecting their rams with ASBVs for as long as their stud, Karbullah at Goondiwindi, has had the information available.
Jodi said that she had been on a journey with them, saying that as soon as Mark and Vicky Murphy learnt something they passed it on to their clients.
After weighing and dividing their flock into "good doers" and "lovely wool" mobs, Shane and Jodi are selecting rams with characteristics they want each group to have - good fat and eye muscle figures on the one hand and wool length and density on the other - to pull each group up.
Jodi said she set parameters - no rams bought under .5 for fat and eye muscle for example - and highlights all those in a catalogue for further visual inspection.
"Our country is marginal and we want to give our sheep the best chance to survive," she said.
"Often a sheep with lovely wool will have negative fat values, so I'll leave him out.
"I definitely prefer going to places that have figures - it gives me something to compare.
"ASBVs take the guesswork out."
Jodi added that she didn't try as hard to bid on rams that had no figures.
"We put a lot of work into selecting for particular traits, and we don't want any X factor rams."
RamSelect workshop participants have been receiving guides that are designed to help producers understand how to use breeding values to find the rams most suited to their objectives.
It also provides advice on the important relationships between traits and how they affect each other.