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With seeding finished sheep producers are turning their attention to ram purchases.

Ram sales are fast approaching and a series of “Practical Ram Selection” workshops are being run that will help ram buyers select the most profitable animals for their business. Stud breeders will host the workshops for their clients and anyone else who is interested. This format has been used before with great feedback from those who attended.

The workshops are jointly sponsored by the SA Sheep Industry Fund and Making More from Sheep with a small registration fee of $33 per business attending.
A draft program of workshops accompanies this article. Producers are encouraged to attend their nearest venue. The opportunity still exists for any additional studs who might wish to host a workshop.

Ram buyers always want to buy rams they assess as visually good i.e rams that have good conformation, good wool and are a type suitable to their environment. However, the majority of studs also provide a range of figures in their sale catalogues to help their clients make the best decision.

These figures range from simple raw measurements to Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBV’s). ASBV’s can also be combined into a whole range of Indexes, depending on the breed and breeding objective.  .

The workshops will assist producers to identify the figures that help them select the rams that are best value-for-money. They will also cover how to use the figures in conjunction with visual assessment.

For example, many wool sheep breeders want to select plain bodied rams that will have progeny that may not need mulesing. However, they do not want to lose productivity. ASBV figures can help them to do this.

Merino breeders often want to improve growth rates of their offspring while not losing wool attributes. Some may want to increase the ability of their sheep to resist worms. Again ASBV‘s can help with this.

Terminal sire breeders usually want rams that will have fast growing offspring however they do not want to introduce problems such as lambing difficulty. Careful use of the ASBV figures can help to achieve this.

Workshop participants will learn how to value a top ram based on how much extra income will his offspring earn. They will also be shown how to use the internet to search for genetic information.

Past participants of these workshops have said they were practical and enjoyable as well as being of real value to their lamb or wool producing business.

Contacts for further details.
Darryl Smith, SARDI, 0401122176, darryl.smith@sa.gov.au
Brian Ashton, Sheep Consultancy Service, 0438 088 220, ashtonba@gmail.com

Practical Ram Selection Workshops

Gain important tips on how to use all available information to select rams to maximise your profit.

Wednesday 6th July, 1 – 5pm
Hosts: Dennis & Heather Dalla, Orrie Cowie, Warooka
Contact:  88545250 orriecowie@bigpond.com

Friday 8th July, 1-5pm
Hosts: Andrew & Rosemary Michael, Leahcim, Snowtown
Contact:  88652085    leahcimgenetics@bigpond.com

Registration: $33, includes afternoon tea

Workshops presented by
Brian (Smokey) Ashton, Sheep Consultancy Service PL
Luke Stephen, MERINOSELECT
Hamish Chandler, LAMBPLAN

RSVP to the host or Darryl Smith, SARDI, 0401 122 176 darryl.smith@sa.gov.au.  Additional workshops are planned in the following areas. Contact Darryl for more information.

Jointly supported by the Sheep Industry Fund, Making More from Sheep, Sheep Genetics and SARDI