AUSTRALIA’S trait-led sheep breeders have been given a world-first leg up with the release of a unified multibreed genetic evaluation analysis called Combined LAMBPLAN from today.

Victorian composite maternal and terminal seedstock producer Matt Tonissen thinks the initiative is “absolute gold” for breeders comparing traits across breeds, and especially for those developing shedding flocks.

Longtime trait-led composite sheep pioneer John Keiller said the development reflected “the rise and rise of the composites’ and would mean sheep breeders would be able to more quickly respond to market signals.

Sheep Genetics, operated by MLA, said the world-first, landmark advancement further reinforces Australia’s status as a world leader in livestock genetic evaluation by significantly expanding and enhancing the multibreed capabilities of Sheep Genetics.

For the first time, producers will be able to directly compare the genetic merit of all maternal and terminal breeds – except Merinos and Dohnes — within a single, unified evaluation. Merino types will continue to be assessed through the MERINOSELECT analysis, Sheep Genetics said.

The Combined Lambplan trait research analysis currently includes all the growth traits – birth, weaning, post-weaning and adult weight — and carcase traits – eye muscle, fat, lean meat yield and dressing percentage – and the eating quality traits – shear force and intramuscular fat. Over the next 12 months additional trait groups will be added, including reproduction, worm egg count and lambing ease.

Mr Tonissen has used or investigated up to ten breeds to infuse economic traits in his maternal and terminal seedstock flock. He said it will also open up his selection options as he develops a shedding seedstock flock.

“We are already using rams that are in a terminal analysis, but to have a combined analysis is absolute gold and it will open us up to more information realistically on a bigger genetic pool.”

For maternal composite breeders, the combined analysis will mean having some good cross-breed reference material to work on,” he said.

“I think it is a great move – I’ve been an advocate for a while.

Mr Keiller has been using various breeds to access traits with South Australian breeder Don Pegler with Coopworths since the mid-1980s and using Lambplan since 1989 onwards.

“What will happen is we’ve now got, instead of just the use of 3.7 million terminals and 2.6 million maternals, those have been combined to about 5.5 million related animals with genetic linkage.

“That will mean a larger gene pool, more accurate, a complete Australian gene pool to access for the traits or characteristics we want and it also means that we are going to get high accuracy estimate breeding values, so that progress will be faster.”

Mr Keiller said Combined Lambplan amounts to a world-first analysis of the genomic degree of relatedness behind animals, rather than relying on a pedigreed model that assumes that every ram and dam contributes 50 percent of their DNA to their progeny.

Mr Keiller said there has been an increasing trend toward trait-led sheep breeding in Australia.

“The name of that is the rise and rise of the composites…..

“The reason we have composites is because you can quickly react to changed market signals,” he said.

“So that is why composites continually move, because they’ve got the freedom to move faster to the market feedback and demand.”

Breeders using the combined analysis will make faster genetic change and it will also give them probably increased information “if they wish to move to a new spot to where they currently are.”

“It’s a 35-year result from Lambplan 1990 to 2025 – Cashmore Oaklea are cracking champagne – it’s a champagne day.”

MLA’s Sheep Genetics manager, Peta Bradley, said the new evaluation reflects both industry progress in improving genetics of the flock and producer demand for greater clarity and consistency in genetic benchmarking.

Ms Bradley said Combined LAMBPLAN is a game-changer for sheep producers.

“It simplifies genetic evaluation and gives breeders and commercial producers the ability to make more informed decisions across a wider range of production systems.

“What makes this truly significant is that it enables producers to benchmark animals across breeds with greater accuracy and confidence, helping them select genetics that best suit their business goals, regardless of breed type,” she said.

“The improved multibreed evaluation will support better benchmarking and selection, ultimately driving productivity and profitability on-farm and strengthening the competitiveness of the Australian sheep industry as a whole.”

Sheep Genetics said the ability to have direct comparison of all terminal and maternal breeds, will pave the way for future commercial tools such as flock profile for more breeds following its success for Merinos to date.

Each animal will receive one set of Australian Sheep Breeding Values, fully comparable across breeds, simplifying selection decisions and improving benchmarking accuracy.

“This new analysis and the subsequent tools that the enhancements provide are a prime example of our investment towards delivering on MLA’s bold ambition to establish world leading multibreed evaluations that enable livestock to be described throughout the supply chain,” Ms Bradley said.

The combined LAMBPLAN analysis was developed by the University of New England’s Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit and is being released initially as a research analysis for carcase, growth and eating quality traits from August 27.

Ms Bradley said once all trait groups have been released under Combined Lambplan the old terminal and maternal analyses will be decommissioned and be fully replaced by the combined LAMBPLAN analysis.

“It will be the one-stop shop for genetic benchmarking and evaluation of terminal and maternal breeds.”

“To prepare for the release of Combined LAMBPLAN, producers are encouraged to set clear breeding objectives and identify traits that are most important to their business,” Ms Bradley said.

“Benchmarking current flock performance is critical, and re-benchmarking with the new percentile bands will ensure alignment with the updated evaluation.”

To assist producers with the transition to the analysis Sheep Genetics has prepared a comprehensive package of videos and resources available on the Sheep Genetics website. For more information on Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBVs) producers can register for a BredWell FedWell workshop in their area.

Ms Bradley said the ability to combine maternal and terminal breeds into a single evaluation has been made possible through a series of strategic investments over the past decade.

“These include the foundational work of the Information Nucleus Flock under the Sheep CRC, the development and expansion of the MLA Resource Flock, the redevelopment of the Sheep Genetics Database, and MLA’s continued long-term investment into the Sheep Genetics evaluations.”

Sheep Genetics said these initiatives have laid the groundwork for a more robust, inclusive, and commercially relevant genetic evaluation system.

For more information and to access the resources, visit Sheep Genetics