The following is a summary submitted with the application. It will be updated when the student’s abstract/thesis is received.
This research will use the data from several Merino Lifetime Productivity (MLP) project sites. It will track performance for a range of key meat production and quality traits which will be recorded and genetic relationships estimated between ewe traits. In particular, ewe lifetime wool production and reproduction traits will be linked with carcass composition and meat quality traits. Carcass value of the individual sires and different Merino types represented in the MLP project will be evaluated. Additional phenotypic data will be available for genetic evaluation and to improve accuracies for genetic correlations of a wider range of carcass composition and meat quality traits in Merinos. The results obtained from this study will assist producers in making informed decisions relating to genetic selection and advantages in improving merino sheep suitable to both the wool and meat industry.
This project aims to generate robust applied research that can be directly applied at an industry level to improve production around Merino genetics and profitability. It is hoped that the infromation generated from this trial will be incorporated into industry practices to help improve the genetic potential of Merino sheep by improving their suitability to both the wool and meat markets.