Analyses

Membership

At the end of 2024–25, Sheep Genetics supported 1,035 active sheep flocks and 13 goat herds. Members participate through the LAMBPLAN, MERINOSELECT and KIDPLAN evaluations, which provide independent genetic information to support breeding and selection decisions. LAMBPLAN continues to be the largest evaluation, representing almost two-thirds of all participating flocks.

    
Analysis Count of flocks
LAMBPLAN 664
MERINOSELECT 371
KIDPLAN 13

Figure 1. Breakdown by analysis

 

Australian member distribution 

Sheep Genetics members are located throughout Australia, with the majority of flocks based in New South Wales and Victoria. Strong participation is also maintained across Western Australia and South Australia, with members contributing valuable performance data from a diverse range of production environments.

Figure 2. Proportion of Australian Sheep Genetics member flocks by state

 

International flocks

While the majority of Sheep Genetics members are based in Australia, several international flocks also participate in the evaluation. Members from New Zealand, South America and Asia contribute data and utilise Australian genetics, allowing their animals to remain genetically linked to Australian flocks. This connectivity enables direct comparison of genetic merit across countries and strengthens the international influence of Australian sheep genetics.

 Figure 3. Count of Sheep Genetics international member flocks  

 

National Sheep Improvement Program

Sheep Genetics continues to provide genetic evaluation services to the National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP) in the United States. Through this partnership, Sheep Genetics delivers Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) to participating American sheep producers, supporting genetic improvement and helping maintain genetic links with Australian genetics.

The continued growth in flock participation and billable animals demonstrates the ongoing value of this collaboration and the increasing adoption of objective genetic evaluation internationally.

Figure 4. Total number of flocks and billable animals submitted via the NSIP independent evaluations in the past 15 years 

Billable animals

The Sheep Genetics evaluations continue to expand, providing breeders with access to one of the largest sheep genetic evaluation systems in the world, with more than 10 million animals represented across the MERINOSELECT and LAMBPLAN evaluations in 2024-25. Figure 5 shows the trend in billable animals over the past 15 years. 

Figure 5. Number of billable animals in both the LAMBPLAN and MERINOSELECT genetic evaluations over the past 15 years 

Data submission

Sheep Genetics re-estimates Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBVs) every two weeks, ensuring breeders have access to the most current genetic information available.During 2024-25, 6,113 data files were submitted through the Sheep Genetics data portal by breeders, service providers, and the Sheep Genetics team.

Figure 6. Proportion of file uploads to the Sheep Genetics database

Genetic Trends

Sheep Genetics continues to deliver strong rates of genetic gain across all major evaluations helping Australian sheep producers improve profitability, productivity and sustainability.

Selection indexes combine multiple economically important traits into a single value, enabling breeders to make balanced selection decisions. In 2024-25, all Sheep Genetics evaluations exceeded the target of 2% annual genetic gain, with results more than doubling this benchmark.

  • Key traits that have increased in gain in past 12 months  
    • Lean meat yield, fleece weight, and weaning rate in Merinos 
    • Reproduction, eating quality, adult weight and worm egg count in Maternals 
    •  Growth, carcase, eating quality, and lambing ease in Terminals 

 

LAMBPLAN Maternal – selection index = Maternal Carcase Plus (MCP+) 

  • Analysis date = 15/06/2025 

The Maternal Carcase Plus (MCP+) index increased by 4.13% during 2024–25, more than double the annual improvement target.

Key areas of genetic progress included improvements in fertility, ewe rearing ability, worm resistance and eating quality, while also beginning to moderate increases in mature ewe weight. These gains reflect balanced breeding programs that continue to improve productivity while maintaining focus on animal efficiency and profitability.

Figure 7. LAMBPLAN Maternal – selection index = Maternal Carcase Plus (MCP+) 

 

LAMBPLAN Terminal – selection index = Lamb Eating Quality (LEQ) 

  • Analysis date = 15/06/2025 

The Lamb Eating Quality (LEQ) index increased by 3.87% during 2024–25, reflecting continued progress in traits that drive lamb production and consumer satisfaction.

Breeders achieved improvements in growth, carcase performance, eating quality and lambing ease, demonstrating ongoing commitment to producing animals that meet both producer and market requirements.

 

Figure 8. LAMBPLAN Terminal – selection index = Lamb Eating Quality (LEQ)

 

MERINOSELECT– selection index = Sustainable Merino (SM) 

  • Analysis date = 21/06/2025 

The Sustainable Merino (SM) index increased by 4.53% during 2024–25, representing the highest annual rate of gain across the major Sheep Genetics evaluations.

Genetic improvement was observed in clean fleece weight, weaning rate, lean meat yield and breech wrinkle reduction, supporting the industry's goal of producing more profitable, productive and sustainable Merino sheep.

Figure 9. MERINOSELECT– selection index = Sustainable Merino (SM)

Genotyping

Genomic information continues to play a critical role in improving the accuracy of ASBVs. Most Sheep Genetics evaluations now operate under a single-step framework, combining pedigree, performance and genomic information in a single analysis.

Working alongside AGBU, Sheep Genetics maintains a genomics database that supports DNA parentage testing, 50K genotyping and genomic products such as Flock Profile.

Genotype processing volumes in 2024-25 were almost five times greater than those recorded in 2011-12, demonstrating strong industry adoption of genomic technologies.

Figure 10: Total number of genotypes processed per year for parentage and 50K genotype tests 

 

Flock Profile

Flock Profile is a genomic benchmarking tool designed for commercial Merino producers. By comparing a flock's genetics against a large industry reference population, it helps producers identify strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for future genetic improvement.

The product continues to experience strong adoption, as shown in Figure 11.

Figure 11: Total number of Flock Profile tests