Merino bloodlines: a comparison based on wether trial results 2004–2014

Summary

The relative performance of commonly used Merino bloodlines has been updated with the 2014 analysis of 22 wether trials and one ewe productivity trial conducted in NSW (17), Victoria (4), WA (1) and Tasmania (1) between 2004 and 2014.

The previous analysis was derived from wether trials and ewe productivity trials run between 1999 and 2010.

The Merino bloodlines represented in the current analysis, compared with previous analyses, include 67 common and 4 new bloodlines.

Merino bloodline data used in this analysis has been sourced from wether trials and ewe productivity trials that have been run for a minimum of two years, and an average of three years.

Topics include:

• The trends
• The genetic differences
• Bloodline financial performance
• Trials included in this analysis
• Limitations