Transition from wool to sheep meat –Transition from wool to sheep meat –What options do you have?What options do you have?

• Sell existing stock

- purchase Dorper rams and F2 Dorper ewes

• Upgrade

- purchase Dorper rams and upgrade the existing Merino ewe base

• F1 Dorper rams

- appears to be a less costly option but is not viable

Consider the genetics….impacts on Consider the genetics….impacts on managementmanagement

F1 50/50

F2 75/25

F3 87.5/12.5

F4 93.75/6.25

No shearing from F4

% of Flock Requiring Shearing

Year Dorper/Merino Dorper/F2

1 100 (100)* 100

2 100 (63)* 100

3 100 (12)* 74

4 100 26

5 94 23

6 68 0

7^ 25 0

8 0 0

Shearing vs SheddingShearing vs Shedding

Source: http://cashdown.com.au

When can you stop shearing?

- Doper sire – 8th year

- F2/Dorper sire – 6th year

Heritability of shedding

- shedding score (1-5) h2 0.54

- selection shedding vs economically

important traits

Also consider… Dark Medulated fibre (DMF)

- DMFRS

- Bale descriptions Y K R

Risks and BenefitsRisks and Benefits

sensitivity- drought, price fluctuations

infrastructure performance data

- anecdotal evidence- ASBV Dorper $ Index

organic production- price premiums

- product quality, supply chain, markets

ReferencesReferences Cloete, S. W. P., M. A. Snyman, et al. (2000). Productive

performance of Dorper sheep. Small Ruminant Research 36(2): 119-135.

DPI (2011) <http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/farm-business/budgets/livestock>

Pollott, G.E. (2011). A suggested mode of inheritance for wool shedding in sheep. Journal of Animal Science: (89) 8.

Rose, M. and Bright, R.L. and Quigley, S.P. and Kleemann, D.O. (2000) Fibre Transfer in Merino Ewes Mated with Damara, Merino or Dorper Rams in Central Western Queensland. In: Animal Production for a Consuming World. AAAP-ASAP Conference, 2nd - 7th July, Sydney, Australia.

Sheep Genetics (2011) http://www.sheepgenetics.org.au/ Snyman, M. A. and M. J. Herselman (2005). Comparison of

productive and reproductive efficiency of Afrino, Dorper and Merino sheep in the False Upper Karoo. South African Journal of Animal Science 35(2): 98-108