Stud and commercial Merino enthusiasts converged on Keyneton Station in the Barossa Valley to compare the performance of some of the state’s best sires.
On display at the inaugural trial field day were more than 550 progeny from 16 different sires, drafted into their sire lines.
They were the progeny of a major AI program in January 2017 and have been run under the same environmental conditions for the past year.
The SA site was established in 2017 at Keyneton Station and is one of 10 sites run by the Australian Merino Sire Evaluation Association.
Field day attendees at Keyneton had access to the adjusted flock means and breeding values for each sire, across a wide range of growth, wool and carcase traits.
They were taken through how to interpret these results by AMSEA executive officer Ben Swain.
The woolly ewe and wether lambs will be shorn in September when greasy fleece weight will be recorded.
Australian Wool Innovation program manager genetics and animal welfare advocacy Geoff Lindon spoke about a survey he conducted late last year with 40 woolgrowers who had moved to a non-mulesed Merino enterprise, while SARDI affiliate Simon Walker discussed an AI research project he is involved in.
