WESTERN Victoria’s leading merino rams will be showcased on Friday, March 1 with the Balmoral Sire Evaluation Group (BMSEVG) field day.

The group is part of the Merino Super Sires programme (MSS), which compares the breeding performance of a sire by evaluating his progeny and the expressed traits relative to the progeny of other elite MSS sires.

Progeny are evaluated to assess a sire’s breeding performance for a large number of traits which are important to breeders and commercial producers.

The results assist in the selection of sires suitable for a large range of breeding objectives.

MSS is overseen by Australian Merino Sire Evaluation Association (AMSEA) and funded by Australian Wool Innovation (AWI).

Group chairman, Mark Bunge pointed out MSS is part of the world’s largest sheep genetic evaluation programme and that the field day was an important event for merino flockmasters.

Speakers will include Robert Herrmann, agency market and product specialist with Nutrien Ag Solutions, executive officer of the National Council of Wool Selling Brokers of Australia and founding director of Mecardo agricultural consultants.

Mr Herrmann will explain why merinos still make money.

“We know merinos are profitable,” he said.

“They are suited to conditions across much of Australia.

“In 1990 there were 190 million sheep in Australia of which 90 per cent were merinos, now there are between 74 and 78 million, of which 76 per cent are merinos.

“The merino is an outstanding animal and, in a world increasingly concerned with sustainability, it should be incorporated into more farming systems.”

Mr Herrmann said that he will emphasise the “heavy lifting” done by groups like the BMSEVG.

“Improvements to wool quality as well as carcase weight mean that the merino should be considered by more farmers,” he said.

“There is a fight for acres (now under crop) and a fight between merinos and prime lamb production.”

Mr Herrmann concluded by saying that advocacy is essential.

The other speaker will be Gunnedah (NSW) woolgrower and AMSEA executive officer, Ben Swain who will talk about the outcomes over the eight years since 2015 that the programme has been running.

“Basically I will be talking about better ways to breed sheep,” he said.

“The results from the early years of the project are now coming available.

“The programme started in 2015 and is the biggest sheep genetic programme in the world.  It is still collecting data and its effects will be felt for the next twenty years.”

The field day on March 1 will commence at 10am at “Warooka”, 668 Dundas Gap Road, Melville Forest and continue at 12pm at Austral Park, 121 Austral Park Road, Tarrenlea, where lunch will be available.