Allbirds Visit to NZ Feb _ March 2020 Tuohys Gully ZQ.11.jpg

Unlocking the potential of your sheep production system

At The New Zealand Merino Company, we understand that every property is unique and that there is no 'one-size-fits-all' solution. We want to help you find the 'perfect sheep' and production system for your farming enterprise.

This website is a library of the work that NZM's production science team undertakes, with a focus on four key principles:

  • Market-led production: Focusing on what your production system can produce best, and producing it to your target market's specifications.

  • Breed well: Selecting genetics that meet your breeding objective and suit your environment.

  • Feed well: Developing year-round forage and monitoring systems to unlock the genetic potential of your sheep.

  • Keep them well: Optimising animal health and welfare through best-practice management.

Here, you will find tools and information to help you get the most out of your sheep production system. 

 

Updates:

Featured
2021 CPT Sires

In May, nine industry sires were mated to an even line of ewes to produce the 2021 drop at the CPT. You can view the sires here with their current EBVs.

CPT 2019 Results

All data has been collected on the 2019 CPT sheep and is available to view here.

Release of the new footrot breeding value - 2020

The NZ fine wool industry is now racing towards a footrot free future having passed a significant milestone – the commercialisation of a breeding value for footrot, through the sheep breeding value platform ‘Sheep Genetics’.

CPT 2018 Results

Click here to access a data summary of the traits that have been measured in the 2018-born CPT animals so far.

Managing Flystrike & Lice

In collaboration with the NZ Sheep and Beef Cattle Veterinarians and Beef + Lamb New Zealand, we have developed the following practical guide to help farmers manage flystrike & lice on sheep. For your copy of these guidelines, click here.

Footrot Project Update - June 2019

Seven years ago, NZM initiated the fine-wool Central Progeny Test, which is a key source of the data required to develop an estimated breeding value (EBV) for footrot.

Since 2013, the fine-wool industry has built a footrot breeding value (BV) database containing 32,000 sheep with reportable breeding values. In the 2018 / 19 sale season there were 4,500 (2017-born) stud ram hoggets in the industry with a footrot BV available.

The footrot project has laid a foundation for the New Zealand fine-wool industry to have a commercially available breeding value for footrot susceptibility. We aim to have the footrot BV available publicly as an ASBV, generated though Sheep Genetics’ ‘MERINOSELECT’ analysis in early 2020.

Click here for a summary.