News

We have the pleasure of announcing three new farms who join other existing RamCompare commercial farms this season.

Embryo transfer is a powerful reproductive technology for increasing the number of lambs born with the same parents and having similar genetic makeup, however progeny don’t inherit the same genes as one another. Now genomic data is used within Signet’s genetic analyses, we can start to identify exactly which genes are passed on to the progeny from a specific mating and the breeding values produced will reflect this.

Woodburn Poll Dorsets have focused on performance recording to optimise ewe performance and health on a forage based system. They have integrated herbal lays into their rotation and use data collected for the performance appraisal of the business with their vet.

Location: Woodburn Farm Partnership, West Woodburn, EX16 9JU . W3W ////kitchen.loving.poses

RamCompare farmer, Alwyn Nutting, and Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC) invite you to join them for this farm event which will showcase progress of the RamCompare project and will feature AFN+ Breeding Better and LUNZ Grasslands, two new research projects.

Thursday 4^th September 2025, 2pm – 5pm, Glascoed Farm, Aberhafesp, Newtown, Powys, SY16 3HU

We will be taking a tour of Stonehill Romneys, courtesy of Dineley Farming, where we will see the feeding and management tools they use to realise potential from their performance-recorded Romneys. Lookingat the importance of recording in helping this flock achieve its goals, and the significance of these when purchasing rams. The tour will cover herbal leys, fodder beet outwintering, EID recording and parasite resilience.

In 2025 the Charollais breed released genomic breeding values created in collaboration with AHDB/Signet Breeding Services and use the genotypes collected by the Charollais Society as part of the sire verification process.  A full set of genomic breeding values for Signet recorded animals can be found on the Signet website www.signetdata.com with many of the most important traits published in this catalogue.

Farming Connect Article - Finding the most profitable ram

The greatest challenge when ram buyers are selecting rams to breed female replacements is that many of the important traits can’t be assessed simply by looking at the ram. To identify those rams whose daughters will lamb easily and rear a heavy pair of twins each year, you need to record the performance of the flock and select breeding lines that excel for future breeding.

This is exactly the philosophy at High Country Romney, where over 12,000 sheep have been performance recorded with Signet and SIL on a commercial, grass based system to identify those sheep with the most profitable genetics.

To date, nearly 7,500 abattoir records have been supplied for pure-bred Dorset lambs and using genetic approaches established through the RamCompare project. We now have a much better understanding of the genetic relationships that exist between those traits measured in the live animal within our pedigree flocks and those attributes expressed by progeny in the abattoir at the point of slau

Whatever the system, whatever the target weights and market for their lambs, this year’s results  shows the value of using high genetic merit sires shining through – whether this is through increasing carcase weight, enhancing conformation or reducing days to slaughter.