The Sheep CRC patented the Pedigree Matchmaker invention in the name of the Sheep CRC crew in Orange, and several other boffins. There was no recognition of the Centre Plus involvement. They claimed it was done to protect the Sheep Industry from big business grabbing the concept and making money out of it, to the exclusion of others.
In negotiations between the Sheep CRC and Centre Plus it was agreed that Centre Plus could use its own program to analyse members data but that all other data had to go through NSW Ag ( now I&I NSW) Advanced Breeding Services to be analyzed. It was felt by both parties that the data needed to be properly analyzed to an Industry standard to prevent low accuracy pedigree data from entering Industry databases.
The following year several Research stations and a couple of studs began using the Pedigree Matchmaker system. From that small start there has been a constant increase in the uptake of the technology. Indeed it has been a great Sheep CRC success story.
Centre Plus does much of its own research but on two occasions now it has worked in collaboration with firstly the first Sheep CRC on implementing e-tags into a stud breeding program. This project was highly successful creating a great improvement in the accuracy of data collection and massive reductions in labour / time taken to do many tasks. It also allowed us to collect much more data we could not justify collecting before.
More data (knowledge of the flock) equals more accurate breeding decisions.
Centre Plus freely passes on all knowledge from this research to anyone in the Industry.
Centre Plus is working in collaboration with the second Sheep CRC on implementing e-tags into commercial flock breeding programs to test the economics of the idea.
We are working on four main areas we see potential for greatest improvement in profitability.
1 Reducing the set up and e-tag costs. This has made the big companies very twitchy as they seem more intent on producing more and more fancy and expensive units to out do one another. In most cases there can be cheaper ways of doing things.
2 Plotting growth rates of feedlot wethers. Finding which ones to finish and which ones to sell early etc.
3 Reducing the costs and time taken to collect maiden ewe data for creating EBV’s while increasing the accuracy at the same time.
4 Two members have done some Pedigree Matchmaker work on their commercial flocks. With the recognition that between twins & singles, there is a 6% difference in Greasy Fleece Weight, a 5% difference in Body Weight along with being .66 mic stronger, most measurement systems and indeed most classers would cull mostly twins. With Pedigree Matchmaker data the twin lambs can have EBV adjustments or classed separately.
Over the last few years constant drought has meant most Centre Plus members have had the battle of economic survival, highest on their priorities.
This has reduced the speed of our research projects. On the return of more normal seasons our research projects should again gain a high level of excitement.