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Dupath farm has been part of the RamCompare project since 2017. Ewes are lambed indoors in March before being turned out into grass paddocks as part of a rotational system, lambs are finished from grass from mid-June. In 2023 lambs were sired by Hampshire Down, Shropshire, Suffolk, Meatlinc, Texel and Charollais rams, with a large number of Charollais on test this year. This included recent top-performing genetics compared against sires born over 40 years ago using semen that has been stored for many decades.

Latest breed reports from the RamCompare project the UK’s commercial progeny test for terminal sires. To date we have slaughter data included from 468 rams from 17 different breeds, collecting data from over 44,000 lambs in one of the largest trials of its kind.

In Wales, HCC have supported Signet’s genetic improvement programme for many years; with the Hill Ram Scheme being a major success in introducing genomic technology into national sheep breeding programmes. However for the coming year, budgetary changes mean that HCC are unable to fund:-

• Routine support for Signet’s genetic evaluations for breeders in Wales
• CT scanning (or the genotyping of CT scanned animals) for breeders in Wales

Friday 5^th April saw the first ram sale of 2024 at Exeter Livestock Centre on behalf of the Centurion Group of Dorset Breeders. An entry of 43 Signet recorded sheep, which attracted buyers in person and online across the UK.

For over 50 years, Poll Dorset and Dorset Horn sheep breeders have measured the performance of lambs on their farms with the aim of enhancing their value at the abattoir.