Tickets are on sale for the 2024 Sheep Breeders Round Table (SBRT) conference taking place on the 15-17th November 2024 at the central location of the Radisson Blu Hotel East Midlands, Derby, DE74 2TZ. The conference Breeding sheep for a greener future will cover specific sheep breeding topics within the wider role of genetics, the essential building blocks for the future of the UK sheep industry. Over the weekend attendees will gain insight to sustainable solutions, industry resilience, policy direction, profitability, breeding to meet market demands and reputation of the sector.
The full conference programme is now available – for a brief description of the weekend see below. Tickets are now on sale at Sheep Breeders Round Table Event (ahdb.org.uk) or for group bookings please contact Bridget Lloyd directly. Speakers join us from across the UK industry and beyond, alongside a host of farmers to share ideas, objectives and challenges from their organisations, research projects and individual on-farm experiences.
The conference will start at 2pm on Friday 15th November and runs through to lunchtime on Sunday 17th November. We look forward to welcoming you there for part or all of the conference!
A brief taste of the programme follows:
Friday afternoon – Breeding sheep for the environment
Speakers from AbacusBio, ADAS, Farming Connect, Innovis, ProHill Group, Sheep Ireland, SRUC and Teagasc will cover the following:
Environmental breeding goals for maternal and terminal sheep.
Observations from an international aspect and recent research studies.
Genomic and phenotypic advances in hill and maternal breeding programmes.
Highlighting breeding objectives, genetic advances and lessons learnt.
Saturday morning – A breeding vision for the market
Speakers from ABP, Euro Quality Lambs Ltd, Langrish Farmers, Lambplan Australia, Livestock Information Ltd and Morrisons will cover the following:
A retail focus exploring the green credentials of lamb – delivering a sustainable, quality product to our consumers.
What drives meat processors and how breeders are rewarded for their product.
How breeders can take control of their genetic direction and select animals to achieve breeding and marketing objectives.
Economic drivers of wool quality for increased productivity, sustainability and resilience of the industry.
Saturday afternoon – Breeding drivers for the future
Speakers from AHDB, British Texel Sheep society, EGENES, Euro Quality Lambs Ltd, Lambplan (Australia), Nottingham University and SRUC will cover the following:
A panel of experts will share their views on a number of topical issues.
A genomic focus on the future for sheep breeding with updates from current research projects.
Sunday morning – Using breeding programmes and technology to select for specific systems
Speakers from AB Europe, Farmgene, NSA, The Roslin Institute, Liz Genever and independent farmers will cover the following:
Advances in reproductive technology – embryo transfer, sexed semen and surrogate sires.
Exploring progress and consequences using high value genetics.
Focus on emerging systems in the UK with farmer insights to the challenge of selecting sheep to suit a multitude of different systems with alternative demands.
Please use the links below for the programme and online ticket purchases:
Sheep Breeders Round Table (SBRT) is run by a small volunteer committee to organise a biennial conference that provides a stage for the UK sheep industry to come together to discuss the value of genetics. It involves farmers, geneticists, researchers, breed societies, breeding companies, industry bodies and other interested parties. The conference provides an ideal platform where, together we can learn, expand and share knowledge to debate relevant topics around sheep genetic awareness and improvement. Together we strive to continue looking to the future to ensure our sheep industry keeps one step ahead of change, continuing to produce viable, affordable and efficient products while working in harmony with our natural environment.
After finishing university, Bridget worked on two well-known sheep research projects operating out of Aberystwyth University; the Longwool project and the Welsh Sheep Strategy.
In the year 2000, Bridget took a leading role in Cymru Breeding Services, (later Innovis and now known as AB Europe). Bridget was centre manager specialising in ovine fertility, operating a stud for 100 rams and coordinating four vet teams. She has specialised in ovine fertility and has worked closely with pedigree sheep and their breeders throughout her career.
With an extensive background in the sheep industry she now runs RamCompare. Her main responsibility is to liaise with project farms and abattoirs to ensure the data submitted is accurate and delivered on time, as well as co-ordinating the communication plan and ram nominations....and hundreds of other things.
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