RamCompare
RamCompare – The Commercial Progeny Test
RamCompare is a major partnership that enables the UK sheep industry to drive genetic improvement forward through the inclusion of commercial data in genetic evaluations.
RamCompare involves partners right along the food chain. Nominated Signet-recorded rams are taken from various terminal sire breeds and used on commercial farms in the UK.
RamCompare is 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.
RamCompare Results
Learn more about about the new ways Signet are are using carcase data - download here
Take a quick look at the trait leaders
- Beltex - Leading rams based on Lamb Value - Analysis date April 2024
- Bleu du Maine - See individual animal records, limit numbers of rams tested to date
- Blue Texel - Analysis date April 2024
- Charollais - Analysis date April 2024
- Dorset - Analysis date April 2024
- Hampshire Down - Analysis date April 2024
- Meatlinc - Analysis date April 2024
- Oxford Down - See individual animal records, limit numbers of rams tested to date
- Shropshire - Analysis date April 2024
- Southdown - Analysis date April 2024
- Suffolk - Analysis date April 2024
- Texel - Analysis date April 2024
Latest webinar
Latest News
- Farm Event - Breeding for better carcases and the genomic opportunity - Friday 24th May 204, Sandlands Farm, Leicestershire
- Farm Event - Farm focus on two leading UK projects RamCompare and Grasscheck – Tuesday 25 June at Penygelli Farm, North Wales
- New breeding values launched for abattoir traits
- Selecting recorded rams for carcase traits
- RamCompare seeking new rams and semen for the project
- Results webinar from Year Severn - watch here.
- Read the latest farm case studies
- RamCompare seeking new farms - RamCompare collects data from birth to slaughter from commercial UK farms and are on the look-out for new farms to recruit who have 300+ ewes, use EID for flock data collection, run all commercial lambs as one management group and have a fast-finishing system. If you are interested in participating and would like further information please contact me directly [email protected]
Our project partners
The RamCompare project involves partners from right along the UK sheep industry supply chain. It is financed by AHDB, Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC), Quality Meat Scotland and Agrisearch, with support provided by the Sainsbury’s, Randall Parker Foods, Dunbia and Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC).
The data collection is undertaken by the project farmers to whom we owe a huge debt of gratitude - you can read more about them here
Our project partners are as follows:-
AHDB is the organisation for beef and lamb levy payers in England, and is a division of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).
It exists to enhance the profitability of the English beef and lamb sector. Its aims are:
- to help the beef and lamb supply chain to be more efficient
- to help the beef and lamb meat industry to add value.
Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) is the industry-led organisation responsible for the development, promotion and marketing of Welsh red meat. Working with the whole supply chain – from farmers to retailers – HCC aims to develop the industry as well as profitable markets for Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) Welsh Lamb, PGI Welsh Beef and pork from Wales.
Quality Meat Scotland is the public body working to shape a sustainable and prospering Scottish red meat industry. QMS promotes the Scotch Beef PGI, Scotch Lamb PGI and Specially Selected Pork brands and works to improve the industry’s efficiency and to increase the public’s understanding of livestock farming and the role of beef, lamb and pork in a healthy diet.
AgriSearch (The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council) was formed in 1997 to provide a mechanism through which Northern Ireland beef, dairy and sheep farmers could have direct involvement in production orientated research. Funds contributed to AgriSearch are used to commission research into the improvement and development of beef, sheep and dairy farming. AgriSearch’s guiding principal is to provide practical benefit for primary producers to reduce costs, improve performance, drive innovation and improve welfare. Duplication of existing R&D work is avoided and every effort is made to get maximum leverage from complementary funding sources.
Founded in 1869, Sainsbury’s today operates over 1,200 stores, employing around 161,000 colleagues across the UK. With 24 million customer transactions every week, the company’s focus is on delivering high quality, affordable food, clothing and general merchandise across supermarkets, convenience stores and online. Sainsbury’s Bank offers accessible financial products that reward customers who both bank and shop with Sainsbury’s. Strong, well-established values are integral to Sainsbury’s success in helping customers Live Well for Less.
Randall Parker Foods is a leading supplier of quality lamb and beef. Our customers choose us for the best quality, provenance and service. We work closely with our farmer suppliers and combine state of the art technology with traditional butchery skills to deliver the best quality and best value products. We supply quality lamb to major high street retailers, local butchers, food service and international markets.
Dunbia is one of Europe’s leading food manufacturers supplying quality meat products for national and international retail, commercial and foodservice markets. Our desire to create better food naturally is the driving force behind everything we do and ensures we maintain a consistent focus on quality, value and success for our customers.
Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) leads the way in Agriculture and Rural Research, Education and Consultancy. Scotland’s Rural College supports innovation and sustainable development in agriculture and the rural sector in Britain and internationally. We are one of the UK’s leading agriculturally-focused higher education institutions, offering a unique blend of research, education and consultancy. SRUC’s research and education activities operate from six campuses and eight farms and research centres across Scotland. Our consultancy arm, SAC Consulting, supports more than 12,000 farms and rural businesses across the UK from 25 consultancy offices and eight veterinary disease surveillance centres.
We are extremely grateful to all of the funders, collaborators and supporters that have made RamCompare so successful.
