RAM breeders participating in the second genomics pilot project have been promised a faster return of results.
The latest pilot project is open only to Merino, Poll Dorset, Border Leicester and White Suffolk breeders who participate in either LambPlan and MerinoSelect.
The Sheep Co-operative Research Centre, which is conducting the second round of on-farm testing, has places for testing 1000 rams.
Sheep CRC chief executive officer Prof James Rowe said the project was the next step towards the industry using genomic-assisted breeding values for a range of performance traits including intramuscular fat, muscle or meat tenderness and a range of conventional late-to-measure traits such as adult fleece weights and fibre diameter.
Professor Rowe said last year's pilot project involving 200 breeders and tests on 360 young sires was a learning experience for all concerned.
And, while breeders had to wait up to eight months for the results of their test, Professor Rowe said there would be a much faster turnaround with the latest pilot project.
As an incentive to breeders, each DNA test taken from a blood sample will cost them $50 a ram, compared with $100 last year.
The results from the DNA testing will be incorporated with pedigree and performance data and reported as research breeding values.
"The real essence of the genomic testing is that it will improve the accuracy or predictability of breeding values, while helping to identify hard-to-measure traits," Prof Rowe said.
