The potential value of international sheep evaluations

Authors: HESS, ANDREW - University Of Reno; BRITO, LUIZ - Purdue University; Murphy, Thomas - Tom

Submitted to: Sheep Industry News
Publication Type: Popular Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/26/2023
Publication Date: 8/1/2023
Citation: Hess, A.S., Brito, L.F., Murphy, T.W. 2023. The potential value of international sheep evaluations. Sheep Industry News. (27)8:30-31.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP) is a genetic evaluation program for the U.S. sheep industry and has been in existence since the late 1980s. Many of the world's top-producing sheep industries incorporated genomic information into their genetic evaluations several years ago, but has just recently been developed in the NSIP. Genomic information not only improves the accuracy of prediction compared to pedigree relationships alone, but can also be used to combine data from two or more populations with unknown pedigree relationships. For example, most sheep breeds are reared throughout the world but international evaluations were previously limited by weak pedigree relationships among animals reared in different countries. However, genomic relationships likely exist and it could be mutually beneficial to sheep researchers and producers if genetic evaluations were considered in an international context. This article was written for the August 2023 edition of "Sheep Industry News", a monthly publication of the American Sheep Industry Association. The article discusses the potential for international sheep genetic evaluations