Genetic Approaches to Parasite Control

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Sheep GEMS News Brief 12 – March 2025 In the last Sheep GEMS news brief, we talked about the impact of parasites on production, and it was eluded that genetic selection can be a very promising means to manage worm parasites. Continuing with the Sheep GEMS theme of breeding for climatic resilience and robustness across environments, parasite resistant sheep express improved fitness. Determining fecal egg counts (FEC) at the time of weaning and post-weaning is a measure of parasite resistance already included in the National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP). Collaboration with the GEMS innovation flocks and 3 USDA ARS facilities…

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Economic Impacts of Udder Diseases

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Sheep GEMS News Brief 9 – January 2025 A nationwide survey conducted in 2011 by the USDA APHIS estimated that 14% of U.S. ewes (402,000 head) are culled each year. Of ewes culled, 56% are removed for old age. Culling for age is a good thing as these ewes have been productive for years, but we have limited resources and need to make room for younger, genetically superior females. The flip side is that 44% of cull ewes leave the flock early, which is not a good thing. The most common reasons for culling ewes prematurely are failure to lamb…

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Size Matters

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From the perspective of a long-time, full-time farmer, this article will address the topic of mature ewe size. As we seek to improve the growth and performance of our lambs, we are also producing larger adult animals. The harder we push for improved growth and performance, the faster we accelerate the trend toward bigger ewes. Big sheep catch our attention. We may have an inborn human preference for bigger animals. The bigger sheep seem superior to the small ones. They win lots of ribbons at the sheep shows. A majority of my seed stock customers purchase the biggest animals in…

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Genetic Diversity within Breeds

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Sheep GEMS News Brief 8 – Early December 2024 The genetic diversity available within each sheep breed gives us tremendous opportunity to make genetic improvement. That snapshot of the genetic diversity currently available is extremely valuable since it provides a benchmark for comparing the consequences of selection over time in individual breeds. To establish that starting point, we used both pedigree- and molecular-based information to assess genetic diversity in the four breeds involved in Sheep GEMS. For each of the breeds we evaluated—Katahdin, Polypay, Rambouillet, and Suffolk—we found substantial genetic diversity. That coincides with low inbreeding levels. So, what do…

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NSIP Katahdin Percentile Report

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EBVs of different animals can be directly compared with each other, but how do they compare to the rest of the sheep in NSIP? The Percentile Report, generated by NSIP, is a tool that allows you to evaluate individual animals, set breeding goals, help with marketing and sales, as well as to understand what is available in the breed. As a producer you need to know how to read the Percentile Report, explain it to customers and know what data goes into calculating the percentiles. Note: This article uses the NSIP Katahdin Percentile Report that was generated on 12/18/2024. Percentile…

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Genetic Diversity

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Sheep GEMS News Brief 7 – October 2024 Genetic diversity is what allows for adaptation and evolution in response to change, whether that change is environmental or consumer driven. As we look across the array of domestic sheep breeds throughout the U.S., the genetic diversity is clear. From fine-wool to long-wool, hair to dairy, and all in-between, there is a wide variety of diversity that exists in sheep breeds. While the differences among breeds can be stark, shared characteristics among individuals are what define a breed. Yet within a breed, no two individuals are the same as considerable variation exists…

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Blending Technology & Tradition to Achieve Breeding Goals

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We talk a lot about tradition in the American sheep industry. Traditions aren’t stagnant, they get modified from one generation to the next as new information and insights are gained. Nearly everything in modern sheep production – be that fences, milk replacer or RFID readers – was at one time a state-of-the-art technology. Whether we choose to adopt a new technology is dependent on economics and those intangibles that define our unique perspectives for raising sheep in the first place.From the dawn of sheep domestication until the last 50 years or so, the only available technologies to select replacement animals…

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Additional NSIP Genetic conditions from genotypes: PRNP, MSTN, FecB, CLPG

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Sheep GEMS Update – September 2024 The Sheep GEMS project has enabled producers to capture genetic information from their animals with the intent to simultaneously make genomic predictions of breeding values, verifying parentage, and identifying genetic condition status. Such multiple uses of a single genotyping platform will help avoid the extra costs of running DNA tests separately for these different purposes. Our objective was to develop and validate a process to accurately obtain genetic conditions as one outcome of genotyping with a common medium-density (50K markers) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) platform (assay), and to estimate frequencies of those genetic conditions…

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A Tribute to Dr. Charles Parker, Mentor and Friend

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Dr. Charles Parker (1935-2024) was a sheep specialist, researcher, industry leader and experienced advisor to many of us in the Katahdin breed. As an early supporter of the breed, Charles felt that Katahdins could and should be the Complete Meat Sheep, genetically balanced for reproductive and growth efficiency and easily adapted to diverse production systems. Following his death in July 2024 we decided to compile some of his advice and guidance over the years to share with others. In collaboration with the Piel Farm, Heifer Project and some of the early Katahdin breeders, Charles was instrumental in the development of…

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Using genotypes to reduce susceptibility to Ovine Progressive Pneumonia (OPP)

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Sheep GEMS News Brief 5 – late-August 2024 In the U.S., the disease Ovine Progressive Pneumonia (OPP) causes extensive welfare and financial losses due to decreased ewe productivity of about 20% and eventual culling or death of breeding stock. Surveys of U.S. sheep have shown that 36% of sheep operations have infected animals and 24% of all animals tested were seropositive. Once infected, sheep remain infected for life, and there is no effective treatment or vaccine. Sheep producers can eradicate OPP from a flock in two ways. First, is by serological testing and removing all infected sheep with the obvious…

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