Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Twitter LinkedIn
    • FREE Email Newsletters
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Contact Us
    Twitter LinkedIn
    Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    • News
      • Arable & Agronomy
      • Dealership News
      • Environmental Land Management Scheme/Policy
      • Event News
      • Health & Safety
      • Machinery
      • People
      • World News
    • Farm Machinery
      • Amenity & Maintenance
      • Cultivations
      • Drilling
      • Grassland Equipment
      • Harvesting
      • Muck & Slurry
      • Sprayers
      • Telehandlers
      • Tractors
      • Tractor of the Year
      • Tyres & Tracks
      • Whatever happened to?
    • Precision Farming
    • Markets & Policy
    • Profiles
      • National Arable and Grassland Awards
      • Company Profiles
      • Reader Profiles
    • Livestock
      • Beef
      • Dairy
      • Sheep
    • Magazines
      1. June 2025 issue
      2. Cereals event guide 2025
      3. May 2025 issue
      4. April 2025 issue
      5. March 2025 issue
      6. 2025 Tyre Developments supplement
      7. February 2025 issue
      8. National Arable and Grassland Awards supplement
      9. January 2025 issue
      10. December 2024 issue
      11. November 2024 issue
      12. October 2024 issue
      13. September 2024 issue
      14. August 2024 Issue
      15. 2024 Drills and Seeds supplement
      16. July 2024 Issue
      17. Cereals Supplement
      18. June 2024 Issue
      19. May 2024 Issue
      20. April 2024 Issue
      21. Tyres and Tracks Supplement
      22. March 2024 Issue
      23. National Arable & Grassland Award – Meet the Finalists
      24. February 2024 Issue
      25. January 2024 Issue
      26. December 2023
      27. Agritechnica Preview Supplement
      28. November 2023
      29. October 2023
      Featured

      Cereals event guide 2025 available now

      By Matthew TiltJune 20, 2025
      Recent

      Cereals event guide 2025 available now

      June 20, 2025

      June 2025 issue available now

      June 2, 2025

      May 2025 issue available now

      May 1, 2025
    • Events
    • Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Livestock

    New Maternal Index introduced to improve Lleyn breeding productivity

    John SwireBy John SwireSeptember 13, 20172 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

    A new Maternal Index and additional traits have been introduced to the Lleyn sheep breeding analysis to improve productivity and profit.

    The changes implemented by Signet Breeding Services will offer significant improvements to the maternal traits of replacement females while continuing to gain in lamb growth and carcase traits.

    The new index identifies high performing ‘all-rounders’ to boost traits in order to control the number of single and triplet births, ewe mature size, along with monitoring fatness to enhance productivity.

    Ailish Ross, Signet specialist breeding sdviser, said: “These changes to the Lleyn breed’s genetic evaluation will enable breeders to select the most profitable maternal lines to continue improving their flock. Buyers at ram sales will also be able to choose animals that are more likely to produce offspring that will perform well in commercial systems, helping to push forward productivity and the success of the breed.”

    In addition to the new index, research funded by AHDB and carried out by Scotland’s Rural College/EGENES has identified a number of new maternal traits, which have an overall impact on ewe productivity. The aim of including these within breeding programmes is to produce more profitable female replacements.

    Estimated breeding values (EBVs) are now available for:

    • Ewe longevity (years)
    • Age at first lambing (years)
    • Lambing interval (days)
    • Lamb survival (number of lambs)

    Driving greater on-farm uptake of genetic potential by increasing the use and understanding of EBVs forms part of AHDB Beef & Lamb’s 2017-2020 ‘Inspiring Success’ strategy, which sets out priorities for the organisation over the next three years.

     

    Tweet
    Share
    Share
    Pin
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Previous ArticleHSE issues warning to potato growers
    Next Article New ALKA feed options highlight versatility of alkalisation
    John Swire

    Read Similar Stories

    Funded vet visits to help farmers tackle endemic diseases

    June 26, 2025

    Spread-a-Bale launches new high performance spreader

    June 23, 2025

    Cereals event guide 2025 available now

    June 20, 2025
    Most Read Stories

    Calls for government to include food redistribution into SFI

    July 2, 2025

    Kramp launches own-brand PTOs

    July 1, 2025

    Turney Group to take on Merlo brand with new dedicated depot

    July 1, 2025
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer

    The UK's leading agricultural machinery journal

    Twitter LinkedIn
    © 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

    Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms & Conditions

    • Farmers Weekly
    • AA Farmer
    • Poultry News
    • Pig World

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.