Texel moves to economic indexes

Texels move to Economic Indexes to drive profitability in commercial sector

texelplus indexes are changing, supporting an increased focus on commercially cherished traits that directly impact on commercial producers’ profitability. Working closely with AbacusBio, as part of the Society Breed Development strategy, the Society has updated the Texel breeding objective.

The new texelplus economic indexes, due to be launched in Spring 2023, will enable breeders and commercial farmers that use Texel genetics to identify sheep for specific market outcomes. There are new economic indexes for both terminal and maternal traits.

The purpose of new Indexes

Texel breeding objectives

Breeding decisions affect farm profitability, with marginal gains in Texel genetic improvement worth millions of pounds to the UK industry.

Breeders and commercial producers will be able to select stock using the Terminal or Maternal Index published on iTexel, the Society’s registry and genetic improvement services database, and in Society sales catalogues.

The main Indexes are supported by sub-Indexes that provide information on the economic potential of individual sheep’s growth, size, reproduction and carcass quality. In turn, these sub-Indexes are underpinned by individual breeding values that have been available to texelplus members for years.

Sub-index Terminal Index Maternal Index Growth 8-week weight 8-week weight Scan weight Scan weight Adult size Mature weight Reproduction Lambing ease Lambing ease Litter size born Maternal ability Carcass quality Muscle weight Muscle weight Fat weight Fat weight IMF IMF Table 1. Breeding values included in the sub-indexes for the terminal and maternal economic indexes

Winter 2022

Development of resources to explain £indexes to breeders

Spring 2023

Launch economic Indexes changes on iTexel.

Email communication with members

Summer 2023 Sales catalogues display economic indexes

Spring / Summer 2023 Webinar to members

This major change in the calculation and publishing of Texel indexes will redefine how Texel genetic improvement information is presented. These changes aim to support flock owners’ breeding decisions and assist breeders in the sale of performance recorded sheep. They will provide a clearer identification of Texel stock that support both terminal production and maternal replacements.

Influence of Texel breed on UK industry

27% of all sires used in UK are Texel and 17% of the national flock is Texel sired.

While new to Texel breeders the display of economic indexes is not pioneering, having been adopted for many years in the UK and global dairy industries, New Zealand and Ireland sheep and beef industries.

Tim Byrne of AbacusBio said: “The Texel Sheep Society has ensured due diligence in securing consultancy from AbacusBio, an organisation which has been instrumental in developing economic breeding indices for multiple species, breeds and industries across the world over the last two decades.

“The Texel breeding objective supported by the new economic indexes will allow farmers to directly estimate the effect of breeding decisions on farm profitability. It will also allow the Texel Society to measure the economic impacts of genetic improvement and evaluate different investments in the breeding program, by providing criteria by which to quantify return on investment.

“AbacusBio has been working with the British Texel Sheep Society (TSS) since 2014, carrying out economic analyses, providing consulting services on genetic and genomic improvement planning, and supporting breeding program design and implementation,” he added.