The Texel breed and Texel Sheep Society will once again be front and centre at this year’s regional sheep events being held across the UK, with Texels central to many of the host farm’s sheep enterprises and the Society supporting young shepherds’ competitions at Highland Sheep, Welsh Sheep, Sheep South West and Sheep Northern Ireland.
Society chief executive John Yates says the Society’s support for NSA events has been unwavering since the breed’s introduction into the UK more than 50 years ago. “NSA regional events are a great opportunity for farmers and all involved in the sheep industry to come together, learn, socialise and gain a deeper insight into the issues affecting the industry today.
“The Texel Sheep Society’s support of young shepherds’ competitions at these events is part of its commitment to the next generation of sheep farmers through its Youth Development Programme.
“With the industry across the UK adapting to a post-Brexit era with the ongoing changes to support and environmental payments, these events are central to helping farmers evolve their businesses as well as encouraging the next generation to pursue careers in the sheep industry.”
Additionally, they allow sheep breeding organisations to showcase the latest developments in genetic improvement, something the Society has pioneered for many years, says Mr Yates.
“Central to the Society’s message is that genetic improvement in the Texel breed is projected to deliver more than £334 million in value to the UK sheep industry over the next 20 years.
“The Society’s adoption of economic indexes in 2023 is expected to add a further £16.9 million, driven by more targeted genetic selection based on economic merit.
“Meanwhile, the Society’s implementation of genomic evaluations in 2024 has pushed performance in the breed in further forward, with sizeable improvements in index accuracy values,” explains Mr Yates.
The Society’s data and technical services manager Ed Smith, has analysed data for males born in 2022 (shearling rams) and 2023 (ram lambs), comparing their performance in the last ‘non-genomic’ evaluation and the first genomic evaluation in early 2024.
“Comparing the Terminal Index accuracy values for animals that were genotyped with those that weren’t shows the impact of having a genotype on their figures. The results are clear: genomics is making a big difference.”
Having invested in genomics information for two decades and following the adoption of genomic evaluations in 2024, the Society reports substantial gains in both accuracy and value of genetic indexes:
- Genotyped animals saw an average 25% increase in index value versus 14% for non-genotyped.
- Accuracy jumped by 20% in genotyped ram lambs and 19% in shearlings, while remaining static for non-genotyped stock.