Results confirm that the progeny from White Suffolk sires are on average tender and juicy.These results are from the terminal sires used in the Sheep CRC Information Nucleus progeny test Research Breeding Values for carcase traits.While these are preliminary basic research results the desired breeding values for these traits are a positive figure for IMF and negative for ShearF5.
Further research is currently being undertaken.
Intramuscular Fat (IMF) relates to the amount of juiciness in the meat (the higher the breeding value the more intramuscular fat and therefore more juicy meat) and Shear Force (ShearF5) relates to how tender the meat is (the lower or more negative the breeding value the less force is required to cut the meat and therefore the more tender is the meat).
Trait | IMF | IMF | ShearF5 | ShearF5 |
Breed | White Suffolk | Poll Dorset | White Suffolk | Poll Dorset |
Highest | 1.3 | 0.6 | -5.7 | -2.7 |
Lowest | -0.3 | -1.0 | 3.4 | 11.3 |
Average | 0.22 | -0.31 | -1.13 | 2.17 |
Full individual sire results can be found at
http://www.sheepgenetics.org.au/Resources/Genomic-Results
Then click on “Breeding Values – Updated September 2013”