Buying a ram that is functional and will deliver the desired genetic traits in flock progeny is essential for the future success of any sheep flock.

The 'old school' flock owners often prefer to buy their rams based solely on visual appearance and a quick physical examination, but many of the top breeders are now increasingly casting an eye on the performance figures and data that is also available for pedigree rams.

This data can give ram buyers an additional insight into what to expect from the progeny of the ram they are buying.

Many farmers are familiar with Sheep Ireland and the €uro-Star indexes, but the reality is there are farmers who struggle to interpret what the stars, percentages, and figures on the page actually mean.

The result of the data collection and processing work of Sheep Ireland is the generation of €uro-Star Indexes, which can be a useful selection tool for pedigree and commercial sheep farmers when making breeding decisions in their flocks, according to Sheep Ireland's Ignatio Mullen.

Sheep Ireland's aim is to increase the genetic merit of the national sheep flock for economically important traits.

With ram sale season now upon us, and most sales including €uro-Star evaluations in their catalogue, Mullen explained how farmers can use this information to their benefit.

He said: "Data is collected on various traits that affect a flock owner's profit margin and is then combined together into the various €uro-Star Evaluations.

"It has never been easier for farmers to identify and source the right genetics for their flock.

"The majority of lowland breed societies in Ireland host their flockbooks on the national database. In turn, the €uro-Stars are visible in each society's sales catalogues for the performance-recorded animals."

For farmers who prefer to buy directly from the breeder, the website's 'Ram Search' option has data on rams available.

It allows farmers to look up the details of individual rams and search for local performance-recording breeders. It is also a useful tool to find Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS)-approved rams.

Sheep Ireland introduced genomic evaluations in 2020, which involve submitting tissue samples for genotyping.

This allows Sheep Ireland to look at the DNA profile of the animal to better predict how animals and their progenies will perform in the future.

Mullen explained: "The 'Replacement' and 'Terminal' Indexes are designed and weighted using a bio-economic model to aid the selection of animals that will produce the best genetics for the industry, and to rank these animals on the predicted profitability per lamb born.

€uro-Stars attached to an animal remain within breed, ranking each index in 20% groupings with 1-star representing the bottom 20% of the breed for that trait and 5-stars representing the top 20%.

The higher the stars, the higher the predicted profitability of that animal within that breed.

The €uro-values of each trait and index can be compared across breeds, which allows any two rams to be compared to each other, regardless of breed.

Top tips for ram purchasers using the €uro Star index:

Identify what aspect(s) of your flock's performance you would like the ram to improve:

Production ability of your lambs (growth-days to slaughter, carcass weight, etc);
Maternal ability of your ewes (weaning weight, number of lambs born, etc);
Lambing ease of your ram(s).

Once the desired traits have been identified, select the ram(s) based on the traits you want to improve most in your flock.

It is important to pay attention to the accuracy % figures of the €uroStars at all times.

'Accuracy %' represents the amount of data attached to a particular animal or bloodline, and is displayed for each index. The more information available, the higher the accuracy will be.

The €uro-Star figures should be used as a tool to help in the selection process. The higher the Accuracy %  of the figures, the more confidence you can place in the Index.

The selected ram should of course meet the buyer's requirements from a physical check and a visual viewpoint.

Visual guide to understanding the Sheep Ireland €uro star incices;

As the old saying goes, 'a ram is half the flock', and buying a good ram is often the easiest and cheapest way to bring about improved progeny performance or enhance the genetic merit of a flock's progeny.