Combined LAMBPLAN set to streamline genetic decisions

Sheep Genetics, operated by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), released the new Combined LAMBPLAN research analysis in August 2025. 

This world-first, landmark advancement further reinforces Australia’s status as a world leader in livestock genetic evaluation by significantly expanding and enhancing the multibreed capabilities of Sheep Genetics. 

For the first time, producers will be able to directly compare the genetic merit of all maternal and terminal breeds (excluding Merinos and Dohnes) within a single, unified evaluation. Merino types will continue to be assessed through the MERINOSELECT analysis. 

MLA’s Sheep Genetics Manager, Peta Bradley, said the new evaluation reflects both industry progress in improving genetics of the flock and producer demand for greater clarity and consistency in genetic benchmarking. 

“Combined LAMBPLAN is a game-changer for sheep producers. It simplifies genetic evaluation and gives breeders and commercial producers the ability to make more informed decisions across a wider range of production systems.” Ms Bradley said. 

What makes this truly significant is that it enables producers to benchmark animals across breeds with greater accuracy and confidence, helping them select genetics that best suit their business goals, regardless of breed type.

Combined LAMBPLAN has come about due to a desire to meet the demands of an evolving industry and will enable: 

• The ability to directly compare the genetic merit of all Terminal and Maternal breeds (excluding Merinos and Dohnes). 

• The future ability to develop and provide better commercial genetic selection tools and outcomes under a single analysis e.g., Flock Profile and other commercial genomic products. 

• New commercial indexes to be created using recently developed and refined index software. 

• Each animal receives one set of ASBVs that are fully comparable to all other animals in Combined LAMBPLAN, allowing better decisions for a wider variety of unique production systems. 

• Updates to the genetic parameters and computation which underpins the genetic evaluation. 

• Computational updates to the evaluation allowing for long-term sustainability of the evaluation. 

The Combined LAMBPLAN analysis was developed by The University of New England’s Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit (AGBU) and was released initially as a research analysis for carcase, growth and eating quality traits in August 2025. 

Over the next 12 months, additional trait groups will be added, these include reproduction, worm egg count and lambing ease.  

“To prepare for the release of Combined LAMBPLAN, producers are encouraged to set clear breeding objectives and identify traits that are most important to their business,” Ms Bradley said. 

“Benchmarking current flock performance is critical, and re-benchmarking with the new percentile bands will ensure alignment with the updated evaluation.” 

To assist producers with the transition to the analysis Sheep Genetics has prepared a comprehensive package of videos and resources available on the Sheep Genetics website. For more information on Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBVs) producers can register for a BredWell FedWell workshop in their area. 

“The ability to combine Maternal and Terminal breeds into a single evaluation has been made possible through a series of strategic investments over the past decade,” Ms Bradley said.  

“These include the foundational work of the Information Nucleus Flock under the Sheep CRC, the development and expansion of the MLA Resource Flock, the redevelopment of the Sheep Genetics Database, and MLA’s continued long-term investment into the Sheep Genetics evaluations. 

“This new analysis and the subsequent tools that the enhancements provide are a prime example of our investment towards delivering on MLA’s bold ambition to establish world leading multibreed evaluations that enable livestock to be described throughout the supply chain,” Ms Bradley said. 

These initiatives have laid the groundwork for a more robust, inclusive, and commercially relevant genetic evaluation system.