Sheep Ireland uses the central progeny test (CPT) flocks to assess the performance of sheep in a commercial setting and to validate the €uro-Star ratings.
The results of this validation work,which was carried out in 2019 and is summarised in Table 1, showed that progeny from five-star terminal rams had 4.9% less lambing difficulty, were 2.1kg heavier at 40 days of age and were 2.6kg heavier at weaning.
These findings highlight the additional gains that can be made with regard to lambing difficulty, which will reduce lamb mortality and labour, while the gains in lamb performance will reduce the days to slaughter of the lambs and reduce the overall cost of production.