The new combined LAMBPLAN began rollout in August 2025 and will be released in phases until April 2027 when the current Australian Sheep Breeding Value (ASBV) analyses will be turned off.
This single, unified system will allow producers to compare Terminal and Maternal breeds. Producers will now be able to directly compare the genetic merit of a Poll Dorset and a Border Leicester ram.
The use of this new system will lead to longer-term benefits such as access to more genomic tools such as Flock Profiles, which Merino producers have had for years.
“The practical upside for commercial producers is simpler, more reliable benchmarking of genetic merit across breeds – you can compare apples with apples.”
The Combined LAMBPLAN can be accessed through the drop-down search menu on the Sheep Genetics database, as you would when selecting merinos/maternal/terminal etc.
Some key points for producers to note:
- The reference points used to calculate the ASBVs have been updated as there is now a larger population of animals in the same evaluation. Therefore, ASBV numbers will look a little different.
- The ranking of animals is largely preserved. Your best rams are still your best.
- Re-benchmark against the new percentile bands rather than focusing on comparing numbers between the two systems.
- For education purposes, it is worth searching a few rams in both databases to see how values compare, but don’t get caught up in the value differences, look at the percentile bands.
Brittany (DPIRD) reinforced that, “if you have ASBVs benchmarked in your mind from years of reading sale catalogues, be conscious that those numbers will look different in the new analysis and upcoming sale seasons.”
There are resources that align with each rollout phase available on the Sheep Genetics website and Youtube channel including webinars and the Analysis Enhancements Booklet.
LAMBPLAN Rollout Phases
South West NRM’s FEaST2030 project is supported by the Australian Government through funding from the Natural Heritage Trust under the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program.