Breeding the perfect Australian sheep: ‘You recognise the elite ones right away’

Improved genetic management is producing a hardier, more productive merino, without having to sacrifice wool quality

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In the paddocks of the CSIRO research station in Armidale in New South Wales, a slow experiment is taking place. Generations of merino sheep are being bred, monitored and bred again, with an aim to reduce the rate of lamb loss.

It's part of an ongoing project to breed the perfect sheep for Australian conditions, a quest that began when the the first merino sheep were sent to Gadigal land (Sydney) in 1797.

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