Genetic Evaluation of American Suffolks through Progeny Testing

A progeny test was conducted in Western Australia in conjunction with the national central progeny test (CPT) program to evaluate 14 American Suffolk and 2 Australian rams as prime lamb sires, 4 of these rams having been evaluated previously in the national CPT program. The American Suffolks produced lambs that were heavier and had leaner carcases than lambs from the Australian sires. However, the relative eye muscle area of lambs sired by the American Suffolks were smaller than those of lambs from Australian sires. This probably reflects the slower maturity of the American Suffolks. These attributes and the superiority of particular American Suffolk sires over a number of the Australian sires tested indicate that, the American Suffolks will be useful to help the Australian prime lamb industry produce larger and leaner lambs.