This was the third presentation in a 6-part webinar series on the National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP). The presenter was Cody Hiemke, a Shropshire breeder from Wisconsin. The presentation was given on May 15, 2014.

1. NSIP Webinar Series
How, when, and what data to collect
May 15, 2014
Cody Hiemke
NSIP Vice-Chairman

2. Discussion Topics
1) NSIP Production Data Collection Table
2) Understand Contemporary Groups, and how to
optimize them
3) Online information
4) Basic Data that can be Collected, When it should be
Collected, and the EBVs that will result
5) Additional Data that can be collected

3. NSIP Production Data Collection Table
Age used to describe
different traits
NSIP Guidelines for Age
Ranges (duration in
parenthesis)
LambPlan Guidelines
for Age Ranges
(duration in
parenthesis)
Pedigree Master
Minimum and
Maximum Ages
Live weight
(lb)
Muscle &
fat depth
(mm)
Fleece
traits
Scrotal
Circumference
(cm)
Worm
egg
count
(epg)
Birth < 24 hours (35d) < 24 hours (42d) < 24 hours YES
Weaning 42 – 90 days (35) 40 - 120 days (42) 32 – 132 days YES YES
Early post-weaning* 91 - 150 days (35) 80 - 240 days (42) 64 – 264 days YES YES YES YES
Post weaning 151 - 304 days (35) 160 - 340 days (42) 128 – 374 days YES YES YES YES YES
Yearling 305 – 426 d, 10 – 14 mo. 290 - 430 days (70) 232 – 473 days YES YES YES YES YES
Hogget 427 – 580 d, 14 -19 mo. 410 - 550 days (70) 320 – 660 days YES YES YES YES
Adult 2Y n/a 530 - 1000 days 421 – 1107 days YES** YES
Adult 3Y n/a 890 - 1300 days 655 – 1549 days YES** YES
Adult 4Y n/a 1260 - 1660 days 918 – 1990 days YES** YES
Adult 5Y n/a 1600 - 2030 days 1181 – 2553 days YES** YES
Breed groupings for which these traits are available
Terminal YES YES YES Soon
Western Range YES YES YES YES Soon
Maternal Wool YES YES YES YES YES
Hair YES YES YES YES
Goats YES YES YES Soon
*For extensively managed operations, the early post-weaning category can suffice for a weaning category. Determine the best category by optimizing the
contemporary groups within the date ranges.
**Live weights can be entered for these traits, but the adjustment factors are not active and therefore EBVs are not yet available.

4. Contemporary Groups
A contemporary group is a set of animals that are
managed and fed the same within a specified age range.
Different sires represented within the same
contemporary groups allows for genetic comparisons.
Similar genetics represented in different contemporary
groups (different seasons, farms, production, feeding,
and/or management systems) allows NSIP to compare
genetics across different environments.
Properly designed contemporary groups will increase EBV
accuracy.

5. Contemporary Groups
Planning an optimum contemporary group can start when breeding groups
and dates are planned.
Planning considerations:
• At least two sires should be represented per group to provide for distinct
genetic competition
• Each ram should sire at least 15 lambs that will compete against each
other within a contemporary group
• Ideally a ram or another ram closely related should be represented in
subsequent contemporary/breeding groups to provide genetic
connectivity over time.
• Keep in mind you might “throw out” data on some lambs due to injury or
sickness, or maybe you sell light lambs into an ethic trade or to 4-H kids
before a post-weaning measurement is taken.
• Wethers are placed into a different contemporary group. This should be a
consideration when developing contemporary groups if you castrate.

6. Contemporary Groups
A real life example of contemporary group
planning successes and failures for a smaller flock.
The Plan:
…”Sheep don’t read spreadsheets.”
- Attributed to the presenter of this webinar, muttered occasionally
Early Drop Mature Ewes (bred to lamb 2/2/14 to 2/25/14, a 23 day period)
Fall 2013 Sires # of Ewes Anticipated lambing % Anticipated Lambs Born Per Sire
FG 5815 QR 1,1 15 170% 25.5
MM 12005 QR 4,4 12 170% 20.4
MM 12007 QR 1,4 13 170% 22.1
Late Drop Yearling Ewes (bred to lamb 3/18/14 to 4/10/14, a 23 day period)
Fall 2013 Sires # of Ewes Anticipated lambing % Anticipated Lambs Born Per Sire
FG 5815 QR 1,1 3 110% 3.3
MM 12005 QR 4,4 3 110% 3.3
MM 12007 QR 1,4 3 110% 3.3

7. Contemporary Groups
Unanticipated variations in “The Plan”:
• Five ewes bred to the two least-used rams were
sold
• One mature ewe didn’t settle in the first
breeding, one ewe lamb was open
• Four lambs dropped out of contemporary groups
due to sickness and injury
• The sheep didn’t read the spreadsheets!

8. Contemporary Groups
The Results:
Comments and conclusions:
• The late drop contemporary groups are sub-ideal (known from the get-go).
• The early drop groups for 12005 and 12007 are slightly smaller than ideal.
• Better contemporary groups would have been realized if the bred ewes weren’t
sold last fall.
• A wider lambing percentage variation could have been anticipated considering
the age of ewes to which the rams were exposed.
• Pumpkins have the flushing ability of corn.
• HAVE A PLAN!
Early Drop Ewes (lambed in a 26 day window)
Fall 2013 Sires # of ewes Actual lambing% # of live lambs minus "throw-out" lambs Lambs per contemporary group
FG 5815 QR 1,1 15 200% 30 0 30
MM 12005 QR 4,4 11 145% 16 2 14
MM 12007 QR 1,4 9 156% 14 2 12
35 60
Late Drop Ewes (lambed in an 18 day window)
Fall 2013 Sires # of ewes Actual lambing% # of live lambs minus "throw-out" lambs Lambs per contemporary group
FG 5815 QR 1,1 2 150% 3 0 3
MM 12005 QR 4,4 4 150% 6 0 6
MM 12007 QR 1,4 2 100% 2 0 2
8 11

9. Contemporary Groups: Date Planning
Excel can be very helpful.
Dates can be subtracted from
one another to calculate days
of age, and target ages can be
added to dates to determine
target dates.
Make tweaks to the target
weigh dates based on
personal schedules and the
deadlines for data runs.
Lamb ID Date Born
Wean
Wt date
DOA at
"wean"
Wt
EPW Wt
date
DOA at
EPW Wt
1401 1/31/14 4/14/14 73 6/27/14 147
1461 2/26/14 4/14/14 47 6/27/14 121
1462 3/19/14 5/23/14 65 7/27/14 130
1472 4/6/14 5/23/14 47 7/27/14 112
WWT youngest 40 days
WWT Target 75 days (when oldest lamb is 75d)
WWT oldest 120 days
EPWT youngest 80 days
EPWT target 150 days (when oldest lamb is 75d)
EPWT oldest 240 days
Target date for early drop WWT: 4/16/14
Age of youngest lamb in group at Target WWT date: 49
Target date for late drop WWT: 6/2/14
Age of youngest lamb in group at Target WWT date: 57
Early drop ultrasound date no later than: 6/30/14
Age of youngest lamb in group at above date: 124
Late drop ultrasound date no later than: 8/16/14
Age of youngest lamb in group at above date: 132
Notes: 4/14 was chosen for the early drop WWT so
that data could be entered for the 4/14 run. 5/23 was
chosen for the late drop WWT because that’s about
when those ewes will run out of feed, and the target
dates for ultrasound were moved up so that the
information could be included in the earlier data run.

10. Contemporary Groups: Final Thoughts
Sub-optimal contemporary groups will lead to lower EBV
accuracy.
It is important to consider - if your flock is too small to
develop ideal contemporary groups with two sires - that
SOME production information is better than NONE.
To quote Dr. Notter: “the goal is whole-flock recording…as far
as I am concerned, a contemporary group of 2 is still data.”
EBVs are more accurate than adjusted weights since they take
into account pedigree performance and adjust for
environmental influences.
EBVs can do an excellent job of tracking and benchmarking
within-flock performance.

11. Online Resources
• The NSIP “Educational Info” website page
(http://nsip.org/?page_id=10) has numerous helpful
documents linked in the lower right corner, including EBV
descriptions and notebooks from Dr. Notter.
• The “NSIP Info” website page also has links to resources
(http://nsip.org/?page_id=880), including the new Pedigree
Master Manual which can be found linked on this page:
http://nsip.org/?page_id=859.
• The LambPlan Breeders Quality Assurance Manual is an
excellent resource and can be downloaded from their site:
http://www.sheepgenetics.org.au/Getting-started/QA-
guidelines.
• LambPlan also has a variety of brochures and fact sheet:
http://www.sheepgenetics.org.au/Resources/Brochures-
and-fact-sheets.
Keep in mind, some of the information provided in the
LambPlan documents is not valid for NSIP.

12. Weights are a keystone to EBVs.
Birth weights (< 24 hours ) can be very easy to
record if it fits into your production system. We
simply use a 5 gallon bucket and a hanging scale.
Weights are taken when navels are dipped and
same-sex twin/trip lambs are “marked”.
If your management system doesn’t allow a
simple opportunity to collect birth weights, don’t
sweat it.
Data to Collect: Weights

13. Weights are a keystone to EBVs.
Whether you participate in NSIP or not, a good
scale and handling system is a great long term
investment.
I have a decent scale
setup for my size flock.
The time commitment
is nominal; I can weigh
100 lambs in an hour.
Data to Collect: Weights

14. Data to Collect: Birth and Weaning Basics
• Parentage
• Birth Date, Type of Birth, and Rearing Type
Record all open ewes, dead and aborted lambs
• Birth Weights (pounds, not a deal breaker if not feasible)
• Weaning Weight (pounds, range of age = 40-120 days, 42-90 would be
best)
Often referred to as a 60-day weight, weaning weights DO NOT need to be taken
right at weaning.
For extensively managed flocks that wean ewes after 120 days (and assuming those
ewes are still milking well), one might consider using the early post-weaning (80 to
240 day) category as a recording time for weaning weights. Plan the date accordingly
to optimize contemporary groups.
Relevant for all breeds, birth and weaning data will provide EBVs for: BWT, WWT,
MWWT, NLB, NLW. Some of these data points will influence other traits (i.e. post-
weaning) to which they are correlated.

15. Data to Collect: Post-Weaning Weights
Three Main Pre-Adult Categories:
• Early post-weaning (80 - 240 day age range, 91 – 150 preferred)
– Generally suited for flocks that creep feed lambs and/or grain immediately
after weaning at approximately two months of age
– Might also be suitable for the first weight on extensively raised lambs as a
“weaning weight”
• Post-Weaning (160 - 340 day age range, 151 – 304 preferred)
– Generally geared toward forage-based and range flocks
• Yearling (290 - 430 days, 305 – 426 preferred)
– Can work as an additional weigh category (and wool trait and fecal egg
count data collection time) for all flock types if contemporary group
structure is well maintained
Relevant for all breeds, weights corresponding to the
categories above will develop post-weaning growth EBVs.
Each of these categories are highly correlated for growth.

16. Data to Collect: Carcass Traits
Ultrasound measurements are best obtained during early
post-weaning, post-weaning or yearling age categories.
Ultrasound measurements are best taken at a time when
the lambs are nearest the weight they would be
harvested.
Ultrasound results must be accompanied by weights (lbs)
obtained within 7 days of ultrasound. Terminal sire breed
lambs must be a minimum of 66 pounds for the lamb’s
data to be entered.
Ultrasound dates prior to the yearling category will
generally offer better contemporary groups.

17. Data to Collect: Carcass Traits
EBVs for carcass traits are available on all breeds.
Carcass traits (loin depth and fat thickness) are collected between the
12th and 13th rib and are reported in metric (mm).
An excellent reference sheet can be found here: http://nsip.org/wp-
content/uploads/2011/05/Recording-and-reporting-scanning-data.pdf.
The NSIP ultrasound committee is proposing to the NSIP Board that
certified ultrasound technicians must be used effective January 1,
2016 (this is not yet approved).
A list of certified ultrasound technicians can be found here:
http://nsip.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Ultrasound-certified-
scanners.pdf. A new certification program is schedule for next week on
Thursday, May 22nd.
Note: if the files change in the future, the above links may not work. Go to the NSIP.org website to find these documents.

18. Data to Collect: Adult Weights
Selection for increased post weaning growth generally increases mature body size, resulting in higher
maintenance costs.
Maintenance costs can be decreased if a breeder discriminates between high post-weaning growth and
lower mature weights. This is a tall order since all the weight categories are positively correlated.
The following is a table of genetic correlations between different weight categories for Western Range
breeds:
Hogget weights (410 to 550 days of age) are moderately heritable and will respond to selection. Hogget
weights can be submitted for Western Range breeds, but for some producers that age range might be
confounded by various contemporary group variations (open vs. bred/weaned). It is advisable to collect
weights on adult ewes at breeding.
The NSIP Technical Advisory Committee is evaluating the opportunity for hogget and adult weight EBVs in
additional breed groups.
Note: the Western Range Index addresses mature weights by placing a positive emphasis on post-
weaning growth and a negative emphasis on hogget weight.
Weight
Weight
Birth Weaning Postweaning Yearling Hogget
Birth 0.50 0.45 0.30 0.20
Weaning 0.88 0.35 0.25
Postweaning 0.65 0.40
Yearling 0.70

19. Data to Collect – Fleece/Wool
Fleece and wool traits include:
(1) Fleece Weight, (2) Fiber diameter (microns), (3) Fiber Diameter Coefficient
of Variance, (4) Fiber Curvature, and (5) Staple length (mm)
An excellent reference to explain these traits is found in the September 1,
2011 NSIP EBV Notebook for Western Range Genetic Evaluations:
http://www.nsip.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/New-Traits-for-
Targhee.pdf.
Note: if the file changes in the future, the above links may not work. Go to the NSIP.org website to find these documents.
Wool Data can be collected at various points between post-weaning and
five years of age.
Only yearling, hogget, and the first-recorded adult fleece (2 to 5 year)
data is evaluated for EBVs; subsequent adult data can be entered to be
stored in Pedigree Master.

20. Data to Collect – Fleece/Wool
Due to high heritability, wool trait EBVs can be calculated
based off a single data submission for each of the three
time periods used to calculated the EBVs.
If previously shorn, the shearing date needs to be included
during data entry even if fleece weight/traits weren’t
obtained during the prior shearing. This is done so that the
proper shearing interval is calculated.
If obtaining breeding and fleece
weights on different dates, one
might need to get creative on
choosing dates for entry.

21. List of Wool Labs
Texas A&M San Angelo Wool Lab
http://sanangelo.tamu.edu/agrilife-research-san-angelo/current-wool-mohair-research-projects/the-bill-sims-wool-mohair-
research-laboratory/
Yocom-McColl Wool Testing Labs
http://www.ymccoll.com/

22. Data to Collect: Fecal Egg Counts
The Worm Egg Count (WEC) EBV evaluates the
genetic merit for parasite resistance from egg
counts evaluated at weaning, early post-, or post-
weaning ages.
WEC can also be recorded at older ages, but that
data is not currently used to calculate EBVs.
If multiple WEC are recorded only the first
recording will be used to calculate EBVs, so make
sure it is the most representative data that is first-
entered.

23. Data to Collect: Fecal Egg Counts
Dr. Dave Notter and Dr. Joan Burke have been
researching WEC in ewes at lambing. It is possible in
the future WEC can be obtained on adult ewes from
7 days prior until three weeks after lambing, but
this research is not yet complete.
Currently Hair and Polypay sheep have access to
WEC EBVs.
Dr. Notter will soon provide access to all other
breeds.

24. Data to Collect: Additional
Optional data that can be collected:
• Breeding Date (for gestation length)
Currently no report from NSIP, but it can be recorded in Pedigree Master.
• Dystocia scoring
Currently no report from NSIP, but it can be recorded in Pedigree Master.
Reference 1 through 5 scale in Pedigree Master for scoring system.
• Scrotal Circumference (PSC, cm)
Can be obtained at early post-weaning, post-weaning and yearling time
frames.
An early post- or post-weaning measurement will likely offer a better
contemporary group.
Scrotal Circumference SHOULD
NOT be taken at weaning

25. Data to Collect: NSIP Time Commitment
• At lambing, what I do for NSIP is the same as what I did prior to NSIP
and a fundamental basis for purebred record keeping = 0 hours.
• To weigh the 50 to 80 lambs at weaning = 1 hour.
• To weigh 50 to 80 lambs at post-weaning = 50 minutes.
(lambs move through the chute easier)
• To ultrasound lambs (as producer, not technician) = 2 hours.
• Time required to enter all this data into Pedigree Master and submit
= 3 hours, maximum, once you’re used to the system.
• Time required to study the results = as long as you want.
• Total NSIP time: 6 hours and 50 minutes.

26. It took more time to develop this PowerPoint than
it does for to collect and enter the required data
for NSIP!
Start collecting production data. You can’t enter it
into NSIP until you have it collected.
Questions?