Commercial farm hosts wanted to gather lamb data for RamCompare

RamCompare, the UK’s national progeny test, is looking for new commercial farm partners to collect performance data on their lamb crop, tracking lambs from birth through to slaughter. Nominations for farm recruitment close on Friday 17 April 2026.

A recent project review confirmed that the data derived from RamCompare has a major influence on both our marketing strategy at industry events and the delivery of the National Terminal Sire Evaluation.

New for 2026, alongside the multi-breed work, RamCompare will be running breed-specific trials in collaboration with the Suffolk, Hampshire Down and Charollais societies.

Suitable host farms should be in England and able to set aside 200–400 commercial ewes of a uniform breed type.

Ewes will be mated to high-quality rams, using either single-sire mating groups or artificial insemination (AI), the use of which will enable greater access to elite genetics. Project lambs should be reared as a group on a fast-finishing, forage-based system.

Results from the project will be promoted at industry events and farm open days, as well as supporting online resources developed by AHDB/Signet Breeding Services.

Samuel Boon, Signet Breeding Services Manager, said:

“The insight gained from the RamCompare project has a major impact on Signet’s National Terminal Sire Evaluation, generating data that helps commercial farmers to select superior rams.”

Bridget Lloyd, RamCompare project coordinator, said:

“We are seeking new farms to join us for the multi-breed and single-breed focus aspects, to be run in collaboration with the various breed societies.

“Working alongside breeders and commercial farmers allows us to grow this important data resource and generate new messages for ram buyers and pedigree breeders.

“This is a great opportunity for host farms to access elite genetics, with a new ram team provided each season.

“Host farms will be able to benchmark their performance against that of other farms and engage with like-minded farmers. The project will cover the cost of purchasing rams and the AI programme, and contributes towards the cost of data collection.

“We know this announcement will be met with enthusiasm. Improving efficiency and reducing costs are key drivers for any commercial business.

“Collaborating with commercial host farms is a huge privilege for AHDB, allowing the unique opportunity to collect important growth data from commercial farm settings, combined with slaughter data from processors, to provide a full evaluation of pedigree rams.

“This is as an important piece of the jigsaw, ensuring selection objectives remain focused for the pedigree breeding sector.

“RamCompare enables important messages to be amplified across the lamb sector, not just within the UK, enabling us to demonstrate globally the importance of economic and profitable lamb production that is sustainable for the future of our industry.”

Potential host farms must meet the following requirements:

• Provide 200–400 commercial ewes (uniform breed type)
• Organise ewes as single-sire, natural-service mating groups
• Have the option to use AI on 90–150 ewes
• Collect lamb data using electronic identification (EID) from birth to slaughter
• Manage lambs as a uniform group
• Be a fast-finishing system (lambs finished within 10 months)
• Sell lambs deadweight
• Ability to link slaughter data of individual lamb EID to carcase number

Barrie Turner of the Suffolk Sheep Society said:

“Crossbred progeny from the RamCompare scheme is a sure way to verify an individual ram’s performance in a real environment. Data collected from birth to slaughter in these situations is truly independent and invaluable to the economic and sustainable future of the Suffolk breed in the sheep industry.”

Judith Galbraith of the Hampshire Down Sheep Breeders' Association said:

“A large-scale progeny test like RamCompare ensures that the breeding values we use are as accurate as possible. It has allowed the development of commercially important estimated breeding values (EBVs) based on abattoir traits, which would have been impossible using only data from pedigree flocks.

“For ram buyers, it demonstrates, in a commercial everyday setting, the economic impact of using recorded rams. For commercial farmers, it allows them to evaluate the economic impact of using high-quality rams with particular genetic traits.”

Carroll Barber of the Charollais Sheep Society said:

“We are very pleased that the highly important RamCompare project is continuing. It allows our pedigree breeders an opportunity to put their elite genetics on test in a truly commercial environment.

“The project data collected is invaluable to enhance the robustness and validity of breeding indexes. The single-breed trial aspect allows us to investigate the performance of more sires.” 

If you're interested in participating in RamCompare this year, or know of a commercial farm who may like to get involved, contact the project coordinator Bridget Lloyd for more information: Bridget@Bridget-Lloyd.com or visit ramcompare.com 

Nominations for farm recruitment close on Friday 17 April 2026.