Terminal Genetics at The Willows

Terminal genetics have long formed the foundation of our stud flock at The Willows. Our focus is on producing sires that consistently deliver performance, efficiency, and carcase quality for commercial producers.

Across the Sheep Genetics database, our terminal flock benchmarks as:

  • Below average for birth weight

  • Above average for growth

  • Above average for muscle

  • Above average for fat

  • Above average for IMF and shear force eating quality traits

In comparison to the average across all terminal sheep in the Sheep Genetics Database, our flock is

Below average for birth weight

Above average for muscle

Above average for growth

Above average for fat

We deliberately select for animals that balance genetic fat, muscle, and growth to optimise both on-farm performance and eating quality. While industry trends have shifted toward leaner lambs to improve lean meat yield, we believe genetic fat plays a critical role in ewe resilience, lamb survival, and meat quality. Our goal is simple — low-birthweight sires that grow fast, muscle well, and finish easily.

All stud sheep are run under commercial conditions to ensure they perform under pressure, not just in theory. Ram lambs are used across both commercial and stud ewes to accelerate genetic gain, while ewe lambs are joined at 7–8 months to enhance fertility and assess early maturity.

Within our 2000 plus ewe seedstock flock, lambing assistance is rare. We cull heavily for conformation, favouring rams with a triangular barrel from neck to tail to promote easier lambing and concentrate muscling over the high-value cuts.