Farmer Guide for Using Quebec’s Dairy Sheep Udder Classification Program

Commodities

• Animals: sheep

Practices

• Animal Production: genetics, livestock breeding
• Education and Training: farmer to farmer, on-farm/ranch research, technical assistance

Northeast sheep dairy farmers have ranked udder conformation as their #1 challenge.  There is no system of objective dairy sheep udder conformation in the US.  This project bring Quebec’s recently-launched udder classification system to dairy sheep producers in the Northeast.

Quebec’s system builds on prior advances in udder conformation and linear assessment systems.  It describes 9 udder traits, each weighted for heritability and correlation, and each given a set of illustrated trait scores.

Project Objective: Use the Quebec’s Dairy Sheep Udder Classification system to create a Farmer Guide for Northeast dairy sheep farmers’ use in scoring dairy udders and developing breeding programs that will improve their flocks’ udder conformation.

Applicant will travel to Quebec to learn their dairy sheep classification system and trial it on the host farm’s 150 dairy ewes in Upstate NY, using both live animals and photos to classify udder traits.

Applicant will produce Farmer Guide: background info on supporting physiology, trait illustrations and score cards, guides to scoring udders, video links, and recommendations on use of udder scores in breeding programs. 

There will be two presentations at the November 2025 Dairy Sheep Symposium: 1) project results and 2) presentation on the skeletal and ligament structures that support udder conformation. Both the Farmer Guide and the presentation videos will be posted on DSANA website’s technical library.

This project will benefit all dairy sheep producers by creating an accessible udder classification system that can accommodate the variety of production/lactation calendars and experience levels of a geographically-dispersed farming community.

Objective: Use the Quebec’s Dairy Sheep Udder Classification system to create a Farmer Guide for Northeast dairy sheep farmers’ use in scoring dairy udders and developing breeding programs that will improve flocks’ udder conformation.

Zoom meeting with J.Cameron and A.Mongini to plan project components. 

1. Tolman compiles background information on the Quebec system, on the physiological structures involved in udder conformation in dairy sheep, and on udder trait heritabilities and the correlations between udder traits.
2. Tolman travels to Quebec: works with J.Cameron to learn the udder classification system, shadows certified dairy sheep assessor during visits to two dairy sheep farms using the udder classification system, documents process with notes, photos, and videos, interviews the farmers about what and hasn’t worked, about use of EweManage software to record udders on lineage charts, and about any observed udder conformation changes. B.Tolman also visits EweManage software developer and the Genovalia lab currently identifying the ovine genome.
3. Tolman trials udder classification system on fall-lambing flock at host farm Meadowood Farms, classify udders of 150 ewes using both live-animal assessment and scoring from photo images, and documents the process including methods, problems, solutions, and uploading of photos to EweManage. Farm staff will test classification on selected ewes using both live-animal assessment and photographs; B. Tolman will record scoring differences between the two.
4. Tolman will create the 1^st draft of the Farmer Guide on Dairy Sheep Udder Classifications, including scoring both live animals and udder photographs, recommendations methods of positioning ewes, how to use illustrations to score udders and suggested systems for recording scores, how to upload pictures in EweManage. 1^st draft reviewed by A. Mongini and shared with a few Northeast sheep dairy producers for feedback.
5. B.Tolman will make a second shorter trip to QC, to work with J.Cameron and one farmer to address questions about system and scoring.
6. B.Tolman and A.Mongini will present at the November 2025 DSANA Virtual Symposium on the Quebec Udder Classification System (Tolman presents) and on the dairy sheep skeletal and ligament structures that impact udder conformation (Mongini presents).  Presentations recorded and posted on DSANA website.
7. B.Tolman will finalize Farmer Guide.  Guide will include background info on supporting physiology, trait illustrations and score cards, guides to scoring live animals and from photos, video links, and recommendations on use of scores in developing a breeding program.  Guide posted as a set of pdf “Chapters” on DSANA website.