Charollais have proved their commercial value by topping the rankings in AHDB’s RamCompare project.

Now in its seventh year, RamCompare is a commercial progeny test which compares rams from a number of terminal sire breeds and to date has evaluated more than 38,500 lambs.

Assessed this year for the first time on a new ‘Lamb Value’ EBV, Charollais claimed the top three spots in this year’s ram rankings, with Lowereye U Cracker coming out as the leading ram in the UK for this new EBV.

Carrying a Lamb Value EBV of £5.24, this ram also carries a carcass weight EBV of 1.26 and a carcass conformation EBV of 1.67.

Second spot fell to Hyde Valegro with a Lamb Value EBV of £5.08, with Foulrice Wellhard in third with a Lamb Value EBV of £4.03. 

The new ‘Lamb Value’ EBV combines a number of key economic traits, including carcass weight, carcass conformation, fat class and days to slaughter and gives an economic value for lambs by each sire.  

Importantly, these top performing Charollais rams ranked highly not just in the 2023 results, but also across the project’s entire seven-year lifespan, taking first, second and fourth in RamCompare’s cumulative results.

Charollais Society chairman Charles Sercombe said the results were further evidence of the high commercial value the breed offered sheep farmers. “The performance of the breed in this large-scale commercial project reinforces what Charollais breeders and their commercial customers already know; Charollais produce high quality, top value lambs.”