10 November 2017

Stuart McCullough
Australian Wool Innovation Limited
GPO Box 4177
Sydney NSW 2001

Dear Stuart,

RE: MLP Data access

I am writing to propose the development of terms enabling data from AWIs Merino
Lifetime Productivity (MLP) project to be included in the MERINOSELECT Database.

MLA firmly believes in the benefit that genetic evaluation brings to the productivity and
profitability of the Australian sheep and wool industry. The collation of these two
datasets would significantly strengthen this valuable and objective tool for the benefit of
individual producers and the entire industry.

It is my understanding that the AWI Board approved the MLP project in January 2015
with the following objectives:
To add significant amounts of adult data, thus increasing the accuracy of a large
range of adult age traits leading to increased lifetime productivity.
To create a prediction at yearling and hogget ages for sheep that will increase
and decline in wool quality and productivity at older ages.
To better define the correlations between key traits and thus advice to breeders.
To compare on cost and accuracy, traditional classing and objective assessments
at young ages only, with repeat annual lifetime assessments.
To compare sires based on their Index results and GrassGro analysis.
To increase data for genomic associations with lifetime productivity.
To increase data to create ASBVs for the 3 component traits of fertility that will
lead to increased gains.
To increase data to assist to create a Urine Stain ASBV.

From MLAs perspective, it would appear difficult for AWI to meet these objectives
without this information being included in the MERINOSELECT analysis. After the MLP
project was approved by the AWI Board, the Sheep Genetics Management Agreement
between MLA and AWI was terminated. This has left AWI without direct access to
MERINOSELECT and OVIS, the analytical software behind MERINOSELECT, for the
purpose of this research project.

Data collected through reference population type projects underpins the accuracy of
genetic evaluations and MLA has invested in the Resource Flock (RF) project for a
number of years. This project was initially funded as the Information Nucleus Flock
through the Sheep CRC from 2007 to 2013 that included investment from AWI. Since
2014, the project has been funded by MLA as the RF. The RF focuses on collecting data

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for birth, growth, carcase and eating quality traits in addition to health and welfare
traits.

The MLP data is complimentary to the RF data in that it could provide information on
lifetime wool performance traits and reproduction traits currently not recorded in the
RF. Including this data in the MERINOSELECT database would allow further development
of ASBVs for these traits and higher accuracy information to be provided back to the
sheep and wool industry. MLA believes that this is consistent with the objectives of the
MLP project.

It is relevant to note that the 2016 Report to AWI by Australian Venture Consultants
that was commissioned by AWI as a review of the Sheep Genetics business plan found
that it is unlikely that Sheep Genetics can be developed into a saleable enterprise in the
foreseeable future. For this reason MLA has continued to support the development of
Sheep Genetics.

Also worth noting is the 2014 Genetic benchmarking: potential for further
commercialisation of AWI funded or part-funded projects post June 2015 report. Over
85% of the respondents to the survey supported MLA and AWI to pay for all public good
R&D, to be the preferred option for supporting Sheep Genetics post June 2015.

While AWI has made it clear that it is not prepared to financially support the
development of Sheep Genetics, it would be of significant benefit to the sheep and wool
industry if AWI agreed to make the MLP data available so that it could be utilised for
further MERINOSELECT development.

To that end, I would like to propose that MLA and AWI work towards developing an
agreement to include the MLP data in the MERINOSELECT database for the purposes of
conducting the MERINOSELECT evaluation and further research and development of the
MERINOSELECT evaluation.

This agreement would align with industry expectations and would also allow:
AWI to meet the objectives of the MLP project
MLA to access the widest possible range of data to continue developing the
analytical software
The highest possible accuracy ASBVs to be delivered back to the breeders
participating in the MLP project and the wider industry.

I look forward to your response and to our respective companies working together on
this important issue for the industrys benefit.

Yours sincerely

Richard Norton
Managing Director

cc: MLA Board, AWI Board, Kat Giles - SCA & Jo Hall - Wool Producers Australia

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Meat & Livestock Australia Limited | ABN 39 081 678 364 | Level 1, 40 Mount Street, North Sydney NSW 2060
Postal address: PO Box 1961, North Sydney NSW 2059 | Ph +61 2 9463 9333 | Fax +61 2 9463 9393 | www.mla.com.au