SIL was established in 1998 to provide a central database and genetic evaluation service for New Zealand’s sheep industry. Today, the SIL database holds information for more than 600 flocks – making it the largest genetic evaluation of sheep in the world.

(Note: Not all flocks actively sell rams into the industry.)

In 2004, SIL-ACE (Advanced Central Evaluation) was introduced. The large-scale, across flock and breed genetic evaluation involves more than 280 ram-breeding flocks from within the SIL database. SIL-ACE objectively “compares” the performance of flocks for various traits – making it a powerful source of genetic information for commercial farmers.