Are we wasting our time trying to produce quality.....

[Full of bull(s)]

Tonight it was announced by my better half we were trying something different for dinner, Heck chicken sausages. Apparently they have rave reviews and have been on some tv programme or other, fantastic flavour and so on.
I can report they taste of absolutely nothing. Well not nothing at all, strongly of herbs but the meat portion contributed absolutely nothing and this got me thinking. As producers we think the general public like what we like, full flavoured cuts of meat, aged and that flavour being the main contributor to a meal. The majority particularly the younger generation do not. Chicken for example is so popular not only because it is cheap I think but because it is tasteless, just a carrier for a wide variety of flavoured sauces. It suits so many different flavours because it has none of its own. So apart from the niche market, which I’m not for a minute dismissing, trying to produce a quality product is rapidly becoming pointless. Therefore the only real marketing tool we have or need is provenance through high welfare standards as that is something these consumers do care about. Some obviously don’t and will buy purely in price but not all.
When you piece all this together the supermarkets strategy of moving to young uniform carcasses makes complete sense, and explains why they will give these above market price contracts for young dairy bred cattle and willingly finance them interest free. The meat may not have any flavour, but is always tender, and who wants the flavour anyway when it gets in the way of a good sauce?
I think the herbs in those sausages must have been strong.......I’m going to lie down now

 

[milkloss]

Tonight it was announced by my better half we were trying something different for dinner, Heck chicken sausages. Apparently they have rave reviews and have been on some tv programme or other, fantastic flavour and so on.
I can report they taste of absolutely nothing. Well not nothing at all, strongly of herbs but the meat portion contributed absolutely nothing and this got me thinking. As producers we think the general public like what we like, full flavoured cuts of meat, aged and that flavour being the main contributor to a meal. The majority particularly the younger generation do not. Chicken for example is so popular not only because it is cheap I think but because it is tasteless, just a carrier for a wide variety of flavoured sauces. It suits so many different flavours because it has none of its own. So apart from the niche market, which I’m not for a minute dismissing, trying to produce a quality product is rapidly becoming pointless. Therefore the only real marketing tool we have or need is provenance through high welfare standards as that is something these consumers do care about. Some obviously don’t and will buy purely in price but not all.
When you piece all this together the supermarkets strategy of moving to young uniform carcasses makes complete sense, and explains why they will give these above market price contracts for young dairy bred cattle and willingly finance them interest free. The meat may not have any flavour, but is always tender, and who wants the flavour anyway when it gets in the way of a good sauce?
I think the herbs in those sausages must have been strong.......I’m going to lie down now

I think you’ve got it about right.

 

[Nearly]

Cost and Convenience over Content.

 

[unlacedgecko]

Best get planning in for a broiler house or 2

 

[Giles1]

Tonight it was announced by my better half we were trying something different for dinner, Heck chicken sausages. Apparently they have rave reviews and have been on some tv programme or other, fantastic flavour and so on.
I can report they taste of absolutely nothing. Well not nothing at all, strongly of herbs but the meat portion contributed absolutely nothing and this got me thinking. As producers we think the general public like what we like, full flavoured cuts of meat, aged and that flavour being the main contributor to a meal. The majority particularly the younger generation do not. Chicken for example is so popular not only because it is cheap I think but because it is tasteless, just a carrier for a wide variety of flavoured sauces. It suits so many different flavours because it has none of its own. So apart from the niche market, which I’m not for a minute dismissing, trying to produce a quality product is rapidly becoming pointless. Therefore the only real marketing tool we have or need is provenance through high welfare standards as that is something these consumers do care about. Some obviously don’t and will buy purely in price but not all.
When you piece all this together the supermarkets strategy of moving to young uniform carcasses makes complete sense, and explains why they will give these above market price contracts for young dairy bred cattle and willingly finance them interest free. The meat may not have any flavour, but is always tender, and who wants the flavour anyway when it gets in the way of a good sauce?
I think the herbs in those sausages must have been strong.......I’m going to lie down now

Think you're right with the flavourless meat being good for sauces and what the younger generation are looking for or used to. Being older ,I do like meat to have a flavour,and the sauces to complement it rather than take over from it,aside from curries of course! A few years ago in Spain my wife had a steak,she gave me a piece to try,my knife just wafted through it and I though this'll be good,it was so tender it just melted in my mouth and I waited for the flavour to burst through,nothing,zilch. It was actually horrible to eat,so neither of us did. Had a bad experience at the dentists once and lost my sense of taste for a while,I love chocolate,but not when you can't taste it,its foul if all you have is texture.

 

[tepapa]

Same as people putting tomato sauce on a bacon sandwich.
I'd rather taste the Bacon ?

 

[ste stuart]

Tonight it was announced by my better half we were trying something different for dinner, Heck chicken sausages. Apparently they have rave reviews and have been on some tv programme or other, fantastic flavour and so on.
I can report they taste of absolutely nothing. Well not nothing at all, strongly of herbs but the meat portion contributed absolutely nothing and this got me thinking. As producers we think the general public like what we like, full flavoured cuts of meat, aged and that flavour being the main contributor to a meal. The majority particularly the younger generation do not. Chicken for example is so popular not only because it is cheap I think but because it is tasteless, just a carrier for a wide variety of flavoured sauces. It suits so many different flavours because it has none of its own. So apart from the niche market, which I’m not for a minute dismissing, trying to produce a quality product is rapidly becoming pointless. Therefore the only real marketing tool we have or need is provenance through high welfare standards as that is something these consumers do care about. Some obviously don’t and will buy purely in price but not all.
When you piece all this together the supermarkets strategy of moving to young uniform carcasses makes complete sense, and explains why they will give these above market price contracts for young dairy bred cattle and willingly finance them interest free. The meat may not have any flavour, but is always tender, and who wants the flavour anyway when it gets in the way of a good sauce?
I think the herbs in those sausages must have been strong.......I’m going to lie down now

Absolutely spot on imo, biggest question is how can you adapt your business to take advantage of this?
Sad topic in some respects but really highlights the difference in the farmers eating habit and that of the vast majority of their customers.
great topic but may get more views/response in Agricultural Matters? @admin

 

[Tim W]

Same as people putting tomato sauce on a bacon sandwich.
I'd rather taste the Bacon ?

If you have to add anything to a bacon sarnie it better be marmalade

 

[teslacoils]

Cost and Convenience over Content.

300g chicken tikka chunks dearer than a 1kg roasted chicken today.

It annoys Mrs teslacoils that we can't seem to buy chicken breast with the skin on now.

Same folk who complain a kilo chicken is too dear at £4 will be complaining about chicken welfare while sipping their £5.50 salted caramel late at Costa.

 

[Gulli]

If you have to add anything to a bacon sarnie it better be marmalade

Why would you spoil a good marmalade sandwich with bacon @Paddington

 

[unlacedgecko]

300g chicken tikka chunks dearer than a 1kg roasted chicken today.

It annoys Mrs teslacoils that we can't seem to buy chicken breast with the skin on now.

Same folk who complain a kilo chicken is too dear at £4 will be complaining about chicken welfare while sipping their £5.50 salted caramel late at Costa.

Be cheaper to buy whole chickens and joint at home.

 

[Goweresque]

Part of the problem is (especially with meat) that there's no continuity. That is to say, if you get a really nice bit of meat somewhere its impossible to get any more exactly the same. You go back a day later and the same meat from the same shop is totally different, because its come from another farm, another breed, and fed differently too. I'm sure people would pay extra for quality (I know I would) but of course the quality has to be there 100% of the time to justify the premium.

Meats problem is there's no unique ID on the package that lets the buyer say 'You know what, I'm going to look out for this producer again, that was delicious!' Or indeed say 'That was awful, I'm not buying any of theirs again!'. Each purchase is a lottery.

 

[unlacedgecko]

Part of the problem is (especially with meat) that there's no continuity. That is to say, if you get a really nice bit of meat somewhere its impossible to get any more exactly the same. You go back a day later and the same meat from the same shop is totally different, because its come from another farm, another breed, and fed differently too. I'm sure people would pay extra for quality (I know I would) but of course the quality has to be there 100% of the time to justify the premium.

Meats problem is there's no unique ID on the package that lets the buyer say 'You know what, I'm going to look out for this producer again, that was delicious!' Or indeed say 'That was awful, I'm not buying any of theirs again!'. Each purchase is a lottery.

See USDA grades and the Black Angus brand.

Seems like a lack of professionalism in the marketing of UK red meat supply chain.

 

[Ysgythan]

I think it’s a simple pyramid. Lots of cheap highly processed junk at the bottom. As quality and cost goes up the sides get narrower until you reach the expensive highly processed impossible burger at the top.

 

[Hilly]

We get paid fir quantity not quality , some are confused by this.

 

[unlacedgecko]

We get paid fir quantity not quality , some are confused by this.

Weight pays

 

[Hilly]

Weight pays

Confirmation pays , weight and conformation have nothing to do with eating quality , taste or anything else all the market place looks for is quantity , stupid in times of plenty.

 

[Ysgythan]

Confirmation pays , weight and conformation have nothing to do with eating quality , taste or anything else all the market place looks for is quantity , stupid in times of plenty.

And untrue. Or at least not wholly true.

Case in point, early lamb trade 2 years ago. Unusually decided to sell some hoggets when they came back from tack. 3 pens from the new season trade caught my eye. Grass reared Beltex x Dorset. Grass reared pure Hampshires. Shed reared pure Charolais.

£125
£80
£85

Why?

Beltex x Dorset had weight, confirmation and quality.

Hampshire’s had weight, probably quality, but too much waste so lost on conformation (it’s not just a big arse)

Charolais had weight and confirmation but creep taint so were knocked on quality.

What’s amazing about live lamb trade is that there’s a market for just about everything. What’s annoying is that’s there’s not enough of a price differential to make farmers believe that quality even makes a difference. I was struck enough by the difference here to ask the buyer about it and he said his orders were to get new season “no shed, no Downs”. He still bought them of course, and the seller was happy to get rid. And that’s the industry’s problem in a nutshell.

 

[som farmer]

Tonight it was announced by my better half we were trying something different for dinner, Heck chicken sausages. Apparently they have rave reviews and have been on some tv programme or other, fantastic flavour and so on.
I can report they taste of absolutely nothing. Well not nothing at all, strongly of herbs but the meat portion contributed absolutely nothing and this got me thinking. As producers we think the general public like what we like, full flavoured cuts of meat, aged and that flavour being the main contributor to a meal. The majority particularly the younger generation do not. Chicken for example is so popular not only because it is cheap I think but because it is tasteless, just a carrier for a wide variety of flavoured sauces. It suits so many different flavours because it has none of its own. So apart from the niche market, which I’m not for a minute dismissing, trying to produce a quality product is rapidly becoming pointless. Therefore the only real marketing tool we have or need is provenance through high welfare standards as that is something these consumers do care about. Some obviously don’t and will buy purely in price but not all.
When you piece all this together the supermarkets strategy of moving to young uniform carcasses makes complete sense, and explains why they will give these above market price contracts for young dairy bred cattle and willingly finance them interest free. The meat may not have any flavour, but is always tender, and who wants the flavour anyway when it gets in the way of a good sauce?
I think the herbs in those sausages must have been strong.......I’m going to lie down now

and you should add.....start the kids off on addictive herbs/spices, in chicken nuggets or similar, you have them hooked for life.
But is chicken a cheap meat ? You discard about 1/2 the carcass, as bones, feathers, guts etc, they can salvage some of those by 'mechanical recovered meat'. When my other half, worked in a testing lab, all of them in there, did not want to even touch the gunge, made some feel sick. As an after thought, the younger the bird is, the softer the bones, the more 'mrm', they start killing them at 4 weeks. YUK

 

[teslacoils]

Be cheaper to buy whole chickens and joint at home.

Yes, which is what we do. Or roast it and use what's left in sandwiches, curries etc. But can't figure out why there is an isle of 300 different types of biscuit, but no skin on chicken breasts . Ah well.