My point was selling deadweight a fast growing R grade lamb will pay better than a slower growing E grade lamb
EUROP grid still fit for purpose?
- Thread starter hendrebc
- Start date
- Location
- West Somerset
Tenderness and intermusclar marbling!
- Location
- Dumfries & Galloway
Interesting point.
Something I have never heard mentioned when talking of lamb meat...
What breeds do this?
- Location
- Shropshire
That is definitely going to bite them on the arse as it will take potential breeding stock into the food chain, which could cause supplies to tighten up (in a similar way to the carcass cap reduction on beef (420kg down to 400kg) which refuse the total amount of meat on 100 top weight cattle by 2 tonnes!
- Location
- N.Lincs
The grader assesses shoulders, loin and gigots to arrive at a EUROP grade (if two out of three are, say U, then it grades as a U; shoulders R, loin R. gigots U then it's a R, etc, etc). Without spending a fortune revamping slaughter house grading arrangements (electronic grading etc), how would you propose to 'weight' the grading in favour of the loin?
IMHO judging the loin in a whole carcass in an abattoir situation on a busy line would be a very difficult thing to do.
- Location
- West Somerset
Tends to favour natives in the cattle world,
Guess slower maturing breeds!
- Location
- Mendips Somerset
I think we are fast approaching the point of electronic scanning / grading , things things will change hugely in the next ten years ,CT scanning breeding stock is a huge leap , that will only get cheaper and easier to use , as most kit is prob redundant nhs type machinery at present , How much does the grader cost the abattoir ?when free of europe anything is possible according to our what our new markets want , what f you had suggested robot milking just a few years back , would have taken some believing ,
Do The Nz and aus boys produce europ type grid spec lambs for their usa and other markets ?
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gone up the hill
Member
- Location
- Devon
AHDB big wigs told me a few months ago that the new grid they are trying to push thru will increase the value of lower grade cattle like Fri steers etc by upto £200 head! personally cant see it myself as the returns aren't there to pay anymore.
Even if they change the grid for beef and lamb farmers wont see any increased return's than currently, they may give with one hand but will take with the other.
Also with all the uncertainty of brexit/ subs possible going etc then this is NOT the time to be creating more uncertainty for farmers by changing the meat grids.
Mainly the AHDB that are the ones pushing for it.
- Location
- Derbyshire
How would you assess that? £4000 lambs per day on a line....
I agree it would be great as that's what the consumer sees. But how much of eating quality is influenced after the point of sale at the farm gate?
I believe the US beef system is interested in IM fat. I guess if we had an easy way to measure that AND sires were put on passports here in the U.K., there could be a premium for beef sired by certain sires. Maybe that'd be a start.
I reckon it's a minefield!
- Location
- Derbyshire
Would be an interesting pilot project.... but an expensive one!
gone up the hill
Member
- Location
- Devon
Will just complicate the job just at the time we will be forced to cut costs and make the job as simple as possible.
Ref meat eating quality, biggest seller now is mince by a long way in the UK because its cheap and you can cook many different meals with it, the mince market will only grow and grow so its like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted in reference to switching to a meat eating quality grid in the UK.
To have a future both beef and sheep will have to be sold in the supermarkets so it can compete with chicken on price and thus that is why mince is such a growing market.
- Location
- Ceredigion, wales
Blue Texel?Something long and wedge shaped, with a good loin?
I have no idea how (and if) it should be done but there are cleverer people than me on the job they might know how
. Measuring length of the loin should be easy enough?
luckily that sort now come in a variety of colours to match any décor.Something long and wedge shaped, with a good loin?
- Location
- N.Lincs
Length wouldn't necessarily mean a good eye muscle though
No thats true but would be a start if nothing else. They definetly.need someone cleverer than me to figure it all outLength wouldn't necessarily mean a good eye muscle though
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
However, I've yet to see any buyers paying a premium for it. Until they do, I would suggest growth rate and/or shape will be far more important as breeding goals, whatever the chosen breed.
- Location
- Dumfries & Galloway
Yes...
But as far as I'm aware it has never been talked about/looked at regarding lamb meat ?
I doubt it is as important in lamb meat, as it is in cattle (although we do all know the fat is where flavour comes from)
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
There has been work done on it, by Innovis amongst others. They even have a project going with Waitrose (IIRC) at the moment, where producers buy specific Rams and can sell onto that contract. Maybe @RobP knows more, as I believe they are 'Focus' Rams being used.
Iirc, the original tasting panel work done by Innovis showed very marginal differences in texture & eating quality, with varying levels of intramuscular fat/marbling, as measured by CT (that's being recorded for all animals that are CT scanned now I believe).
I would also suggest, from personal experience, that meat from faster growing animals is more tender. Meat from slower growing animals is more flavoursome. Getting the two together is the difficult bit.