Lamb marbling/eating quality

[Woolless]

Just flicking through the Scottish Farmer from a couple of weeks ago and there was an interesting article in the sheep special: 'Suffolks: the Wagyu of the sheep world?'. Suffolk x lamb apparently comfortably won a taste test when up against Charollais and Texel x lamb and were second only to Hebridean in an earlier trial. There appears to be a bit of work being done by forward-thinking Suffolk breeders with CT scanning to assess intramuscular fat (marbling) amongst other traits, and they are being rewarded with a premium for their tups.

Much work on this trait being done in other breeds? Any experience/opinion on variation between breeds on these traits? I know @Coximus collates feedback from his punters.

 

[scrubbuster]

I have always found Suffolk lamb oily. Beltex I have found the nicest. Not tried Hebridean though

 

[hendrebc]

@NZDan

 

[andybk]

we sold some genetics to NZ recently ,they tested for all sorts , (and they beat the top uk signet ones,for muscle and growth lol ) also one of our rams was an outlier for eating quality apparently ,good marbling and tender i was told avoid breeding for myomax going forward , as this is linked to poorer eating quality , something to consider

 

[Woolless]

I have always found Suffolk lamb oily. Beltex I have found the nicest. Not tried Hebridean though

Funnily enough, I remember an old cattle dealer saying that he didn't like 'greasy' Shorthorn beef. I suppose that he was referring to the amount of marbling!

 

[JD-Kid]

the big thing is. you are what you eat see alot of trials and one of main things is the feeds lambs have been on
lambs of rapes etc have a strong taint and if off horehound etc. the meat stinks
local show here has a paddock to plate. section lamb judged live. then. graded on hook. then top cook cooks up a cut from them all and a group tastes it last few years. a guy with finer wooled breeds has been winning the taste tests
this is a big thing realy. we supply what the market or meat works wants yet. the end user. is the driver of demand. realy if we don't supply what. they want we will fail
how many black cars on the road now days ???? think Henry ford got it wrong. in saying you can have any colour you want as long as it black think on that

 

[neilo]

Just flicking through the Scottish Farmer from a couple of weeks ago and there was an interesting article in the sheep special: 'Suffolks: the Wagyu of the sheep world?'. Suffolk x lamb apparently comfortably won a taste test when up against Charollais and Texel x lamb and were second only to Hebridean in an earlier trial. There appears to be a bit of work being done by forward-thinking Suffolk breeders with CT scanning to assess intramuscular fat (marbling) amongst other traits, and they are being rewarded with a premium for their tups.

Much work on this trait being done in other breeds? Any experience/opinion on variation between breeds on these traits? I know @Coximus collates feedback from his punters.

Those Charollais that are being CT scanned are certainly having imf measured now (& from back data on previously scanned lambs I believe). I would imagine the same is being done for Texels too (@gatepost may be able to confirm), and probably several other terminal breeds.

RamCompare is also evaluating that data from various sires too. The top ranked Charollais on imf was one of our (jointly owned) stock sires, who breeds tremendous growth but certainly doesn’t add hind quarter fleshing. Quite apart from ram buyers preferences, currently there is significantly more premium to be had in the UK for confirmation, than anything that is offered for imf levels (read ‘zero’ for that). Unless there is a reasonable premium offered for lambs based on imf values, then I can’t see any headlong rush happening, particularly if it means compromising on shape.

 

[gatepost]

Yep Texels are on the job, lambs coming out of the CT scanner with IMF scores, and the society have the plate waste trial going on which also is looking at IMF, but before everybody gets too exited I have been told by one that a) is involved and b) most respect, that in reality your selecting for the fatter lambs and you will still have the problem of fat in the pan which our consumers hate the look of, however my best conformed lamb, gigot area and loin area, also way ahead on IMF but didn't scan with a thick layer of fat, so maybe it's the way to go. I'm of the opinion that while others are breeding for size or heads etc, I might as well try for something different, and eating quality seems a fair place to start.

 

[neilo]

Yep Texels are on the job, lambs coming out of the CT scanner with IMF scores, and the society have the plate waste trial going on which also is looking at IMF, but before everybody gets too exited I have been told by one that a) is involved and b) most respect, that in reality your selecting for the fatter lambs and you will still have the problem of fat in the pan which our consumers hate the look of, however my best conformed lamb, gigot area and loin area, also way ahead on IMF but didn't scan with a thick layer of fat, so maybe it's the way to go. I'm of the opinion that while others are breeding for size or heads etc, I might as well try for something different, and eating quality seems a fair place to start.

I guess there will be outliers that have higher levels of imf (only really identifiable with CT scanning in a live animal) and reasonable levels of backfat. Whether it is of value to identify such animals, only time will tell I guess.
Currently there’s certainly no economic value to it, but tomorrow’s another day of course.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

It would be much easier to align breeding for specific EQ traits with only one or two markets to serve, this is a double-edged sword as an NZ producer, we have diversity of markets and therefore diversity of tastes as well - I prefer meat with size and flavour, whereas the asian market prefers a smaller, more juvenile lamb eating experience..... I could eat a small lamb in 3 sittings, preferably breakfast, lunch, and tea

It is thus very difficult to cater for all tastes.

The main underlying theme, as @JD-Kid said, is we are what we eat, so "grass-fed and finished" is obviously going to be much more marketable as future consumers take more interest in their health, and how their food is grown, the health implications of moving away from grassbased nutrition is apparent.

Lamb is the most expensive mainstream protein, so needs to be worthy of the price it commands

 

[Global ovine]

Be very careful about false claims. I have heard several breeders claiming all sorts of eating virtues pertaining to their breeds based on a single experience. None of these fine fellows have ever measured a line of lambs, let alone been in a bona fide progeny test measuring IMF by any of the proven systems (chemical fat analysis, colour chromatography and an electronic resistance probe of which the proper name escapes me) to quantify or even compare their stock.
The most common standardised method to measure IMF is chemical fat analysis expressed as a % of the loin muscle (back strap) in lambs of around 20kgs carcass.
IMF increases with weight and age. Therefore when comparing across flocks/breeds uniformity must be consistent.
In the NZ lamb industry the chemical fat % averages around 3.0% This is decreasing as more selection pressure has been put growth (indirectly delays maturity) and the increased influence of the Texel breed, not as a pure breed, but as a component of many terminal sires (eg. Suftex) and into maternal breeds. However, do not condemn that breed as a large variation in IMF also exists in Texels.
The following figures can be used as a guide for IMF; if below 2.5% the meat is recognisably less juicy. But if over 4.5% it usually will give a more pleasurable eating experience. We have had Charollais lambs exceed 7.5% but have not eaten them, so don't know if such meat is "greasy" in comparison to 4.5%.
All prime sheep killed about a year old are around 4.5% which is why most farmers prefer hoggets.
.
If looking for a point of difference to extract more profit, more fat will not cut it, unless it contains increased good fats (omega 3) to promote that protein as a health food. Lamb carcasses that average over 4.5% IMF and grazed on feeds such as chicory will fall into this distinction. It is already done via Alliance Group Ltd. using Headwaters bred/reared lambs for the exclusive end of the Asian market.
It will not be in my lifetime that increased IMF will be sought and paid for in the lamb commodity market.

 

[Woolless]

Yep Texels are on the job, lambs coming out of the CT scanner with IMF scores, and the society have the plate waste trial going on which also is looking at IMF, but before everybody gets too exited I have been told by one that a) is involved and b) most respect, that in reality your selecting for the fatter lambs and you will still have the problem of fat in the pan which our consumers hate the look of, however my best conformed lamb, gigot area and loin area, also way ahead on IMF but didn't scan with a thick layer of fat, so maybe it's the way to go. I'm of the opinion that while others are breeding for size or heads etc, I might as well try for something different, and eating quality seems a fair place to start.

Sounds like you have a fair tup lamb there @gatepost and it's good to hear from a Texel breeder with his head screwed on. As @neilo says, there is no immediate market advantage to pursuing this at the moment (unless you are direct marketing your lambs?) but who knows what the future holds. For instance, I am gently pushing one recorded family of Easycares in the direction of muscle depth (while retaining their other qualities) in the belief that we may go down the route of grading by yield.

 

[rancher]

Vendeens have a lovely taste, unfortunately they're nearly a rare breed now

 

[gatepost]

Sounds like you have a fair tup lamb there @gatepost and it's good to hear from a Texel breeder with his head screwed on. As @neilo says, there is no immediate market advantage to pursuing this at the moment (unless you are direct marketing your lambs?) but who knows what the future holds. For instance, I am gently pushing one recorded family of Easycares in the direction of muscle depth (while retaining their other qualities) in the belief that we may go down the route of grading by yield.

We probably will end up being paid on yield but it will be more specific in terms of were the value is, I don't think VIA will be the panacea that some hope, your right about loins, but it would seem looking at latest data that length can have a detrimental impact on loin volume ,and I'm thinking that actually although longer means more chops actually it might mean more plate waste ie more bones and no more meat whereas less chops carrying more meat would be a better value for our consumers, I have rams running on trial part of which is calibrating VIA will be interesting to see what comes of it all.

 

[Global ovine]

We probably will end up being paid on yield but it will be more specific in terms of were the value is, I don't think VIA will be the panacea that some hope, your right about loins, but it would seem looking at latest data that length can have a detrimental impact on loin volume ,and I'm thinking that actually although longer means more chops actually it might mean more plate waste ie more bones and no more meat whereas less chops carrying more meat would be a better value for our consumers, I have rams running on trial part of which is calibrating VIA will be interesting to see what comes of it all.

Alliance Group Ltd. (100% farmer Co-op) the world's largest processor of sheep meats operating out of NZ has been paying suppliers a premium on VIA for almost 2 decades after a 2 year trial using scientists from AbacusBio Ltd. to validate and quantify the advantages. This processor shares the added value with the supplier.....the catalyst for change.
The upshot of this addition to the standard weight x fat depth grading system rewards those who supply superior muscled lambs in the 3 primary regions (shoulder, loin and leg) if they exceed a threshold in each region and over the total carcass. Up until the recent spike in global lamb prices, this yield reward could amount to about 10% of the total carcass value on top of the standard grading value if yielding to the maximum. It is a bit less now while market demand is paying near record prices. Around 60% of lamb carcass value is in the loin, hence a small increase in eye muscle depth (area in NZ) pays the processor and the supplier significantly.
Any NZ ram breeder of both terminal and maternal breeds would now be considered negatively by the ram buying public if they did not supply BVs for muscling (determined by ultrasound and CT scanning), even though the added muscle value as a component of maternal worth is a small single figure %, whereas in a terminal it represents around a third of total worth. The carcass yield thrust over the last 2 decades driven by commercial farmer demand has seen nationally an 18% increase in eye muscle area and no detrimental effect on either carcass weight (national averages going up around a kilo/5 years despite drought years preventing a straight line) and/or lambing difficulty, as it only affects post partum muscle development, not skeletal shape.

Shorter animals tend to have thicker muscles. However breeders have achieved longer, faster growing and thicker muscled animals genetically by measured selection very successfully in NZ which has resulted as a major component of the improving industry data quoted above (calculated as around 50%).

I fear that the instigation of VIA in the UK would cause significant industry ructions by the way animals are assessed for meatiness after such a long period of visual assessment using the EUROP grid.
The NZ dairy industry changed the fundamentals of measuring/comparing worth from a per cow output to per hectare basis incorporating efficiency. This more or less reversed the tables.
I see debate raging for a decade in the UK also if lamb carcass evaluation changed.

 

[Nick Adams]

I produce grass fed Poll Dorsets. I'm used to them and don't think I'm doing anything that special but my direct sales customers rave about it. Eating quality and hence the final consumer is very important.

 

[neilo]

I produce grass fed Poll Dorsets. I'm used to them and don't think I'm doing anything that special but my direct sales customers rave about it. Eating quality and hence the final consumer is very important.

I’ve done home kills of grass fed lambs and of intensively reared indoor lambs born in December. Customers have raved about both, so what conclusion do you draw from that?

Personally I prefer the early, concentrate fed lamb. Not quite as strong a taste but as tender as a fillet steak.

 

[twizzel]

I produce grass fed Poll Dorsets. I'm used to them and don't think I'm doing anything that special but my direct sales customers rave about it. Eating quality and hence the final consumer is very important.

Interestingly our customers rave about our Poll Dorset sired lambs. I can definitely tell a difference to last year's lambs- we changed butcher who hangs for a week now rather than 48hrs... definitely more tender.