Meat Standards Australia Sheepmeat Index launched at LambEx

Industry hopes a new sheepmeat index will encourage producers to take a more balanced approach to improving eating quality while maintaining lean meat yield.

The commercial launch of the new Meat Standards Australia Sheepmeat Index was announced at LambEx in South Australia on July 8, coinciding with the results of the Australian Meat Processor Corporation Carcase Showcase.

The carcase showcase drew more than 5300 lambs from 52 producers but Meat and Livestock Australia program manager David Packer said only five of the entrants supplied lambs that were above average in LMY and eating quality.

The eating quality index model is a weighted average of eating quality across all carcase cuts for a range of common cooking methods.

Dr Packer said the model had been trialled at NSW-based Gundagai Meat Processors since April and was quantified through the carcase showcase results.

It was then activated last week at GMP, which is currently the only plant in Australia that can hook track individual lambs and offer complete carcase feedback to producers.

Dr Packer encouraged the sheepmeat industry to consider eating quality and LMY as preferred trait priorities in selecting future breeding objectives.

“Producers should consider selecting rams that are at least average or better in those traits but it’s recommended to select in a balanced manner, so on-farm fertility or production is not sacrificed,” Dr Packer said.

“Processors are taking steps towards implementing eating quality systems within their supply chains with the potential for producer rewards for those that meet market specifications.”

The carcase showcase was open to Australian lamb producers across all production systems including grass, grain-assisted or feedlot finished.

Each entry included 100 market-ready lambs from a producer’s consistent management group with target specifications of 22-32kg HSCW and a minimum fat score of 2.

Lambs were processed at GMP, JBS and WA Meat Marketing Co-operative to deliver an individual sheep dataset and industry insight.

The 5300 carcases were measured on the new index, with the pool of lambs ranging from 49.07 to 59.65 with an average of 54.45.

The carcase pool of data for LYM, a measure of lean red meat of the carcase as opposed to bone or fat, ranged between 44.1 per cent and 73.3pc with an average of 57.5pc.

Intramuscular fat ranged from 1 to 8.9pc with an average of 4.03pc.

Lambs were graded by the MLA’s MSA grading team using AUS-MEAT accredited devices.

Data was pooled together on LMY, carcase fat, IMF and, where possible, results were linked to on-farm growth rates provided via electronic identification.

Each entrant group of lambs was benchmarked against the collective dataset and producers will be handed a flock profile report within 12 months.

Gundagai Meat Processors chief executive Will Barton said he was collecting hot standard carcase weight, LMY and intramuscular fat data for submission to MSA, which calculates an index figure in real time for qualifying producers.

“We excel in providing carcase data feedback to our clients, which was integral to improving the lamb meat industry,” he said.

“The showcase did a great effort in keeping producers interested while processors go through the necessary steps to provide more commercial feedback.”