CHANGE IN LAMB WITH PACKAGING

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29778, 22 March 1962, Page 9

CHANGE IN LAMB WITH PACKAGING

“If meat packaging come* in there will be quite a change in the lamb we will produce,” Professor I. L. Coop forecast at a meeting of delegate* to the annual conference of the Meat Retailer*' Federation. Dr. Coop, professor of animal science at Lincoln College said that nothing could compete with the Southdown lamb on the books. “But when meat is wrapP?d up you cannot tell the difference," he said, and mentioned the Suffolk, Dorset Horn and Border Leicester breeds as sires producing a faster growth race in their lambs without increasing the fat proportion. ’The dominant position of the Southdown has come about in the past because the Southdown lamb produces a lamb superior to all others in conformation and early maturity," said Dr. Coop. "We might now devote some attention to other sire*. We are now in the situation, even the paradox, of paying a premium for the lightweight lamb. This has arisen because people in Britain do not want fat To me that seems the major reason, "There are plenty of sires that will give us a 321 b, 341 b and 361 b lamb without any more fat than the light down. “With packaging I believe the premium on what a carcase looks like will disappear. The superior conformation of Southdown shows up at the lighter weights but if it a just a matter of lean meat the other breeds can produce it too.”

Dr. Coop indicated from test results the superior

growth rate* of the other breeds. Animals which had fast growth rates made the most efficient use of their feed, he said. Dr. Coop was speaking on ways to improve the efficiency of sheep production for meat. Higher fertility in ewes would need more attention from breeders, he said. The emphasis should now be shifted from wool production to fertility to produce higher lambing figures. "You can develop a breeding programme that pay* substantial attention to twins, and we have to convince stud breeders that this is a goal worth chasing. Progress can be made within a lifetime which would be valuable to New Zealand.”