Another View On Export Lamb

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30342, 18 January 1964, Page 6

Another View On Export Lamb

T AST week w« reviewed on these pages a publication on farming for production of export lamb written by Mr P. G. Stevens, formerly of Lincoln College, under the auspices of the Southdown Sheep Society. This week we look at another publication, “The Suffolk and SouthSuffolk” written by Mr R. A. Barton, senior lecturer in sheep husbandry at Massey University College, for the Suffolk and South-Suffolk Sheep Society.

Mr Barton takes a rather different view of recent developments in the export lamb industry in New Zealand and indeed casts some doubts on the effectiveness of the present grading system in producing the sort of lambs that the customer really wants. On the basis of an assessment of 10 lambs under 361 b in each of the prime Down cross, prime crossbred and Y grades for bone, muscle and fat made at Massey University College, Mr Barton comes forward with the findings that the prime Down cross had the lighest total weight of muscle or lean red meat and also had the most fat.

“These results mean that the so-called best grade of lambs are deficient in muscle and contain an excess of fat in their carcases,” he says. “Surely this is not what is required by the modern consumer. ... It is true that the prime Down cross carcases look more meaty and are more compact in shape, but the customer wants more than looks when buying meat. In recent years the opening schedule price for prime Down cross lambs and prime crossbred lambs has been the same and this is a clear indication that the former premium on prime Down cross lambs is no longer justified. Realisations at Smithfield also bear out this contention.”

Mr Barton says that heavy lamb carcases stand a better chance of being allocated to the prime Down cross grade and conversely that they are seldom found in the Y grade. Increasing the carcase weight within a breed or cross means more fat and the mere fat a carcase carries the less likelihood of it being allocated to a lower grade.” His conclusion is: “It is clear that present lamb grading standards favour fatty carcases, which are also deficient in edible meat. In this it can be contended that grading is out of touch with the needs of all consumers There is now no price differential between the two higher grades—prime Down cross and prime crossbred—and this can be interpreted as meaning that the customer is no longer willing to pay more for a better shape carcase of the prime Down cross grade.” Mr Barton comments on some other developments in the export lamb industry in recent years. He notes that although the volume of exports has risen markedly it has not been accompanied by a corresponding increase in revenue, which, he says, has even led to a suggestion that a million or more carcases could be given away and the balance would still earn as much.

He also sees that' in recent years that there has been a decline in the average weight of lambs killed of 41b to 51b and he believes that this is not just a result of a schedule favouring production of a lighter lamb but also, possibly to a greater extent, caused by increased stock carrying capacities on farms with the higher carrying capacity the lighter the carcase weight of each lamb. One of the great virtues claimed for New Zealand export lamb has been its uniformity, and Mr Barton asks whether this may indeed be in the best interests of this country. “It may be true to say that this uniformity was its strength on the British market, but it may be the very factor that hinders the development of other markets that are accustomed to heavier carcases, lightly covered with fat, and more highly flavoured than the present product “The present product has appeal to a certain market or section of consumers, but it may fail to attract other potential buyers of lambs, perhaps because of its weight and size of joints or cut, or because of too much fat. “Thus it would appear that

another type of lamb, with perhaps heavier joints or cuts, but yet producing lean meat, would have a demand, and not in any way compete for customers among those who at present buy the type of lamb already exported in large quantities. This is the concept of widening the range of the product in order to extend the number of persons willing and anxious to buy the product in its varying types.” Mr Barton says that it has been shown, for instance, that the Suffolk produces lambs which are fast growing and when slaughtered yield carcases substantially heavier than the Southdown. “A heavy-weight Suffolk cross lamb is not excessively fat, whereas at the same carcase weight—say 401 b—the Southdown for light-weight lambs, overfat. This indicates the role of each of these breeds —the Suffolk for heavyweight lambs and the Southdown for light-weight lambs. Thus these two breeds do not produce carcases that compete for the same customer.” The writer of this booklet sees that the Suffolk has a particularly promising future in the role of sires for production of pre-cut and packaged lamb. “The Suffolk produces lambs which have a large eye of meat in the chop. This is a most important characteristic, especially when chops are displayed adjacent to, say, pork chops in a selfservice refrigerated cabinet. When the eye of meat in the chop is small the customer just does not buy lamb chops and turns to other meats for her requirements. Numerous investigations have shown the Suffolk to be superior to other popular breeds in this important and valuable characteristic.”