Money left on the table

01-02-2010 | Terry Brosnahan

Farmers can add thousands of dollars to their back pockets by simply focusing on choosing the right sheep genetics.

Unlike some meat companies, the Alliance Group does not favour one breed over another. The aim is for a breed which delivers on saleable meat yield within the specifications required.

Group livestock manager Murray Behrent says lamb carcases for its yield quality contract are averaging about 53% saleable meat yield.

The Via scan camera in Alliance meat plants takes an image of the carcase and predicts the saleable meat yield - the meat less the fat and bone. So a 17.4kg lamb carcase with 22% saleable meat yield on the leg gives 3.82kg of meat.

Alliance's target Market Choice lamb is 56% sale meat yield made up of 22.75% on the leg, 15.5% for the middle (or loin) and 18.75% for the shoulder. Top-producing Landcorp farms' killing sheets are averaging about 55% sale meat yield.

Last season Alliance was paying up to $5.25 premium on lambs which qualified.

In its annual report Landcorp stated 71% of the lambs supplied from 23 of its South Island farms earned the $5.25 premium for the past season.

Most of the lambs were the State-owned enterprise's own Lamb Supreme breed. Combined with Alliance's pool payment which averaged $3.44/lamb, it earned over $8.50/lamb (on those which qualified) above the base schedule. The average Alliance payment was over $7/lamb in yield quality contract and pool payments.

To make the Market Choice grade farmers should first start with genetics.

Behrent says no one breed fits all farms because there is more diversity within than across breeds. Some bloodlines within breeds are not maturing in terms of meat yield until they hit carcases in excess of 23kg. This means the cuts are too big for consumers looking for smaller portions or ready made meals.

Farmers should look at the Central Progeny Test (CPT) results to find the traits which best suit their farming operation. "Focus on the top 25% of rams in the breed wanted."

More than 100 rams have been evaluated in the CPT which was started and initially funded by Alliance. A genetic evaluation has been done on flocks connected with CPT rams which is summarised in Sheep Improvement Ltd's advanced central evaluation (SILACE).

If a farm is in a drought-prone area and fast-growing lambs are wanted, growth traits will be important.

There is a 34-day difference between the fastest and slowest rams' progeny within that trait from the 08/09 CPT trials. If it is not drought-prone then the farmer might look at genetics which offer better yielding lambs.

Behrent told a recent field day at Landcorp's Hindon Farm near Dunedin there was a $7/lamb difference between the top and the lowest rams' progeny from the CPT trials. So if farmers just focused on genetics and nothing else they could improve their returns.

Behrent says the only specification which has changed since Market Choice was introduced in 1997 is the weight range. The lamb weight range was 14.5kg-17.5kg. Now it is 14.5-19.5kg.

Three years ago the average saleable meat yield of lambs through Alliance was 51%. Now at 53% it is a significant increase given Alliance processes about seven million lambs a year.

Behrent says farmers should focus on the conformation and muscling in the hindquarter when selecting rams. Landcorp has well-bodied sheep with depth and good conformation.

Also its rams are not only scanned for eye muscle, but the top sires have gone through the CT scanner at Invermay.

The only way to objectively measure hindquarter muscling on a live animal is by using the CT scanner.

Behrent says farmers should avoid a leggy, church-steeple type of lamb and look for one with good muscling in the crutch.

"It should be like a front-row prop muscle all the way through."

Farmers can also earn extra money on their lambs by ensuring they are well-presented.

Alliance requires stock emptied out in a clean pen before transport and dags removed to avoid wool stains and carcase contamination. All wool around the face and eyes should be removed.

From April-November lambs should be bellied, ideally 2-7 days before slaughter.

Shorn lambs and sheep must be three weeks off the shears before slaughter. They should also be separate from woolly stock. Belly wool must not be longer than 60mm up to and including the top of the brisket. Belly wool with faecal or mud dags must be removed regardless of length.

Belly and shorn lamb payments of $1.60 are paid when the animals are killed if they meet the specifications required.

Stock meeting all the presentation requirements fit into category A. Category B animals require minimal preparation before processing while category C stock are unacceptable for slaughter.

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