Abattoir spells out need for meticulous selection
Abattoir spells out need for meticulous selection
By James Garner
DESPITE suppressed new season lamb prices, lamb quality remains crucial for producers trying to maximise returns.
During an NSA Eastern region visit to Dawn Cardingtons food plant at Bedford, lamb production manager John Bailey explained to visitors what the abattoir liked to see from suppliers.
"We prefer outdoor-fed lambs. I am not a great fan of indoor lambs because they lack bloom on their coats and this is reflected in the carcass. There is also more blood drip loss so they record lower weights."
Most of Dawn Cardingtons lamb from its Bedford plant is sold to Safeway. This means lambs have to hit the standard specification of 15kg-20.5kg carcass weight, R grade or better for conformation and 2-3L for fat cover.
It is all-important for suppliers of Dawn Cardington to meet this specification because any lambs outside these grades will be labelled differently and sold through the commodity market at lower prices. This will be reflected in the producers returns, Mr Bailey said.
Over the last 10 years, Mr Bailey reckons that on-farm selection has improved considerably, particularly from breeder/finisher units. Store finishers could improve their selection, but they tend to be selecting lambs from a wider range of weights and breeds.
From the 450 lambs killed on the day of the NSA visit, only 20 were outside supermarket specifications, which is encouraging, said Mr Bailey.
Despite improvements in selection to meet carcass targets, Mr Bailey believes more lambs could meet these specifications through better selection. He said better on-farm management could also help the slaughter process.
"Ideally we like all lambs to be starved overnight so their paunch is as small and empty as possible. There is then less chance of this being cut during slaughter and contaminating the meat."
In particular, ensuring bellies, crutch and legs are free from dirt and wet can allay meat contamination fears. In summer this is less of a problem, but in winter hoggs need to be clipped to stop dirt affecting meat hygiene.
"A carcass is a bit like an egg shell," he said. "Once its cracked open its no longer sterile." It is the same concept for carcasses – as soon as the skin starts coming off they can be contaminated.
Another area that producers can take heed from is castration. According to Mr Bailey, there is no need to cut lambs destined for early slaughter: These are better left entire and will produce a good lean carcass.
However, for producers selling lambs after a store period, he said castration should be done unless flockmasters can guarantee sexes can be separated.
"It is a welfare concern when they are not because a tup lamb will mate young ewe hoggs and make them pregnant." This is a bigger welfare concern than castration, he said.
It is also worth finding out the dressing specification of the outlet you are selling too. Each is different because they have become dedicated to supplying mainly one retailer, so they can achieve economies of scale in packaging and cutting specifications.
At Dawn Cardington all lambs have their neck taken off at the axis bone, tail removed and no external fat.
LAMBQUALITY
• Selection improved.
• Starve overnight.
• Clean lambs.