<SS K Livestock Notes | Changes Proposed In Lamb Grading William R. Henning Penn Stale Animal Sciences The USDA has proposed in the Federal Register to make major changes in die way it grades lamb carcasses. This proposal was made as a result of a request from the sheep producers through the American Sheep Industry Associ ation (ASI). Two recent survey-type studies have found that the lambs pro duced in the United States are gen erally too fat. One study showed that at certain times of the year over 60 percent of the lambs CATTLE • CALVES • HOGS ’SIS? EAR TA6S The same fine tags we supply to the PA Dept, of Agriculture Other metal and oucraE plastic tags and '«* accessories are available l»smno Call Today! 0 ■ _ii —| I M.J.HLBER flj Ketchum Mlg. Co,, Inc. I " < 192$ East River Drive I | 1 Lake Luzerne, NY 12846 |pM (518) 686-3331 FREE CATALOG! w Mse-meeM MX OtDMS: (511) M4-4MI DEALER INQUIRIES WELCOME Front Ends Only? How Practical. 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Most marketing experts felt that this was a hindrance to the retail er’s willingness to buy and feature lamb. Some have even suggested that the differences in fat, and therefore cutting yields, were part of the reason for the popularity of imported lamb. Packers can now pass the fat along to retailers who then suffer the economic losses due to exces sive fat they must trim to present well-trimmed lamb cuts in the retail case. If the proposal were to become law, it would force pack ers to pay less for overfat lambs L*> Model 88-501 Before Indexing Indexing Rail tn forward petition lor optimum cow flow Conventional Exit Cows exit single file. t Potomac Valley Supply Hagerstown, MD 301-223-6877 and give producers economic incentives to produce lambs with . , . . „ less fat. The proposal was made to we, « ht much “ 8 to , 1( ? change the factors used in yield ccnt . c^? s ® weig . ht 1! 1 grading lamb carcasses and cou- extreme cases). This deposition of pling yield grade with quality excessive internal [at occurs most n ly in the large lamb feedlots in the Proposed changes were: (1) Require that aU carcasses The r e are Reasons for the which are Quality Graded also be CXC “ SIVC L faL The lambs truly are Yield Graded (coupling). overfinished which causing them (2) Require the trimming of to large quantities of fat kidney and pelvic fat at the time of “°*f nd I) 16 organs and, secondly, slaughter, eliminating kidney fat *e breeds used are predominantly from the yield grade calculation, white-faced breeds which have a (3) Eliminate the use of leg geneuc predisposition for this type conformation score. .-°f fat deposition. (4) Change the relation with fat Fa f* both . fT and mta^ \.. M ° . remains with the carcass when Rem “ifte kidney and pelv ic fat to less than 1 percent of die a " d s n ® xp ®" s c e to J h f, ,ndu ?- carcass weight would eliminate a . , y * _ ,r major incentive for overfinishing «£" s ‘ v « to rtn “ lambs since the kidney fat can be a “ s *™ n f y ° .k" lhen . l ° large proportion of the carcass S 1 a f ross , ** count[y -6 y Finally, uis a loss to the retailer who must trim the fat which he has paid for, and then to pay someone to haul it away. The impact on the industry Cows out o< position unconlinod di ‘ • —ifllctoni All-Exit Cows axil In a wava. BLUE DIAMOND co. Burchfield’s Inc. Martinsburg, PA 814-793-2194 J.B. Zimmerman Erb & Henry & Sons Equipment, Inc. Blue Ball, PA New Berlinville, PA 717-354-4955 215-367-2169 if v if % * % C.L. Greenland State College, PA 814-237-2363 Problem Water? Odor? Bad Taste? Stains? Iron? Manganese? Mineral Buildup? Color? Bacteria? Virus? Harmful Micro-organisms? Hydrogen Sulfide? THM Precursors? Other Contaminants? Do You Have Any Problems With: * Small Litter Size v|L * Too Much Medication a, —jR !| A * Milk Production Y ' *** * Poor Feed Efficiency * Algae in Drinking Cups [yfj * Bad Conception Rate « Could Water Be Your Problem? Complete Farm Water Treating System A Farm Water System that is designed to clean the water on your farm with one of natures most powerful purifying agents Condensed Oxygen (Ozone). ■AID ¥7 335 Quarry Rd., Leola, Pa. 17540 lwll\CU\Jil 717-656-8380 WATER CONDITIONING INC Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, January 9,1993-F3l would occur mainly in the large Western fecdlots where most lambs are fed after coming in from the mountain pastures. It is a large business closely tied to the few lamb packing plants which still exist. This change would have little effect in the East where excess kidney fat is not a problem. Lambs produced in the East are not fed as intensively and the genetic base is more of the black faced breeds which tend to deposit less kidney fat normally. With the exception of one large packer, the proposal initially had wide industry support and looked like a cinch to be adopted. That one packer now apparendy has influenced at least one industry organization to change its posi tion, and the proposal may be in jeopardy. The U.S. lamb industry needs this, or a similar plan, to give the economic incentive to reduce the fat in American lamb. Beyond Beef Is Beyond Belief
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