Using a lamb's early-life liveweight as a predictor of carcass quality.

ABSTRACT: The commercial value of lamb carcasses is primarily determined by their weight and quality, with the latter commonly quantified according to muscle coverage and fat depth. The ability to predict these quality scores early in the season could be of substantial value to sheep producers, as this would enable tailored flock management strategies for different groups of animals. Existing methods of carcass quality prediction, however, require either expensive equipment or information immediately before slaughter, leaving them unsuitable as a decision support tool for small to medium-scale enterprises. Using seven-year high-resolution data from the North Wyke Farm Platform, a system-scale grazing trial in Devon, UK, this paper investigates the feasibility of using a lamb's early-life liveweight

SUBMITTER: Jones AG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8169456 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature