Oxton Park Merinos score bonus for marbling quality
The dual purpose of producing Merino lambs for their marbling as well as wool pays off for the O’Connor family.
Merino lambs have been some of the first in Australia to earn a premium for their marbling.
The O’Connor family’s lambs from Oxton Park at Harden, NSW, received a 50c/kg bonus on top of the grid price when they were processed at Gundagai Meat Processors recently, the first meat works in Australia to offer a bonus for intramuscular fat in lambs.
Paul O’Connor said the draft of 11-month-old Merino lambs were too heavy for their normal over-the-hooks grid processor, and so they decided to test their genetics at GMP.
“We had no real idea about how they would perform but we thought it would be interesting to get feedback on our lambs,” Mr O’Connor said.
Of the draft of 452 lambs, 60 per cent met the minimum marbling criteria of 5 per cent.
“We have long selected Merinos to be dual purpose but to have so many of our lambs show high levels of marbling was a big surprise I think for GMP and for us,” he said.
“There had been anecdotal evidence that Merinos were one of the better marbling breeds of sheep but to be able to see it is a big plus.
“Not only did we get the extra returns, but the feedback was interesting as well, and now we have to work out what to do with it.”
Mr O’Connor said the non-mulesed status of his flock and the quality of wool produced meant that many brands were chasing the 19-micron fibre, and he said this may occur too if the Oxton Park Merino lambs were known for marbling.
“If processors are trying to aim for the next level in terms of restaurants and eating quality, they need premium quality, tenderness and flavour and an excellent eating experience,” he said.
The dual-purpose nature of the Oxton Park Merino flock means income is split between wool and meat returns, with the latter increasingly important in the bottom line.
The wether lambs shore $40 of 18-micron wool at eight months, then averaged 35 kilograms at 11 months producing a carcass value of $283 when sold to GMP.
Mr O’Connor said genetics played a role, and the use of classer Chris Bowman to help with the physical attributes of the flock, combined with Australian Sheep Breeding Values, resulted in a flock that had good growth, with IMF a bonus.
“Now we know we have it, we will need to be mindful that any other selections we make in terms of growth and eye muscle area that may work against marbling,” he said.
But he also thinks running the lambs on grazing canola could have impacted the quality and marbling in the carcasses.
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