LPT 312: Abattoir Practices and Animal Products Technology (1+1)

GRADING OF SHEEP

• In live animals conformation can readily be determined and mouthing can check up maturity. However, the quality traits must be estimated in live animals by evaluation of overall finish of or packing.
• Sight alone is always misleading especially in wool lamb evaluation. So most buyer wade through the group making spot check of fatness over the rump, croup and back on a number of lambs.

Prime

• Lambs to grade prime must have the wide, deep, smooth, compact conformation characteristic of animals of the meat type.
• Shoulders should be thick and neat, back broad and thick, and the legs exceptionally plump.
• The finish must be sufficient to cover the backbone so that the backbone is not noticeable to the touch.
• The finish must be firm and evenly distributed. Only a small percent (8.7%) of the total lamb population is graded U. S. Prime.

Choice

• Eighty-seven percent of the lambs graded qualify for the U. S. Choice grade. Thus, it is almost ‘all-inclusive’.
• Lambs of this grade are slightly deficient to prime lambs in conformation and differ primarily in a more moderate amount of finish.
• Choice lambs have sufficient quality to satisfy consumer requirements.

Good

• Less than 1% of lambs graded qualify for U.S. Good. This grade includes lambs that are somewhat deficient in meatiness and finish and includes a number of the better animals of the fine wool breed.
• It represents a grade that produces carcasses that are in demand because of their lacking of trimming fat.

Utility

• Approximately ¼ of 1% lambs graded, grade Utility. Lambs that are narrow and somewhat rangy, with long legs, high twist, and unsymmetrical conformation come in this grade.
• The backs of these lambs will show a decided prominence of bone, have rough, prominent shoulders, bare ribs and loins, and show inferior breeding.

Cull

• Representatives of the Cull grade are practically non-existent.
• Thin, unsymmetrical, gaunt, leggy, rangy, narrow, long necked, and low quality lambs make up this grade.