STRONG uptake of a new eating quality graded trade description on Australian beef and solid progress in objective carcase measurement is moving the industry well down the path towards an ambitious goal for genetic gain.
The National Livestock Genetics Consortium is aiming for more than $400m in industry improvements through doubling the rate of annual genetic gain in the commercial livestock industry value chain by 2022.
Meat and Livestock Australia’s general manager of producer consultation and adoption Michael Crowley outlined the how and why of that target at a mini conference organised by the Australian Registered Cattle Breeders Association in Brisbane last week.
“It’s a big target but at the same time we are building on over 30 years of investment in this space,” he said.
MLA evaluations show that livestock genetics return $4 for every dollar invested, which means the consortium has to facilitate $100m in investment in the next four years.
Mr Crowley said that investment was indeed already on the table.
There had been unprecedented levels of investment in this space, he said.
He used the example of Italy’s new-age “supermarket of the future”, which allows customers to touch a product and discover all about its origins, to point to the big changes happening in consumer demands around beef.
“If you look at how sophisticated that is and the information that will be available at a shopper’s fingertips, we need to think about how we are going to deliver that in a red meat context,” Mr Crowley said.
“More importantly, how can we link that shopper experience back to how we make decisions on farm?
“That starts to frame up the challenge we have.”
Support coming from the processing sector for the bid to connect genetic benchmarking to consumer outcomes was very encouraging, Mr Crowley reported.
The eating quality graded cipher, which provides a trade description option over traditional dentition (teeth based) descriptions - which have been shown to have no link to eating quality - is a good example.
It has only been in operation this year but already 27 per cent of Meat Standards Australia production is being packed as EQG.
“So there is clearly a need and the conversations we are having with the processors and brand owners are very refreshing,” Mr Crowley said.
“We have shown that it is worth an additional $49m to the industry a year to eliminate the situation of four and six teeth cattle that are graded MSA but were not being packed in MSA brands.
“There are big dollars being left on the table. As we move to an outcome focussed industry, it adds significant value.”
Another interesting development was around objective measurement, Mr Crowley said.
“If we can improve the precision with which we are measuring, we will improve the pricing signals back to producers and they can then use that information to make selection decisions,” he said.
From an eating quality point of view hyperspectral cameras were showing a lot of potential in measuring things like marbling, meat colour, rib fat and rib eye area.
Meanwhile, some supply chains were well down the road with dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) technology for measuring lean meat yield and would start getting feedback to producers within 12 months, Mr Crowley said.
Vision for the red meat value chain
BY 2025, cheaper genomics tests could make DNA testing of animals routine, which would mean producers were starting to breed animals more closely aligned to end market specifications, MLA’s Michael Crowley says.
“We’ll use objective measures of live animals to predict market spec compliance, then technology will provide a lean meat yield prior to cut-out,” he said.
Add in objective measurement of eating quality traits and we will start to see specifications set up on quality and yield which will lead to payments being determined on the value of the carcase.