Kelso - Listening - Thinking - Innovating

It’s all about the yield

September 26, 2011

When processing the lambs you have worked hard to get to the desired specification there are a number of key aspects that drive the overall value:

1. the price the consumer pays
2. our share of the price the consumer pays
3. the management of foreign exchange rates and destination markets
4. product form and market mix
5. yield

While the first four of these are market-related, the fifth one, YIELD, is the one you can have a significant influence over.

As the local processor, Progressive’s focus is on maximising DRESSING OUT YIELD. How do we achieve this?

• By providing you with the benefits of ‘prompt kill’. We will report this back to you on the dressing out yield of your lambs by live-weighing stock just prior to slaughter. You can also enhance the dressing out yield of your lambs by the breeding programmes and feeding regimes you undertake on farm.

We also focus on allowing you to maximise your SALEABLE YIELD. How do we achieve this?

• Through weighing each individual cut from a carcase and reporting this back to you as a comparison against the average.

What do you need to do on farm?

• Select the targeted carcase weight range. Then select genetics and manage feeding to have your animals just reaching maturity in the targeted carcase weight range. Genetic selection is for long term gain while feeding is current management.

Carcase Definition
Progressive Meats dresses all carcases to the ‘Suretrim’ standard that has recently been released by Beef and Lamb New Zealand. It is very important for all farmers to understand and reinforce with their meat company of choice the need to adopt a common standard carcase trim to ensure prices offered between companies can be fairly compared. If farmers, in general, do not support this Beef and Lamb initiative then meat companies will feel compelled to opt out through fear of being commercially disadvantaged and the current unsatisfactory situation will continue. Buyer beware.

_____________________________________________________________________________