Prime lamb: Marketing, selection and classification

To successfully market prime lamb, you need to produce and sell the type of sheep buyers want and are willing to pay the most money for. Find out how to market your lamb and learn how processors use the carcase.

While there are many market specifications for lamb, including maximum and minimum weight bands, most meat buyers are looking for animals that classify as R3L.

Identify your market/s and focus on producing lambs to suit its requirements. Don’t produce a batch of lambs without knowing who your customer is or what they want.

While weight is important, sending animals of the right conformation and fat score is just as vital. Handle your lambs regularly to ensure each animal has reached its full potential and target specification.

Understanding what customers want at every stage of the supply chain is key to producing lamb that sells.

Discover how meeting consumer expectations for quality, consistency and assurance, while hitting processor and retailer specifications, can help maximise demand and returns for your lamb.

Weight and appearance can give you a good indication of whether an animal is ready for market, but the best way to make an accurate assessment is to handle the animal and check its condition in person.

There are two dressing specifications agreed by the industry: the reference specification and the UK standard specification.

This guide provides information to help you maximise financial returns from finished lamb. Topics include how abattoir payment systems work and differences between carcase classifications.

Our virtual selection tool shows how real and virtual animals look at different points in the classification grid.

It also takes you through different carcase cuts, yield data and several other topics related to selection.