SHORTER ready occasions earlier than slaughter for cattle at Australian Nation Selection’s Cannon Hill processing facility may produce a 4.64kg/carcase weight benefit, in line with a brand new examine.
Shared throughout the broader Australian red-meat trade, the analysis findings may supply a method to enhance financial returns for livestock producers and meat processors and enhance meat consuming high quality for shoppers.
College of New England honours pupil Holly Speers discovered that lowering ready time from the trade customary (16 to 24 hours) to as little as two hours will increase dressing proportion, carcase weights – each cold and warm – and consuming high quality, with out compromising meals security.
She focussed her four-month examine on 1896 crossbred steers coming from ACC’s Brisbane Valley feedlot to Cannon Hill from June to September 2024.
Her analysis recommended that the shorter ready time in lairage elevated scorching customary carcase weight, chilly carcass weight and dressing proportion, in comparison with longer lairage occasions.
Lairage is the interval cattle spend resting in holding pens after arriving at a processing facility, permits animals to get better from transport stress, facilitates inspections and ensures logistical coordination.
Ms Speers stated: “This administration step is important in sustaining animal welfare and operational effectivity in beef processing.
“Sometimes, Australian services preserve lairage durations of 16-24 hours to supply cattle with adequate relaxation, to cut back gastrointestinal contents and to adjust to meals security requirements.”
A function of her ACC examine was a ten-day ready interval after pre-draft earlier than livestock exit from the feedlot. This gave the animals time to beat any stress and to re-establish their social hierarchies of their new remedy teams.
Ms Speers’ analysis discovered that shorter lairage led to higher color and optimum pH ranges within the meat – a marker of consuming high quality. The examine revealed that the traditional lairage group reported 2.32pc dark-cutters whereas the brief lairage group reported 0pc.
Shorter lairage was one in all “Ten useful tips to help avoid dark cutting/high PH penalties,” quoting UNE’s Dr Peter McGilchrist, printed earlier on Beef Central.
Microbial impression
Moreover, Ms Speers checked 10pc of all carcases for microbial depend post-slaughter.
“Shorter lairage means much less time to scrub down the animals,” she stated. “Regardless of this, there was no distinction. The conceal was simply as clear and there was no elevated switch of microbes from the hides onto the meat throughout processing.”
Quick period lairage introduced processors with a chance to extend carcase yields with out compromising meals security, which might generate substantial monetary returns as a consequence of improved efficiencies, Ms Speers stated.
“Nonetheless, the implementation of brief period lairage requires exact logistical planning, communication and coordination amongst stakeholders to make sure profitable operations, given the complexity of the purple meat processing trade,” she stated.
“Efficient truck scheduling is important to keep away from queuing and to take care of manufacturing circulation.”
“Nonetheless, total, brief period lairage helps each operational and economical returns to the Australian beef trade by concentrating on improved livestock transport and lairage administration practices,” she stated.
Australian Nation Selection Analysis and Growth supervisor Paul Gibson stated short-duration lairage provided each producer and processor alternative for productiveness positive factors in carcase kilograms, and actual impression to the underside line.
Pictured analysis outcomes at ACC Cannon Hill had been (L to R) Dr Emma Lynch, UNE lecturer in ruminant manufacturing, Peter McGilchrist, UNE Affiliate Professor in Meat Science, Holly Speers and Paul Gibson.
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