Progressive farmers link up with Welsh Lamb Meat Quality Project
Sheep farmers from across Wales have been contributing to a pioneering industry project designed to ensure the highest quality and consistency of the country's best known food product – PGI Welsh Lamb.
The Welsh Lamb Meat Quality Project, funded by the Welsh Government and the EU and led by Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) is studying the on-farm and processing factors which influence the eating quality of meat.
Alongside public taste panels and laboratory work, a key element has been engaging with farmers to exchange ideas and best practice.
A number of farmers from all corners of Wales have been recruited to supply lambs for the project and record their on-farm practices to help inform the results.
From farm to fork
Rob Lewis keeps a flock of 1,100 sheep and 60 suckler cattle at Glanelan, Rhayader, near the renowned Elan Valley lakes, and has been a keen participant in the research programme, taking part in studies of the impact of seasonality and lamb gender on consumers' views of the quality of the meat.
He recently hosted Welsh rural affairs minister Lesley Griffiths on his farm to discuss progress on the project.
"Welsh farming has to innovate to survive in an increasingly competitive global marketplace," said Rob. "I look forward to receiving feedback on what impacts the nutritional composition and eating quality of the meat. This will help make future business decisions and improve the efficiency of finishing lambs on a sustainable grass-based system."
Rob is now finding out first-hand how consumers react to the product. Since May 2020, he has taken over the 16th-century Triangle Inn in nearby Cwmdauddwr alongside his farming business, ensuring that both Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef are featured prominently on the menu.
Investigating processing and parentage
The fourth and final phase of the research will study how different carcass hanging methods in processing influence the quality of the meat. The project will also investigate product packaging, including vacuum and modified atmospheric packs, and will again draw on farmers' expertise to study the influence of traits passed down to the animals from their parental lineage.
Gareth and Ina Morgan, who farm 320 acres at Llanfynydd in Carmarthenshire, will be supplying 24 lambs to the project, and will be using DNA technology to verify the parentage of the lambs in the study.
"I'm keen to find out the influence of the sire on the lambs, with a view to seeing which rams are performing in producing lambs which suit the modern consumer's demands in terms of the quality of the meat," said Gareth.
HCC's Welsh Lamb Meat Quality Project is one of three five-year projects in the Red Meat Development Programme, which is funded by the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.
