The Sheep Show Podcast with Jill & Andrew Noble

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So what are the different cuts of lamb? 

·       There are nine basic or primal cuts from different parts of the lamb.

·       Each of these Primal cuts can be cut up different ways.

·       For example, the loin primal cut can be made into 

o   Individual cutlets or

o   French rack or

o   Barbeque rack or

o   Backstraps

·       You can select either of these options but only one of them because they all come from the same part of the lamb.

·       A good butcher can be very creative and can accommodate many special requests such as taking the bones out of the legs or making rolled roasts or sausages. Some of these options cost extra as there is more work involved.

Sausages

Sausages are a signature specialty for many butchers and we’ve had people who say they usually don’t like lamb, try our sausages and come back for more! You can have any part of the lamb made into sausages and you can request different flavours such as lamb and mint etc.

A common choice for sausage lovers is to order the cutlets and leg roasts and then have the rest of the lamb made into sausages. It’s completely up to you, just let us know. We often have lamb sausages and lamb mince available from other animals so we can often top up your order with these if you like. 

1. LEG

Like the two shoulders, the two legs on a lamb work hard, which means that this cut has a good, strong flavour. A leg of lamb is great roasted whole on the bone, or boned and barbecued. It’s a fairly lean muscle, so take care not to overcook it. 

2. RUMP

The rump comes from the back of the lamb. This cut is lean, tender and full of flavour – just be careful not to overcook as it will become tough if left to dry out.

3,4. LOIN CHOP

These are mini T-bone steaks cut from the waist of the lamb. On one side of the chop is the lamb loin and on the other side is the fillet. Just like chops, they’re great for grilling or barbecuing. Again these cuts can be cooked in the slow cooker or pressure cooker where the fat adds great flavour to the dish! If this cut of meat is left whole and boned you get the eye of shortloin, fillet or backstrap. Choose whatever cut is your favourite!

5. CHOP/RACK

Lamb chops or cutlets are the most expensive cuts of lamb, but are incredibly delicious and tender. They are taken from the ribs of the lamb and cooked individually, normally over a grill or a barbecue. When a number of them are left together and cooked as a whole, they’re called a rack of lamb. The backstrap comes from the same area, it is the meat that run through the rack. Chops and cutlets are often barbequed, grilled or fried, however chops are also great in curries and in any slow cooking recipe. 

6. SHOULDER/FOREQUARTER

This part of the animal works hard, so the meat from a lamb’s shoulder is full of flavour. It takes a while to become tender, but this means it’s a great choice for stewing and slow-roasting. To maximise the flavour, cook lamb shoulder on the bone so the meat simply falls apart when pulled with a fork. The shoulder is often cut into chops and braising or stew works well if you are cooking shoulder chops. 

7. SHANK

Lamb shank is a super-simple and very tasty cut that goes a long way. Taken from the lower part of the back legs, there is a lot of collagen in the shank, which, when cooked slowly, gives the meat a lovely soft, melting texture, making this another cut that’s perfect for stews and slow-cooking.

8. NECK

Lamb neck can be cooked slowly on a low heat, it can also be treated like a steak and cooked quickly over a high heat until pink.  Sometimes the neck is left on the shoulde

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Condition scoring sheep is an easy and accurate method of estimating the condition or 'nutritional well-being' of your sheep flock. It is particularly useful for monitoring pregnant and lactating ewes. It requires you to assess the amount of tissue and fat covering the backbone and the short ribs of each sheep. Each assessment should only take a matter of seconds, and condition scoring enough sheep to get an assessment of the mob will only take 20 minutes or so and can be done while sheep are in for other husbandry activities. 

Condition scoring a mob twice over a month can give a reliable indication of weight loss or gain. This is useful, particularly in the lead up to mating, as condition at mating can have a significant impact on lambing percentage. Condition scoring during the dry period will give much more accurate information on how the flock is travelling compared with pasture assessment, as pasture quantity and quality are difficult to assess at this time.

Condition scoring is often more useful than live weight in that it:

• Doesn't rely on a weigh crate being set up - can be done anywhere a sheep can be yarded 
• Can be done without having to correct for wool growth or the influence of wet wool on live weight 
• Needs no correction for weight of the foetus in pregnant ewes or the weight of fluid during lactation 
• Can be used on a mob of sheep with different frame sizes 

How to Condition Score

The animal should be standing in a relaxed position. It should not be tense, crushed by other animals or held in a crush. If the animal is tense it is not possible to feel the short ribs and get an accurate condition score. Place your thumb on the backbone just behind the last long rib and your fingers against the stubby ends of the short ribs. Use the scoring system described below to assign a score. Many people use a system of half scores such as 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5 etc. 

Randomly draft 25 sheep into a race or choose a random group from the middle of the mob. Many people choose a couple of animals from each race full when drenching or doing some other animal husbandry task. Be sure to record the scores so that you can calculate the average. 

This not only gives you a middle point but also shows the range of scores and whether there is a significant tail in the mob.

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Happy Birthday to The Sheep Show Podcast - we turn one this week! Thank you for being good sheep and  following loyally and staying tuned for 12 whole months! 

Enjoy this episode with Amanda and Scott from Tillara Park Suffolks in NSW, @tillaraparksuffolks as they share their inspirational story of participating in 30 shows over 2020. 

Stay tuned for more episodes on showing sheep over the next few months! 

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Line breeding is a fascinating topic which can offer some amazing results but as we will learn it comes with potential consequences which are not for the faint-hearted. Enjoy this extra long episode! 

In this episode with Jason we explore:

What is line breeding?

Why do it? 

Why does it work? What does it achieve?

What can do wrong when you line breed? 

How can you learn to line breed? How did you learn to do it so well?

What lines can/should we use? – Cousins? Grandparents/grandlambs??

What lines should we not use? 

Are the results different if you line breed with the maternal or paternal lines? 

How to do analyse the lines to know what will work with what? What are you looking for or aiming for? 

How to do you keep a record of the pedigrees? 

What happens if you line breed too close? In-breeding issues? What are the risks?

How do you know if your line is too close – are there rules? 

Why don’t more people/breeders do it? 

Are there calculators you can use to help you make line breeding decisions? 

When you have ram customers ask for a new blood line or choose a different line that yours? What do you say to them?

When you have a customer buy a starter flock, they often ask for an unrelated male – are they misinformed here? 

What are the argument for an against line breeding? Advantages and disadvantages 

Contact Jason via Facebook @O'Loghlin Wiltshire Horn Stud

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Why do sheep suffer from internal parasites so much? 
What different types of sheep worms exists? 
What do the different worms do? How do you spot them?
What are your options when managing worms in sheep? 

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Ever though about milking sheep? Join Becca from Hidden Hollow Idaho to learn about raising dairy sheep, milking sheep and making sheep cheese!! Yum!

In this episode we explore:

What breed of sheep is good for milking? 

Why have a sheep dairy? What are the benefits and key dairy products that are in demand? 

Where do you start if you wanted to breed and milk dairy sheep? 

What are the sheep health challenges when breeding and milking sheep?

How different is it to dairy cows? Do you take the lambs of the sheep? How do you raise the lambs if you do? How long to the sheep milk for? Can they get pregnant when they are still lactating? How do you keep condition on the ewe? What do you need to feed them? How long does a dairy ewe live/breed for? Do you use a different breed ram if so what breed do you use? 

What is the process like for the actual milking? 

What infrastructure do you need for a sheep dairy ?

What are the local regulations or compliance requirements? 

What happens the milk to make it into cheese or pasteurize the milk? 

What quantity of sheep do you have to milk to make it a viable commercial business? 

What is your route to market? How might you market your milk and cheese? Where do you sell to/or plan to sell to? 

What advice would you have for someone interested in setting up a sheep dairy? 

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Doug Deppeler from Deppeler Suffolks Derrinallum, Victoria, has been breeding sheep for 50 years. His sheep are highly regarded in the industry. He has won interbreed champions at several major shows and won a prestigious prize in 2020 with champion lamb at the Rona Show! In this episode Doug shares the secrets to his breeding success!

Doug and I explore the following:

Why should we focus on quality breeding? What does it do for a sheep enterprise and the industry at large? 

What are the benefits of  breeding sheep with good  attributes? What does mean for food and fibre production?

How do you determine your breed objectives?

Can you explain selection differential to us?

How do you select a good sire when it is a ram lamb? 

How do you breed for certain characteristics for example hindquarter, what might you use to make that breeding decision? 

What do you decide on first, genotype or phenotype when you are making breeding decisions? 

How do you select elite ewes? How early can you select them? 

What makes the biggest difference in a breeding enterprise? 

What about line breeding? What is it to you? What do you think works/what works for you, what doesn’t? 

What is structural correctness and why is this important when breeding sheep?

What are the challenges with breeding and culling on structural correctness?

How to measure balance in a sheep? 

Judging a quality sheep in an objective way

Using natural supplements for your sheep

How to boost growth rate in your sheep with minimum inputs?

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Should I join my young ewes? How can increase my lambing percentages? How do I manage my joining better to get better results. What are the pros and cons of joining maiden ewes? What percentage of rams should I use with my ewes? We explore all things joining in this episode - Happy joining! 

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What is the weirdest thing you have ever come across in your flock? I feel like I've had my fair share in my five years breeding sheep! 
In this episode we explore all things weird and wonderful in creatures woolly and meaty! 

I'd love to hear your weird and wonderful experiences - email me at [email protected] or post it on the Hallston Valley Farm Facebook feed so we can share the weird! 

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You've got your sheep farm ticking along so now what? How do you market our stock, wool, meat, dairy or even any sheep related products so that sales just happen! Take more control back and build a brand presence for yourself and all of your wonderful sheep!

Meredith Paige (www.meredithpaige.me) generously shares her top tips to get your 2021 off to a great strategic sheep start!

In this episode we explore:

What is the difference between sales, marketing and advertising? 

Should a sheep enterprise have a marketing plan? What would that look like?

What about features and benefits? Is this still important? 

Where would you start with marketing a sheep enterprise? 

What is the biggest mistake people make when marketing?

What about having a website presence? Is this necessary nowadays with social media? 

What are the secrets to using social media effectively for something like a sheep enterprise? 

How frequently should you post on social media? Can you do too much? 

Some people I know say that advertising is a waste of money? What are your thoughts on print and digital advertising for small business?

Tell me about the power of email marketing? It seems like such an old-fashioned way of marketing but it does actually work! Where would a sheep breeder start with email marketing? 

Some stud sheep breeders sell embryos and semen overseas – how would a sheep breeder start marketing to targeted overseas audience?

How might you market to a very traditional audience? These might be people who have always bought their sheep through sale yards and they aren’t all that digitally connected? 

There are peak times that sheep breeders advertise/market their products (stud rams in particular about 3-6 months before breeding season), should their marketing efforts be focused on one event like an on farm sale or should marketing be more consistent throughout the year? 

Contact Meredith via:

https://www.meredithpaige.me/

Get Meredith's freebie roadmap at:

https://www.meredithpaige.me/free-resources/small-biz-marketing-roadmap

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