The Intercollegiate Meat Judging (ICMJ) National Conference wrapped up in Wagga a couple weeks ago, and we were proud to play our part. ICMJ is a not-for-profit initiative that runs workshops, conferences, and judging competitions focused on meat science and the red meat supply chain.
As long-time supporters of the program, Gundagai Lamb was once again a sponsor of this important industry event and had a strong presence on the ground. With Claire, Molly and Jake all having participated in ICMJ during their university studies, and now sitting on the ICMJ committee, it is something we are particularly proud to be a part of.
Visits from near and far
The weeklong conference started with seven universities, including one from the USA and one from Japan, visiting GMP, hearing from the team about Gundagai Lamb, touring the plant and even finding some time for Lamb Judging Training.
Feedback is a necessity
Our own, Dr Michelle Henry, joined several other industry leaders, taking to the ICMJ stage to share the unique Gundagai Lamb story with over 170 university students. Providing insights on the role of feedback in creating value through the supply chain – a message that is intrinsic to who we are at Gundagai Lamb – Michelle delivered a brilliant message.
Outlining the technology that measures the attributes and the principles behind the objective grading and explaining that everything requires a balance “There is a chance that a carcase with high intramuscular fat, still doesn’t grade GLQ5+” she said “well that’s because that lamb was also overly fat and what we don’t want to do, as a brand, is encourage the over fattening of lambs, in the fruitless search for more IMF – it is wasteful product, slows production down and it isn’t something we want to encourage in our supply chain”.
Acknowledging that improvement is rarely an immediate outcome, but rather one that requires feedback and working together for the betterment of the industry “we need to give that feedback so that producers can grow in time and without that feedback, they cannot make those decisions – those real decisions – on what they need to do and want to achieve” said Michelle, “so giving that feedback and working with them ensures that we can grow alongside our producers”.
Michelle went onto explain that the Gundagai Lamb brand extends beyond just the grading of the lambs, as unique and important trait as it is, but that the relationships built and the sharing of knowledge that is truly special to us “We are pulling all this technology together; why? We want to do it differently; we want to give feedback and have a transparent relationship with our producers” and above all is ingrained in who we want to be as a brand “it comes back to our pillars of how we want to operate in being a transparent and trustworthy supply chain”
At the end of the day, no one can get better if they don’t know where to focus their attention. And in a market where consumers have seemingly unlimited options, we need to make sure we are working through the supply chain to meet the demands of the consumer.
“Feedback is the pathway for Growth” concluded Michelle.
Questions came in thick and fast, with curiosity around how this role of grading has translated to the eating experience of the end consumer “The high quality, consistency of the lamb coming through…and knowing that it is going to perform each time on the plate, is something that was important in our early relationships to help grow the brand, and continues to this day” Michelle explained.
Genetics and Data Collide
Another highlight of the week was hearing from long-standing Gundagai Lamb producer, Isabele Roberts, Ridgehaven Poll Dorsets. Isabele shared her insights on how breeding values and feedback can be used to drive genetic improvement on farm. A previous Gundagai Lamb Pioneer Producer of the Year Award Winner and Coles Farmer of the Year in 2023, to say Isabele’s commitment to improve the lamb industry has been recognised and is highly valued across the supply chain.
Ridgehaven is a genetics and prime lamb business with one clear focus: to identify, develop and verify genetics that support the needs of the prime lamb industry. Isabele began her presentation by outlining three key performance traits for lamb producers – efficiency in DSE (stocking capacity), productivity (kg/ha) and value per lamb ($/kg). She explained that while there are different levers available to improve these outcomes, it all starts with genetics. The first step is identifying and measuring traits through phenotypic expression – in other words, what you can see and assess in the animal.
To help visualise the concept, Isabele used Lego blocks to represent different genetic traits. She described how each lamb carries a unique combination and degree of traits, some more desirable than others. “Your building blocks are your genetics,” she explained. “If you don’t have it, you can’t produce it. And if you don’t measure it, you don’t know what you’ve got.”
Her message echoed Michelle’s earlier presentation: that measurement, data, and feedback are essential tools for driving real progress in the industry. “Measuring things on farm and measuring things in the processing plant is absolutely fundamental for us to have the best genetic development we can for our industry” she said.
It is this genetic development and the ability to retain the favourable traits and breed out the undesirable, that is the test, “If anyone wants a challenge, be a genetics producer,” she said but echoed the sentiment that by working together across the supply chain, we can achieve real, meaningful change.
Isabele also led a practical workshop with students, guiding them through decision-making using both phenotypic and genetic information. It was a great way to reinforce the key ideas from her presentation and give students a practical lens through which to apply them.
Thank you again
A huge congratulations to Michelle and Isabele on their wonderfully delivered and thought-provoking presentation, and a big thank you to the ICMJ team for another brilliant event. We’re already looking forward to the next one.
