Sheep Industry News March 2023

Lamb Council Looks at Frozen Product, Grading and Labeling

A fter a record-setting year in 2021, lamb prices took an unwelcome turn in 2022 – a fact that was on full display in discussions at the Lamb Council’s meeting during the ASI nnual Convention. “We won’t sugarcoat it, we’ve got a lot of challenges ahead,” said American Lamb Board Executive Director Megan Wortman in her report to the council. Retail sales of lamb were down 4.7 percent in 2022 as inflation meant consumers had less income to spend on premium meats. Price was the No. 1 barrier for consumers in purchasing American lamb. In addition, the foodservice sector continued its struggles in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic as restaurants closed, reduced hours and simplified menus – all of which had a negative impact on sales of American lamb. But there are reasons to be optimistic in 2023 and beyond. While consumer diets are changing, many still see red meat as a healthy part of a balanced diet. They might be eating less meat, but focusing on higher quality when they do. Lamb is a perfect option for such consumers. Furthermore, the growth of value-added meat products could be a boon to the industry in more ways than one. Consumers prefer the convenience of such products, which they generally purchase frozen. And that could lead to more acceptance of frozen lamb by consumers, which would make it easier for producers and packers to provide a year-round supply of American lamb. “We believe there are opportunities in this area, and certainly one of the biggest challenges to getting consumers to buy our prod uct is ensuring they can find it year-round,” Wortman said. Wortman pointed to an ALB-sponsored study that showed consumers are open to frozen meat products. Frozen meat reduces loss risk for retailers as the product has a longer shelf life than fresh options. Meat shortages during the pandemic also led to many consumers purchasing larger quantities of available meat (when it was avail able) and freezing it at home for future use. The study also indicated meat buyers’ preference for American meat might outweigh their concerns over fresh versus frozen product. The inclusion of lamb in online meat delivery services (Allen Brothers, D’Artagnan and Crowd Cow) is also pushing consumers toward general acceptance of frozen meat, as most ship frozen meat with dry ice and advise customers to keep products frozen until they are ready to use them. The move toward frozen product would certainly prove benefi cial to an industry that sometimes struggles to provide a consistent supply of domestic lamb throughout the calendar year.

“We as producers know there’s good frozen product out there,” said Cody Hiemke of Niman Ranch during a subsequent panel dis cussion with meat packers. “We, as an industry, say we should just kill that lamb now and sell it frozen. But there’s an expectation with the consumer. If they buy chicken and pork fresh, then they should be able to buy lamb fresh. I think that’s the expectation.” Frozen versus fresh wasn’t the topic of the panel discussion, but there’s no doubt packers would benefit from processing lambs as they’re available and freezing that product for future sales. The panel was tasked with discussing how packers use the current lamb grading and labeling standards, but the discussion touched on everything from electronic camera grading to the need to open more foreign markets for American lamb. That led to random thoughts from the council’s Lamb Grading Standards Working Group, which was given the job of looking at how current lamb grading standards might affect the industry’s ability to sell American lamb. The working group consists of ASI Lamb Council members Reed Anderson, Nick Forrest, Don Hawk, Karissa Isaacs and Dan Lippert. “I feel like the industry needs to focus on harvesting the lambs when they’re at their prime,” Hawk said in his comments. "That’s the important factor that kind of gets overlooked a lot.” Anderson sparked the initial conversation on the topic because most lamb imported into the United States is not graded, yet it’s taking market share from graded American lamb. “We have a small packing plant and market between 500 and 600 lambs a week,” Anderson said. “We do a little bit of grading if we have a customer that wants it. But for the most part, they don’t ask. We never have a problem with any kind of quality.” The council also heard how grading and labeling standards are implemented from representatives of the U.S. Department of Agri culture’s Agricultural Marketing Service and the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service.

March 2023 • Sheep Industry News • 19