Source: Michael Fielding, MEATINGPLACE, 4/19/16

Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) has received a $4.8 million Australian Government grant to develop advanced new measurement technology that MLA officials say will "transform" the meat industry.

The joint project, led by MLA, will accelerate the development and introduction of new technology including X-ray and 3D digital imaging for accurately measuring live animals and carcases – paving the way for value-based pricing based on known meat yield and eating quality.

MLA Managing Director Richard Norton said the technology developed would enable producers to be paid on the objective measurement of the product they supplied, allowing improved compliance to pricing grids, better targeting of markets and maximized profits.

“The funding of this project will deliver a quantum leap in the development and adoption of technology because it leverages the capacity of 19 research and industry partners,” Norton said in a news release.
The project builds on MLA's Meat Standards Australia eating quality program in supplying products tailored to consumer needs.
Under the project, three measurement technologies will be developed for on-farm use and within the processing sector to objectively determine carcass composition and more accurately determine eating quality.

For processors, use of the new technologies to assess lean meat yield should allow for the precise valuing of carcasses, optimizing market-based cutting and de-boning decisions. The supply of information back through the value chain, and its integration with genetic databases, are expected to inform producers’ on-farm decision making and profitability.

"Industry has been looking for objective carcass measurement for some time – and paying all sectors in the supply chain on objective performance is a key goal of the Meat Industry Strategic Plan," Norton added. "The evolution of this new technology represents a significant leap in the application of leading edge science for the industry, bringing us technology more commonly used in medical science."

Funded through the Rural Research and Development for Profit program, the project will build on the findings of an earlier “insights to innovation” project to identify and capture new export market opportunities.

For a closer look at Meat Standards Australia and how it may disrupt the USDA's longstanding yield grading system, turn to the May issue of Meatingplace in print.

For more stories, go to www.meatingplace.com