Influence of Breed and Age on Lamb Performance & Meat Quality

The American Sheep Industry Association podcast with host Jake Thorn features guest Tom Murphy Ph.D., a sheep geneticist with the USDA/ARS Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Nebraska. Dr. Murphy explores how breed and age impact lamb performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality. While producers focus on traits like growth rate and parasite resistance, industry success relies on creating a positive eating experience for consumers. Surveys indicate that consumer satisfaction is largely tied to eating satisfaction, particularly lamb flavor. Dr. Murphy defines how heritability varies across traits, explaining that: Lamb survival has low heritability (less than 5%). Weaning weight is moderately heritable (20–30%). Carcass traits like loin muscle area are highly heritable (~40%). Flavor profiles are on the lower end (10–20%). While terminal sire breeds (e.g., Suffolk, Texel) provide growth and carcass advantages over maternal breeds, research shows no clear, consistent breed differences regarding eating quality and flavor. Dr. Murphy emphasizes that improving these traits requires consistent performance recording, phenotypic data collection, and leveraging genetic tools.