Observations on lean prediction in the pig

Extract

Consumer demand for lean meat production has meant that prediction of lean meat content of the carcass has become an important part of commercial pig production at many levels. At the production level, precise prediction of lean in the live pig is required to rank accurately selection candidates to ensure rapid genetic progress and to aid management decisions. At the marketing level, classification schemes pay high premiums for leanness. Payment under current classification schemes is based on relatively simple back fat measurements. However, in neither case is there ‘built in’ differentiation for breed or genotype but in the future, grading schemes are likely to place greater emphasis on leanness. The purpose of this study was thus to determine whether lean prediction in the carcass was independent of slaughter weight and genetic type, to identify the best predictors of leanness and to estimate multiple correlation coefficients for predicting lean in the carcass from lean in individual joints. Pigs from four commercial genotypes were performance tested, serially slaughtered between 80kg and 120kg, after which fat depths were recorded and full sides dissected. Various predictors of lean were then compared.