By using proper techniques prior to slaughter, we feel that we can impact the quality of our final products. Someday we hope to have a system in place to maintain cut identity from the cut floor back to the individual carcass and ultimately to the producer. If quality problems are reported back to producers in the form of payment adjustments, we may see a more pronounced shift toward reducing PPSE and improving meat quality. Uniformity of products is another key issue for packers. Perhaps uniformity of carcasses could even be considered more important than the amount of lean.
Consumers demand consistent, uniform products.
The job of sorting through daily production to find the desired cuts is difficult and could be made easier if carcasses within the same lot were more uniform. Unfortunately, there remains a tremendous variation among carcasses, even within the same lot and genetic type. Offering premiums and discounts to producers for the quality of the lean they are supplying may shift the focus to meat quality traits. When carcass merit payment programs became prevalent there was a significant focus placed on producing leaner animals for the packer. Producers could actually see the impact of improving the lean content of their hogs by looking at their payment.