Farmers to be paid for meat according to yield

More than 12 years after farms began stocking exotic new breeds with far more meat on their frame than the traditional romney, a South Island company is offering farmers payment according to yield.

PPCS has compiled a market attribute assessment of carcasses (MAAC) to pay farmers according to the meat they produce, says market services manager Ken Rouse.

He told a monitor farm field day in Marlborough that the company's scheme would also reward farmers who breed animals for market demand.

Carcasses will be graded on a scale ranging from one (very low yield) to eight (super yield), and Rouse suggested that if a farmer was getting a score of more than four there would be extra payments.

The downside was those below the average yield would get less.

The system worked by measuring saleable yield of every carcass, measuring such things as toughness, colour and shelf life of the meat.

"We are getting a huge database of information. There are 40 specifications so we can change with market. If people's tastes change then they can go back to this research."

- NZPA