Butcher Bytes - with Lochie Waters - what this award winning butcher wants to see in a lamb carcase

Possibly one of the most famous butchers in the country Lochie Waters from Uniplaza Meats is very passionate about his work and helps us get a clearer picture of what butchers are looking for in a lamb carcase. A career as a butcher and an impressive recent win at Meatstock Lochie started his career in the meat industry in 2013 in country Qld as a wash up boy at the age of 14.  Starting the very afternoon his Grandma had been in the shop and was asked by the butcher if she knew anyone suitable for the job.   He was there for 12 months and was then offered a school based apprenticeship which he did through to year 12.   Then things became quite tough in rural Qld and the butcher he was working for closed down which led him to move to Toowoomba and complete the apprenticeship with Uniplaza meats in 2018.  He then managed the shop for 2 years.  In 2020 he purchased the shop at 21 years of age.Lochie says they’ve built a reputation for supplying high quality products, all sourced within 100km of the shop front door.What are the benefits for you and other butchers in participating in Butcher Wars and Meatstock?What do you look for in a carcase of a lamb?What can you tell about the lamb from their carcase? What about some butcher terms like blue back, fat cover, eye muscle size, colour, hot carcase weight, on the hooks, shrinkage, trim – what other terms do we as lamb producers need to understand?What are your thoughts on weighing lambs or condition scoring when selecting a n animal for slaughter? Should producers put their hands on their animals or just focus on weight? What can/should we be looking for or feeling for when we put our hands on the live animal?Can you tell different breeds of sheep from their carcases – for example can you tell if the animal is an African breed, a wool breed or a British breed sheep by looking at the carcase? We seem to be focused on generic lamb in Australia, where as beef is marketed as Angus or Highland – should we as a producers be moving away from generic lamb and marketing specific breeds like Southdowns or Wiltshire Horn?How come lamb looks so pale when you see it on supermarket shelves? What about the colour of the lamb fat – should it be white or yellow, should the fat be hard or soft – what do these things tell us about the production environment of the lamb?What else can you tell about the production environment when you see a carcase hanging in your cool room? What about the age of despatching – is it different for different breeds? Should we eat milk fed lamb like they do in Europe? What are the pros and cons of this? When you buy lamb carcases for your shop what are you looking for – for example uniformity, consistently, breed, age, size? Support the showWant more! Want to show us some sheep love? Sign up for extra content via our sheep supporters tab !https://www.buzzsprout.com/954910/supporters/new