PRODUCERS are honing their lamb production and making themselves more money, thanks to feedback provided by Castricum Brothers' Viascan image system.
And nobody is putting the information to better use than David Ware from Hawkesdale, winner of the 2008 Weekly Times-Royal Agricultural Society prime lamb carcass competition.
David and wife, Vickie, were also runners-up in the 2006 competition.
This year's winning consignment were a mix of Texel, East Friesian, Coopworth and Border Leicester breeding, a combination David has been honing for years.
These lambs weighed an average 25kg carcass weight and yielded 57.2 per cent lean meat.
The 218 lambs produced a carcass premium of $4.43, or 18c/kg.
Back in 2006, the Ware lambs achieved a premium of $4.32 carcass.
"I get satisfaction out of hitting the nail on the head," David said.
Each time he gets feedback from Castricums, he studies the data and examines the past season to work out how he can improve his returns.
Close on David's heels this year were Graeme and Lyn Wright from Boree Creek.
Their consignment of 224 second-cross Prime SAMM lambs weighed an average of 23.34 carcass weight, and had a lean meat yield of 57 per cent. This resulted in a carcass premium of $4.01.
In third place was South Australian David Brown, Brown Pastoral, Lucindale.
He had the largest consignment of 522 lambs, all of which came out of first-cross Merino-Border Leicester ewes, sired by Poll Dorsets.
They weighed in at a 24.67kg average, with a lean meat yield of 55.8 per cent. This resulted in a $3.70 carcass premium, or 15c/kg.
He was not alone in using Merino bloodlines, with seven out of the 27 entries out of a Merino mother.
