Name: Specialty sheep tipped by breeders to become gourmet hit like Wagyu beef - ABC News
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Specialty sheep tipped by breeders to become gourmet hit like Wagyu beef - ABC News

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Move over Wagyu burgers and Angus branded steak, sheep meat is set to be the latest niche food on the menu, according to the creator of the Australian White.Graham Gilmore, a third generation sheep grazier who developed the Australian White, said breeders are struggling to keep up with demand for the woolless, haired sheep that is being touted as a low maintenance, high protein-producing alternative to traditional wool lambs.The meat has won a gold medal at Sydney Food and Wine Festival and the behaviour of the fat has been likened to Wagyu beef.Australian restaurateurs have taken an interest in the meat, which is said to have a high level of intramuscular fat that unlike traditional lamb, remains oily when cooled."We are amazed at the quality of the meat which is very fine, and the fat on the meat after it is cooked has a very low melting point," said Mr Gilmore from Tattykeel Stud at Black Springs, west of the Blue Mountains in New South Wales.  The Australian White's heritage is Poll Dorset, texel, white Dorper and van rooy genes, and Mr Gilmore has an inkling the texel and van rooy contribute most to the flavour."You can have a glass of a cold drink while you're eating and it doesn't set in your mouth," said Mr Gilmore.It is not taste alone that has piqued the interest of the food industry.The white, haired coat and matching name make it an easily branded speciality item."With your wool lambs it is difficult to tell if they are a poll Dorset or white Suffolk. It's very difficult to brand those breeds," said Mr Gilmore, who also farms traditional wool sheep."This breed is a little like the Angus breed - that's black and you can brand it off black; this is white and you can brand it off the white hair."There are 65 registered Australian White breeding studs in Australia, but guaranteeing an all year-around lamb supply is inhibiting sales to the food industry. Mr Gilmore doesn't think it will be long before speciality sheep meat like Australian White, satlbush lamb and Dorper will more commonly appear on restaurant menus.For now the Tattykeel Stud is concentrating on growing demand from the international market.The stud exports embyros and live sheep to China and Inner Mongolia, Canada and South America and is now concentrating on supplying new markets in Eastern Europe.Shedding sheep are generally regarded as being easier to farm because they don't need to be shorn or mulesed.Mr Gilmore said the Australian White also has&nbsp;a thick leather-like coat that increases the lamb survival rate in cold conditions.A decade ago even his family thought he was crazy when he returned from a trip to South America with a photo of a haired sheep he wanted to breed.Since then the popularity of the Dorper and other shedding sheep have began to change the mentality that a sheep must have wool.Mr Gilmore sees a big opportunity for woolless sheep as the global economy shifts from a high demand for wool to high protein consumption.He's judging from the stark difference in international buyers' interest in his haired and traditional Poll Dorset sheep stud.Mr Gilmore thinks many traditional sheep farming countries have reduced flock numbers because of the high labour and chemical cost of managing wool."For example Kazakhstan used to have around 40 million sheep; they were the backbone of the Russian sheep industry, but from the statistics they've given us they are down to two million sheep," he said."They are lifting numbers again but they are basically looking for shedding sheep."They don't look for wool sheep because they've got no facilities," he said."Whereas here in Australia we still have a vibrant wool industry, they haven't got the expertise, the infrastructure is gone."However Mercado analyst Robert Herrmann has not seen evidence of an international trend towards haired sheep.Mr Herrmann acknowledged the rise in popularity of shedding sheep in parts of Australia, but said the meat sheep industry remained a fraction of the traditional lamb market."Based on our information we don't think there is a significant push for shedding sheep globally," he said."As for marketing, a point of difference is always an opportunity," Mr Herrmann said.

Move over Wagyu burgers and Angus branded steak, sheep meat is set to be the latest niche food on the menu, according to the creator of the Australian White.Graham Gilmore, a third generation sheep grazier who developed the Australian White, said breeders are struggling to keep up with demand for the woolless, haired sheep that is being touted as a low maintenance, high protein-producing alternative to traditional wool lambs.The meat has won a gold medal at Sydney Food and Wine Festival and the behaviour of the fat has been likened to Wagyu beef.Australian restaurateurs have taken an...

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Specialty sheep tipped by breeders to become gourmet hit like Wagyu beef - ABC News

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