Lamb producer Tom Bull’s 20-year obsession with breeding a meat sheep that “would knock the Queen’s socks off if she came to dinner” has paid off.
In January, a Sydney butcher sold his little-known heritage Hampshire Down lamb chops for a record $100 a kilo.
“It didn’t slow down sales, remembering that 4% of people don’t look at the price when they buy meat,” Bull said.
“It’s exciting when you find an outlier, a ram or a sheep that just bends the curve.
“Outliers can change the industry. Suddenly one ram can affect millions of lambs.”
Tom previously worked in a slaughterhouse where he saw all the quality levels of meat produced by farmers. (ABC Landline)
Lamb marbled gene
Mr Bull stumbled upon the sought-after marble gene in the Hampshire Down breed five years ago.
In a blind tasting of several breeds at the University of New England, tasters rated the little-known black-faced “Hampy” as the best because of its marbling—thin veins of intramuscular fat—that enhances the quality of the food.
Wagyu beef marbling scores range from zero to nine plus. The lamb industry has a different scoring system that measures marbling by a percentage of intramuscular fat (IMF).
Wagyu beef is characterized by its high marbling score. (ABC Landline: Pip Courtney)
University of New England meat scientist Peter McGilchrist says the best Hampshire Downs are twice the national average, equivalent to a four on the Wagyu scale.
Dr. McGilchrist has been helping Mr. Bull isolate the best genes from different breeds for many years.
“It’s intense, it’s expensive, but it keeps him driving in the right direction,” Dr. McGilchrist said.
“The lamb industry has never had premium lambs with this wow factor.
“Australia is a high-quality, high-cost producer, so if you have a high cost of production, you don’t want to be in the commodity market.
“You want to produce something that everyone holds with lights and of incredible quality.”
Dr Peter McGilchrist has been carrying out genetic testing for Tom Bull for many years. (ABC Landline)
Stock up on the race
From that day in the tasting lab, the Hampshire Down was no longer commercially irrelevant and Mr Bull wanted as many as he could buy.
There were only 1,500 left in Australia, but within months he had 750 on his property in Holbrook, New South Wales.
He relied heavily on technology to quickly build herd numbers.
Tissue samples identified ewes with the marbling gene and embryos from the best ewes and rams were implanted into non-Hampshire ewes.
To produce as many mothers-to-be as possible, the semen was “sexed”.
“Male and female semen have different weights, so you spin it and it pulls them off the top,” Bull said.
‘The Rock’ Celebrity RAM
The most outstanding ram in the stud at Mr Bull’s Kinross is the 2015 number, known as ‘The Rock’.
The Hampshire Down breed is getting more and more attention after being dubbed the Wagyu of lamb. (Fixed ABC)
“He is Australia’s number one ram, of all breeds, for marble,” Bull said.
“It’s had a very influential impact on our export program as a lot of our lambs that are exported can be traced back to The Rock. It’s just brought the whole Australian industry to a level we’ve never been before.”
The Kinross stud now has 1,000 Hampshire Down ewes.
More than 100,000 Hampshire Down cross lambs from Kinross rams will be born in Australia this year.
Ninety-five per cent of Kinross’ Hampshire Down lambs and the progeny of its rams sold elsewhere are exported to seven countries, including China, the United States, Singapore and the Maldives.
That’s 800 lambs a month.
“I’ve always loved the old English breeds. My wife would probably accuse me of collecting them sometimes, but it’s great to see a rare breed now taking center stage in the world lamb market,” Bull said.
From gene selection to plaque
Selected Australian butchers such as Micky Peacock crossbred lamb from Sydney, Mr Bull’s Hampshire Down/Primeline.
Butcher Micky Peacock sells Hampshire Down ribs in his shop. (ABC Landline: Pip Courtney)
Peacock believes prices will top $100 a kilo when Tom and other producers supply full-blooded Hampshire Down beef later this year.
“The higher marbling score makes it a bit richer in flavor and super tender,” Mr Peacock said.
“Twenty years ago, beef was just beef. Now you have grain-fed, grass-fed, crossbred Wagyu and full Wagyu blood.”
He said Wagyu could sell for up to $500 a kilo and there was “no reason why it couldn’t also be made with lamb”.
Sydney chef on board
Customers wait months to get a reservation at Sydney chef Lennox Hastie’s exclusive Firedoor restaurant, where meat, vegetables, even salads and desserts are grilled.
Chef Lennox Hastie says Hampshire Down lamb has “incredible richness and flavour”. (ABC Landline: Pip Courtney)
Mr. Hastie serves on Hampshire Down.
“Fat is a good-tasting fat. It’s rich, it’s buttery, it’s sweet, and it has a long finish that customers will remember for a long time,” Hastie said.
“It’s reminiscent of growing up in the UK – these very old-style breeds that just have this incredible richness and full flavor.”
Dr McGilchrist praised Mr Bull for investing time and money to identify breeds with superior genes.
“You always need people like Tom in the industry to drive change and drive thinking,” he said.
“It has this vision and it’s about providing consumers [with] exactly what they want.”
Watch this story on ABC TV Landline at 12.30pm on Sunday or on ABC iview.