In the UK there are many different breeds of sheep to suit all conditions and environments. Utilization of a breed is dependant on suitability for the environment, production system and acceptability of the carcass. This experiment was therefore designed to evaluate breed and age effects on performance, carcass composition and eating quality of lambs using a systems approach.

Lambs of five breed types were used, representing the stratification within the industry: Swaledale (SWD), Scottish Blackface (SBF), Mule, (Bluefaced Leicester x SBF; MUL), Suffolk x Mule (SxM) and Suffolk x (Rouge de l' Quest x SBF) (SxR). All lambs were finished off grass which was of subjectively similar quality at ADAS Redesdale and were slaughtered at estimated fat class 2 to 3L. For each breed type, there was 2 or 3 slaughter dates with 2 or 3 breeds being represented on each occasion.