Customer Requirements Summary
| Product | Key Requirements |
| 🌾 Straw | Dry, clean, well-baled, no mould |
| 🌽 Cereals | Low moisture, high purity, good weight, pest-free |
| 🥔 Potatoes | Uniform size, clean, disease-free, good skin finish |
| 🟣 Sugar/Fodder Beet | High sugar (SB), clean, undamaged, low soil |
| 🌱 Peas & Beans | Dry, clean, high protein, no pests |
| 🌿 Silage | DM%, good fermentation, clean, high energy |
| 🥛 Milk | Low bacteria, good composition, residue-free |
| 🐄 Meat Livestock | Good conformation, correct fat class, healthy |
| 🐑 Youngstock | Healthy, well-grown, good genetics |
| 🐂 Breeding Stock | High genetic merit, fertile, structurally sound |
📊 SLAUGHTER SPEC SUMMARY TABLE
| Species | ⚖️ L’weight Kg | 🥩 Carcass Weight Kg | 📊 Confor-mation | 🧈 Fat Class | 📏 Back Fat |
| 🐑 Lamb | 38–45 | 18–22 | R–U | 2–3L | 4–7 mm |
| 🐄 Beef | 500–700 | 280–380 | R–U | 3–4L | 10–15 mm |
| 🐖 Pig | 95–110 | 70–90 | Good muscling | N/A* | 10–16 mm |
🌾 CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS (By Product)
🌾 Straw (Bedding / Feed)
🟡 Dryness – Low moisture (no mould risk)
🌿 Cleanliness – Free from weeds, dust, debris
📦 Bale quality – Well-shaped, consistent size
👃 Smell – Fresh, not musty
🌽 Cereals (Barley, Wheat, Oats)
💧 Moisture content – Typically ≤14–15%
🌾 Purity – Low admixture (no other crops/seeds)
🐛 Free from pests/disease
⚖️ Specific weight (kg/hl) – Indicates grain quality
🍽️ End use quality
Milling wheat → protein % important
Feed grain → energy value
🥔 Potatoes
📏 Size & uniformity
🟤 Skin finish – No damage, scab, or greening
🦠 Disease-free (e.g. blight)
⚖️ Dry matter content – Important for processing
🧼 Cleanliness – Minimal soil
🟣 Sugar Beet / Fodder Beet
🍬 Sugar content (Sugar beet) – Payment linked to % sugar
⚖️ Clean weight – Low soil/tare
🪵 Root condition – Not damaged or rotten
📦 Size consistency (important for handling/processing)
🌱 Peas & Beans (Feed / Human Consumption)
💧 Low moisture
🌿 Purity – No contaminants
🟢 Colour & appearance (especially for human consumption)
🐛 No insect damage
⚖️ Protein content (important for feed markets)
🌿 Silage (Grass / Maize)
🍃 Dry matter % – Typically 25–35% (grass silage)
🧪 Fermentation quality – Good pH, no butyric smell
🚫 No contamination – Soil, slurry, plastics
👃 Smell – Sweet, not rotten
⚡ Energy value (ME)
🥛 Milk
🦠 Low bacteria count
❄️ Temperature – Rapid cooling after milking
🧪 Butterfat & protein %
🚫 No antibiotic residues
🧼 Cleanliness & hygiene standards
🐄 Livestock (Beef, Pork, Lamb)
⚖️ Weight & conformation (carcass grade)
🧬 Breed/type suitability
🩺 Health status – Disease-free
🍽️ Fat class – Not too lean or overfat
📜 Traceability & records
🐑 Youngstock (Calves, Lambs, Weaners)
🧬 Genetics / breeding potential
💪 Growth rate / size for age
🩺 Healthy, strong, no defects
🍼 Well-reared (good start in life)
📜 Accurate records
🐂 Breeding Stock (Replacements)
🧬 Genetic merit (EBVs, performance data)
🩺 High health status (disease-free accreditation)
♀️ Fertility & reproductive performance
🏗️ Correct structure (feet, legs, udder, etc.)
📜 Full records & traceability
🥩 SLAUGHTER LIVESTOCK – DETAILED CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS
🐑 Lambs (Finished Lambs)
⚖️ Liveweight: ~38–45 kg
🥩 Carcass weight: ~18–22 kg
📊 Conformation (EUROP): R to U grades preferred
🧈 Fat class: 2–3L (slightly lean to ideal finish)
📏 Back fat depth: ~4–7 mm
🩺 Health: Clean, no lesions, no disease
🧼 Cleanliness: No heavy soiling (affects processing)
👉 Market aim: Lean, well-muscled lamb with just enough fat for eating quality—not overfat “waste”.
🐄 Beef Cattle (Finished Cattle)
⚖️ Liveweight:
Steers: ~550–700 kg
Heifers: ~500–650 kg
🥩 Carcass weight: ~280–380 kg (depending on system)
📊 Conformation (EUROP): R to U (E = premium but rare)
🧈 Fat class: 3–4L (ideal finish)
📏 Back fat depth: ~10–15 mm
🧬 Age at slaughter: Typically <30 months (UK rules)
🩺 Health & assurance: Farm assurance schemes often required
👉 Market aim: Good shape, even fat cover, efficient growth—basically “maximum meat, minimum waste”.
🐖 Pigs (Finished Porkers)
⚖️ Liveweight: ~95–110 kg
🥩 Carcass weight: ~70–90 kg
📊 Conformation: Long, well-muscled carcass
🧈 Back fat thickness (P2 measurement): ~10–16 mm
🍖 Lean meat %: Typically >55%
🩺 Health status: High welfare, no lesions
📜 Consistency: Uniform batches highly valued
👉 Market aim: Lean pork with consistent carcasses—processors love uniformity more than farmers sometimes realise.
🔎 BIG PICTURE SUMMARY
(What Customers Actually Care About)
Across all agricultural products, buyers are really judging just five core things:
✅ Quality – Does it meet the intended use?
🧼 Cleanliness – Free from contamination
💧 Correct moisture / condition – Too wet = problems
🩺 Health & safety – For animals and humans
📜 Consistency & traceability – Reliable supply + records
🎯 KEY POINTS (Worth Money)
📉 Too light? → lower returns, inefficient
📈 Too heavy? → penalties (overfat, out-of-spec)
🧈 Too fat? → trimming waste = lost value
🦴 Too lean? → poorer eating quality
👉 In reality, it’s a tight target window, not a rough guess.