7 minute read
Wagyu Feeder Check
Revolutionising the Wagyu Sector for sustainability and profitability .
In a ground-breaking development for the Wagyu industry, the Australian Wagyu Association (AWA) recently introduced the innovative Wagyu Feeder Check. Presented at the WagyuEdge '23 Conference in Sydney, this revolutionary tool aims to significantly enhance the resilience and sustainability of Australia's Wagyu Sector.
During the presentation, Dr Matt McDonagh, CEO of the AWA, Dr Toni Reverter from CSIRO, and Dr Jason Lily from Neogen discussed the estimated impact of Wagyu Feeder Check on the industry.
Approximately 10% of Wagyu feeders underperform with a marble score below 5, resulting in an average loss of $1,000 per head. Therefore, the aim was to create a commercial genomics tool for screening crossbred Wagyu feeders and predicting carcase performance at feedlot entry.
Dr. McDonagh highlighted the cost-saving potential of Wagyu Feeder Check, stating, “Breaking it down into crude feed cost estimates, it costs $5 per day for 350 days to feed an F1 steer, or $1750. If we could find a way to identify and remove the worst-performing animals and push them into a short fed program of, say, 150 days, it would cost only $750 to feed them. That’s a difference of $1000 in feed costs alone”.
This tool will enable optimal resource use allocation and investment in the animals, which will go on to be more profitable for the Wagyu Sector and allow better targeting of feeding programs to the right F1 Wagyu genetics.
This powerful tool is available to all AWA members. It utilises DNA tissue samples to estimate the genetic potential of feeder animals, focusing on five core profitability traits: Feedlot Average Daily Gain (ADG), Carcase Weight, P8 Subcutaneous Fat, Eye Muscle Area, and AUSMEAT Marble Score.
By analysing these traits, Wagyu Feeder Check can separate animals by up to four marble score units, 100kg in carcase weight, about 18mm in fat depth, 20cm in Eye Muscle Area, and 400g per day in feedlot average daily gain. Wagyu Feeder Check will prove to be highly successful in selecting animals for targeted feeding programs due to this range in core profitability traits.
The process is simple: A genomic DNA sample is taken using a TSU and lodged with AWA's Wagyu Feeder Check database. The sample is then processed at Neogen Australasia, and the Molecular Trait Rankings for each trait are reported back through the database. This information produces a Wagyu Feeder Check Index, which ranks animals based on estimated profitability and individual trait performance.
Dr Toni Reverter and the CSIRO team independently developed the genomics expertise behind Wagyu Feeder Check. The CSIRO is the leading team delivering accurate and reliable genomic selection tools, having run several similar projects. Moreover, the AWA database of 70,000+ sire genotypes is utilised to sire-verify each animal and exclude underperforming sires from future feeding programs, ensuring optimal resource use efficiency, increased drought adaptability, and an improvement in profitability and resilience.
The potential cost savings are significant. Removing 10% of low-performing progeny in feeding programs will lead to approximately $22 million in savings in the first year alone. Removing 5% of low-performing sires will equate to a further $36 million in savings from year 2 to year 5. Wagyu Feeder Check is projected to yield approximately $58 million in savings for the Wagyu Sector by eliminating unprofitable genetics from long-fed programs.
Similar to the AWA's F1 Terminal Index on BREEDPLAN, the recently developed Wagyu Feeder Check Index is also available on the Wagyu Feeder Check database. While the weightings for this Index are modelled off the AWA's F1 Terminal Index, users can download their Wagyu Feeder Check data and customise their Index to meet the specific needs of their supply chain.
To incentivise breeders and promote data sharing, the AWA will offer members who utilise Wagyu Feeder Check a $5 dollar refund for carcase data supplied through a processor for PV'd progeny and any progeny that PV to a sire will be registered to the AWA for free in the slaughter register. BREEDPLAN can use this data to inform the Fullblood sire's EBVs and will improve users' overall breeding predictions and decisions for F1 feeders through sire verification. This marks a significant transformation in the value proposition for breeders. They now have the opportunity to receive payment for supplying data to the AWA, allowing their F1 slaughter progeny to be registered at no cost, consequently enhancing the EBVs of their herd sires. Furthermore, this data will play a crucial role in refining the future predictive capabilities of the Wagyu Feeder Check genomic tool.
Dr McDonagh and Dr Jason Lilly emphasised that Wagyu Feeder Check optimises resource use efficiency by directing investment only into animals that deliver the desired performance outcomes. This genomic tool, along with improvements in genetics, efficiency, and sustainability, is set to propel the Wagyu breed further by minimising low carcase value outcomes and meeting increasing consumer expectations around sustainable production practices.
Many members have already tested large groups of animals with the Wagyu Feeder Check. They are finding incredibly positive results, which will help them make more informed breeding/buying decisions in the future. The power of the Wagyu Feeder Check is that you can compare the sire of the animals to their Molecular Trait Ranking directly, enabling the producer to see which sires are worth keeping in the herd or buying progeny from when considering buying feeder cattle.
A recent analysis of 1,283 animals with slaughter data returned to the AWA represented progeny from 63 sires as detected through the Wagyu Feeder Check parentage testing process. Figures 1 and 2 (over page) represent the average sire data for the sires.
Figure 1 (above) shows the sire's average carcase weight data, where the left axis and orange squares represent the average Carcase Weight for progeny by each sire, and the right axis (teal triangles) represents the average Carcase Weight Wagyu Feeder Check Molecular Trait Ranking average for the progeny of each sire.
Figure 2 (below) shows the sire's average marble score data, where the left axis and orange squares represent the average AUS-MEAT Marble Score for progeny by each sire, and the right axis represents the average Marble Score Wagyu Feeder Check Molecular Trait Ranking averages for those same progeny by each sire.
As can be seen by the trend in both graphs, the Wagyu Feeder Check provides powerful insight into the bottom sires in the group, representing the non - profitable end of crossbred Wagyu production. Culling the bottom performing 5% of sires so that their progeny do not contribute to future unprofitable crossbred Wagyu feeders is estimated to save the Wagyu industry $38 million in lost profit over five years.
Wagyu Feeder Check offers a transformative opportunity to improve herd genetics for crossbred feeder production and increase feedlot efficiency and sustainability across Australia. Using the power of genomics and sire verification, the Wagyu Sector is better placed to make informed decision-making to underpin the crossbred Wagyu production component of our $2 Billion Wagyu industry.
For more information and to implement Wagyu Feeder Check into your program, contact the AWA today.
