Web wagyu update issue 65 by Australian Wagyu Association

UPDATE

TH E AUSTRALIAN

WAGYU

#Wa gyu

Vol. 65 The Wagyu industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premier trade magazine produced by the Australian Wagyu Association www.wagyu.org.au April 2017

E x pa n s i o n

TRANSFORMING THE BEEF INDUSTRY

INSIDE ....

No. 1

STEAK IN THE

WORLD

No. 1

STEAK IN THE

WORLD

MAYDAN

FEEDLOT

WARWICK QLD

custom feeding specialists

our results for themselves Geoff Willett (owner) phone 07 4661 9600 mobile 0408 716 960 fax 07 4661 9601 email geoff@maydan.com.au

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

Maydan Feedlot is a privately owned business specialising in tailor made rations to suit all markets. Our speciality is our expertise in long-term custom feeding of Wagyu cattle. Our major advantages are our perfect climate for long-term feeding and our close proximity to major abattoirs. We also offer livestock transport at competitive prices. l l

EU accredited Japanese Wagyu feeding regime specialists

Maydan Feedlot (office) phone 07 4667 4785 website maydan.com.au

CONTENTS 9

Wagyu conference heads to Albury

New CEO to continue Wagyu expansion

#Wagyu Expansion conference and tour 5-day program

Sara Storer for Wagyu conference

Wagyu now an 'industry leader'

Linking Wagyu supply chain data to genetic data through the Livestock Data Link

20 Widen the influence of superior females in your herd 22 SNP genotyping for Wagyu 28 New grading-up option now available 33 Mayura Wagyu Beef Farmer of year finalist

35 Wagyu the 'big picture' for the Hughes family 36 Wagyu run true at Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest Campdraft and Rodeo 39 Japanese Wagyu Trade Mission 41

Barbara R-T sees red and black

42 Locked into Wagyu WAGYU EXPANSION

2017

AWA CONFERENCE TOUR

MAY 1

TRANSFORMING THE AUSTRALIAN BEEF INDUSTRY

Publisher THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU ASSOCIATION (AWA) office@wagyu.org.au 02 6773 3355 Consulting Editor GEOFF PHILLIPS geoffphi@ozemail.com.au 0411 413 599 Contributing Writers PETER GILMOUR, GRAHAM TRUSCOTT, GEOFF PHILLIPS, NICOLA BELL, CAREL TESELING, SARAH HUDSON Art Direction HEATHER FRAZIER heather@squishcreative.com 0432 949 764 GENERAL ENQUIRIES AWA Marketing and Communications Manager GEOFF PHILLIPS geoffphi@ozemail.com.au

0411 413 599

AWA Chief Executive Officer GRAHAM TRUSCOTT office@wagyu.org.au

02 6773 3355

Wagyu Update advertising enquiries HEATHER FRAZIER heather@squishcreative.com 0432 949 764

ON THE COVER The Warwick Champion of Champions, Rohan Marks drafting a Maydan Wagyu on Repeater, owned by Morgan Marks. The Australian Wagyu Update magazine is printed by Litho Art on paper stock derived from sustainable forests that are managed to ensure their renewability and preserve natural eco-systems for generations to come. All content is subject to copyright and may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission from the publisher. Opinions expressed in The Australian Wagyu Update magazine are not necessarily those of the publishers. Acceptance of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of any product or service by the magazine or the association, nor support any claims by the advertisers. Every effort is made to ensure information contained in this magazine is correct at the time of publishing.

CONNECT WITH US

www.wagyu.org.au twitter.com/AustWagyuAssoc www.facebook.com/AustralianWagyuAssociation

president

PETER GILMOUR

TRANSFORMING THE AUSTRALIAN BEEF INDUSTRY The opportunity for Wagyu beef production continues to display extraordinary demand and from within the AWA we continue to provide appropriate guidance to manage the growth to meet the requirements of our membership. Currently we are conducting a survey to understand both the supply/demand cycle and member satisfaction of the AWA operations. The AWA Board has approved an internal documentation process that includes the AWA Board Governance Charter, Terms of Reference for all of our Sub Committees and a clear Board to CEO relationship. We do hope that this will provide improved Board oversight and a framework for future Boards of the AWA to be able to work with and develop further. Furthermore we continue progress on developing an updated AWA Constitution to bring it in line with Corporations Law as amended 2017 and the NSW Associations Incorporation Regulation 2016. One of the most important Board roles for our past year has been conducting the CEO selection process and we are delighted that it produced several outstanding candidates and the Board finally selected Dr Matthew McDonagh as the new CEO. Our exceptional and now retiring CEO Graham Truscott has developed a detailed induction plan for Matt’s introduction to the AWA, which will include several property visits. Graham’s handover will overlap for three months (April to June), which will provide a great opportunity for Matt to understand the current policies, strategies, and annual operations; and also for the AWA to have two highly skilled executives handling the growth that is in front of them. We continue, as is expected of the Council (Board) to modify and improve the Bylaws to assist members that choose to register Wagyu cattle with the AWA. The two significant Bylaw amendments are the inclusion of the Wagyu Content Register, allowing for registration of cattle following the use of the Crossbred Wagyu Test, and the upgrading of high Wagyu content cattle (above F3 75%) from the Content Register allowing their progeny to be registered as Purebred into the Herdbook. In early February our Honorary Treasurer Steve Binnie resigned from the AWA. At the following Board Meeting, the Board chose to fill the vacancy and appoint Nathan Roberts as a Director of the

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

AWA and the new Honorary Treasurer. Nathan has considerable financial experience and is already well across the budgets and finance papers of the AWA. It is particularly important in this period of unprecedented growth in the Wagyu industry that we continue to prudently manage the association’s funds via the budget and maintain a disciplined fiscal approach. Nathan will hold this position until the next AGM in November and then be eligible for election by the members. A considerable amount of our Board Policy discussion has been around the MIP (Microsatellite Marker Panel) to SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) genotyping and how this would be implemented on farm by our members. The most difficult challenge is that for a progeny to be parent verified using SNP genotyping it requires both parents to also be genotyped. We have been working closely with the University of Queensland Animal Genetics Laboratory and an international genotyping company to create both a cost efficient outcome as well as understanding the significant benefits to members of the genomic value derived from SNP genotyping. Please see more in the article SNP Genotyping for Wagyu. I look forward to meeting many of you at the AWA national conference themed around Wagyu Expansion – Transforming the Australian Beef Industry. Hope your season is progressing well. Peter Gilmour President Australian Wagyu Association

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

ceo update

GRAHAM TRUSCOTT

WAGYU'S EXPANSION - CONSIDERING THE FUTURE AT ANNUAL CONFERENCE CORPORATE

business Queensland for the National

BOARD APPEALS

CEO RECRUITMENT

Australia Bank and has strong financial

Members of the Australian Wagyu

Following the CEO’s notification at the end of the 2015/16 financial year that he planned to retire on 30 June 2017, the Board established a CEO Selection Committee and engaged agricultural recruitment specialist Rimfire Resources to undertake new CEO recruitment in May 2016. The position was advertised during November 2016 to January 2017 and attracted an excellent field of 40 applicants from Australia and internationally, with 32 shortlisted. An outstanding group of candidates undertook a two round interview process resulting in the appointment of Dr Matthew McDonagh as AWA’s new CEO. Matt will start on 3 April with assistance from current CEO Graham Truscott until 30 June. See page 11 for details.

experience. He also a member with Wagyu

Association may appeal a decision of the

breeding interests with his family in NSW.

Board of directors of the Association which

CHANGE OF TREASURER Stephen Binnie has resigned from the Board and his role as Treasurer and Chairman of the Finance Committee. The Board expressed their thanks to Stephen for his contribution to the Board in the Treasurer role and wished him well with his future endeavours. Finance Committee policy requires that “At least one Committee member is to hold financial expertise either as a qualified accountant or a financial professional with appropriate experience in financial and accounting matters”. Therefore the Board has filled the casual vacancy under Article 44 of the Constitution by appointing Nathan Roberts to the Board in the role of Treasurer and Chairman of the Finance Committee. Nathan is currently Assistant Director Agri/corporate 6

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

MEMBER SERVICES OFFICER RECRUITMENT Member Services Officer Sally McPhie has resigned to follow other career interests, and will be sorely missed. Her knowledge of the membership and registration systems and her strong member focus has been a very real benefit to AWA. We wish Sally all the very best in her new endeavours. The MSO position has been filled by Stephanie Grills. Stephanie brings strong experience in largescale beef production plus on-farm and

directly affects a member of the Association. The Board may set a fee for an Appeal. This fee will be notified to the Appellant upon request and shall be determined according to the costs of the Appeal Tribunal. The Appeal Fee must be paid prior to the Notice of Appeal being considered. Further information regarding the Board’s Member Appeals Policy may be found on the website.

www.wagyu.org.au

ABOUT US > AWA MEMBER APPEALS POLICY

commercial administration skills.

MARKETING

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

The 2017 Wagyu Expansion – Transforming

Well documented policies and procedures

the Australian beef industry Conference

are essential for good governance, providing

is shaping up to be another great success.

for a resilient and consistent organisation.

Keynote speaker Liz Sharp is MLA General

The CEO and Board have worked hard over

Manager for Strategic Marketing Insights

recent months to establish policies and

and will consider the future supply/

procedures covering the following areas:

demand projections of the Wagyu industry.

»» Board Governance Charter – covering Board structure, meetings, relationship with the CEO, CEO limitations and provision of information to the Board »» Employment Handbook – an extensive set of employment and human resources policies and procedures for AWA staff and contractors

2017 CONFERENCE

A focused line-up will consider a range of topics including Crossbred Wagyu F1 production in Angus and Holstein herds. A two-day tour will follow, examining Wagyu breeding and vertically integrated Wagyu Fullblood and crossbred production in northern Victoria. Don’t miss this opportunity to build your knowledge of

»» Finance

the Wagyu industry and network with key

»» Animal registrations.

players from the entire Wagyu supply chain

The Bylaws are also gradually being reviewed and updated to ensure they reflect best practice.

– see page 9 for further details or register at

www.wagyu.org.au

EVENTS > 2017 AWA CONFERENCE

2017 ELITE WAGYU SALE 48 entries have been catalogued for the 2017 Elite Wagyu Sale, including live bulls and females, and semen and embryos. Each lot will feature at least one EBV or their Fullblood Terminal Index in the top 10% of the breed, or be of special interest. The catalogue is available on the AWA website with the full paper-based catalogue under development for mailing to all members in April. The Association has put a great deal of effort into developing Wagyu performance assessment and selection through Wagyu BREEDPLAN. This sale now provides public access to some of the highest performing genetics and is a must for those wishing to advance their Wagyu herd performance. RuralCo have won the tender for sale agency with contacts available on the AWA website at

www.wagyu.org.au

compete in qualitative improvement of the Wagyu breeds. The 11th National Exhibition will to be held at Sendai-shi in Miyagi prefecture across a five day period from September 7, 2017. 39 prefectures will compete for the “Miyagi-Zenkyo (national competition),” providing the national champion with the opportunity to feature at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. A 15 day trade mission has been arranged for AWA members through Quadrant Australia to visit Japan and attend the MiyagiZenkyo. The tour will visit some of the most prominent Wagyu breeding prefectures to observe on-farm and meat works production and retail outlets, with delegates taking part in Japanese culture and cuisine. This is a tour for all who are serious about the Wagyu business who wish to understand and experience its origins and current operations.

All buyers must register prior to the sale.

Places on the tour are strictly limited so book now to save your seat – see page 39 for details.

2017 WAGYU BRANDED BEEF COMPETITION

GENETIC IMPROVEMENT

Judging was conducted for the 2017 Wagyu Branded Beef Competition on 16 March at the Eaton’s Hill Hotel and Function Centre, Brisbane. Entries include:

GRADING UP TO PUREBRED

EVENTS > ELITE WAGYU SALE

Class 1 Fullblood Class 2 Crossbred Class 3 Commercial Steak Class 4 Gourmet Sausage

5 entries 9 entries 10 entries 1 entry

A unique opportunity is now available for grading up to Purebred status. Animals may be assessed for their level of Wagyu breed content using the genomic Crossbred Wagyu Test (CWT) and registered in the newly established Wagyu Content Register. They will be allocated a grade of »» 0 (Base – if CWT result is less than 50),

Awards for the winning entries will be presented at the 2017 Conference Gala Dinner.

»» 1 (F1 - if between 50 and 75),

2018 CONFERENCE

»» 2 (F2 - if between 75 and 87),

Planning for the 2018 Conference is underway. The conference will be held in Mackay, followed by a tour south through Central Queensland to Rockhampton to enable delegates to attend the Beef Australia event.

JAPAN TOUR TO THE WAGYU OLYMPICS The Japanese Wagyu industry conducts a National Exhibition once every five years to provide livestock farmers throughout the country with an opportunity to

»» 3 (F3 – if between 87 and 93). If the animal's CWT result is higher than 93 and parent verified to both registered parents it may be assigned a grade of PB (Purebred). If the CWT result is higher than 93 but the animal can’t be parent verified to both parents it may be assigned a grade of 4 (F4). For further details see page 28.

CROSSBRED WAGYU TEST RESULTS In developing the Crossbred Wagyu Test

some 300 Fullblood breeding animals and a further 450 Fullblood slaughter animals were assessed for their CWT breed content. Analysis shows that the test is doing an excellent job of assessing Wagyu breed content for 70% of the Wagyu population, a good job of assessing a further 18% and a poor job of assessing the remaining 12% due to their lack of relatedness to the Crossbred Wagyu Test reference dataset. It is hoped to improve the test with ongoing R&D. Given the finalisation of the Crossbred Wagyu Test, the Board has approved the release of the breed content test results of the 300 Fullblood breeding animals to members with a full explanation of the results.

MIP STANDARDS FOR DNA PARENT VERIFICATION The Board has considered the need for minimum standards in Microsatellite (MiP) technology for Parent Verification. AWA’s standard DNA laboratory, University of Queensland Animal Genetics laboratory, currently uses a standard 21 marker panel and increases that to 31 markers for difficult Wagyu Parent Verifications. Their previous standard was 15 markers and many older animals are MiP genotyped at that level. A change of AWA standard would require those older animals to be re-genotyped at the 21 marker level, at a time when AWA is moving to SNP genotyping technologies. Therefore the Board has decided to amend Bylaw 3.2.1 to “The Association requires a DNA profile and parentage verification of all cattle for registration except those enrolled in the Slaughter register at a level decided by the Council.” Also, only one laboratory is to be used for MiP Parent Verification testing and that laboratory is to be the University of Queensland Animal Genetics Laboratory.

MIP TO SNP MIGRATION AWA currently uses Microsatellite (MIP) technology to parent verify animals for registration in the Herdbook. These MiP genotypes cannot be re-used for any other purpose. >>> THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

<<< Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) genotyping offers much greater benefits through a wide range of uses for the SNP genotyping including: »» Parent verification »» Parent discovery (where the parents are within groups but are not individually known) »» Single Step Wagyu BREEDPLAN producing genomically enhanced EBVs »» Performance prediction of commercial animals from their DNA genotypes »» Genetic condition, Horned/Polled and other diagnostic testing at marginal additional cost AWA has negotiated very significant price discounts for a range of SNP technology options, enabling cost-effective migration from MiP to SNP testing. This migration requires the sires and dams of calves to be registered to be genotyped using SNPs before their progeny can be parent verified. A number of AWA members have already begun the migration to SNPs to obtain these major benefits. For further details see page 22.

MLA DONOR COMPANY RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS The Meat & Livestock Australia Donor Company (MDC) has approved AWA applications for matching funding for the following projects: »» Net Feed Intake data collection and analysis – matching funding will halve the testing costs for promising sires and their progeny submitted into the Sire Progeny Test Program. The program will collect feedlot growth, Net Feed Intake (feed efficiency) and carcase data and transfer it directly into Wagyu BREEDPLAN. An NFI EBV will be developed when sufficient records have been collected and analysed.

»» Crossbred Wagyu data capture and analysis – to date only Fullblood slaughter progeny performance data has been included in Wagyu BREEDPLAN. However, many other beef breeds utilise crossbred data. With Fullblood value rapidly increasing and more being retained for seedstock production, it will become increasingly challenging to collect Fullblood feedlot and carcase data. This project will collect 9500 crossbred records over five years and analyse its use in Wagyu BREEDPLAN to drive up EBV accuracy. In future, crossbred data will become increasingly used due to its greater availability.

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

Entry forms and further information is available from:

www.wagyu.org.au

BREEDING WAGYU > SIRE TEST PROGENY PROGRAM > DOWNLOAD PDF ENTRY FORM

LIVESTOCK DATA LINK PROJECT Manual livestock performance record collection has proven very expensive for AWA throughout its R&D projects. The automation of supply chain data collection and flow into Wagyu BREEDPLAN would enable large quantities of data entry, improving EBV accuracy. Meat & Livestock Australia have approved a small pilot project contracting AWA to conduct a feasibility study to: examine the data flows of four Wagyu value chains; select one value chain and transfer one file of carcase assessment data from its abattoir through MLA’s Livestock Data Link database to Wagyu BREEDPLAN; and report the results to all interested beef breed societies. AWA has sub-contracted the work to LITAMS Pty Ltd, a company with wide experience in Europe and Australia in the provision of whole of supply chain livestock information systems.

SIRE PROGENY TEST PROGRAM

Carel Teseling AWA Technical Services Manager

02 6773 4222 0439 368 283 carel@wagyu.org.au

FEEDLOT PRODUCTION AND CARCASE GRID PRICING

Steve Martin General Manager Feedlot Operations Kerwee Lot Feeders Pty Ltd.

07 4692 2277 0437 569 765 smartin@kerwee.com.au

Graham Truscott Chief Executive Officer Australian Wagyu Association

WAGYU SIRE PROGENY TEST PROGRAM MDC approval of matching funding for the Wagyu Sire Progeny Test Program and its associated Net Feed Intake (NFI) testing has enabled the price of entering a sire and its minimum 5 progeny to be halved to $1700. This makes the testing of promising younger sires very cost effective. The sire and its progeny are genotyped and all feedlot entry and exit weights, NFI data and full carcase records are collected

and input to Wagyu BREEDPLAN on the member’s behalf, greatly improving the sire’s EBV accuracy. The second intake of 180 steers has completed its Net Feed Intake (NFI) testing in the Wagyu Sire Progeny Test Program at Kerwee Lot Feeders at Jondaryan, QLD, and the third intake is being established. A number of Wagyu bull breeders are now preparing the progeny cohort groups for promising sires they wish to test in July and November intakes.

WAGYU the marbling breed

WAGYU CONFERENCE HEADS TO ALBURY The 2017 Wagyu conference heads south this year to Albury on the New South Wales/Victorian border on May 1 to 3 followed by a tour of Wagyu operations in north-east Victoria on May 4 and 5. Themed ‘Wagyu Expansion - transforming the Australian beef industry’, the conference will serve as an introduction to the Wagyu industry for those just starting or those considering using Wagyu as well as critical information for established Wagyu breeders. The Albury region was chosen because it is the centre of the important beef cattle producing areas in the Riverina and north-east Victoria where many herds are now using Wagyu genetics to increase returns. It is also close to the Goulburn Valley where many dairy farmers are producing F1 Wagyu X Holstein calves for eager buyers according to Australian Wagyu Association CEO Graham Truscott. “Almost half a day will be devoted to explaining the most efficient way of getting into the Wagyu industry by using Wagyu bulls and Wagyu semen in both beef and dairy herds”, he said. >>> page 11

Providing comprehensive nutritional, operational and training programmes for clients within the beef industry

CONSULTING NUTRITIONISTS

FOCUSING ON PERFORMANCE, CARCASS QUALITY & PROFITABILITY

John Doyle

BS, MS, DVM, PhD

Philip Dew BRurSc, MS

Rob Lawrence

BRurSc(Hons), MRurSc, PhD

Tel +61 7 4659 6900 Fax +61 7 4659 6904 Email info@iapnutrition.com

www.iapnutrition.com THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

NEW CEO TO CONTINUE WAGYU EXPANSION Following an exhaustive world-wide executive search, the Australian Wagyu Association has appointed beef industry executive and meat quality specialist Dr Matthew McDonagh as its Chief Executive Officer replacing retiring CEO Graham Truscott. AWA President Peter Gilmour said Dr McDonagh, 45,

breeding and genetics through his research and on-farm

had shown himself to be an outstanding executive,

R&D executive management background. Through

including his work in key senior roles within UNE, Meat

his roles with a range of organisations, including as

and Livestock Australia and NSW DPI where he had

General Manager of on-farm R&D with Meat and

demonstrated his leadership and commercial capability.

Livestock Australia, Dr McDonagh has an exceptional

“We are delighted to have a leader of Matt’s calibre in our

understanding of the red meat industries’ value chain

CEO role to continue the highly successful development

and the opportunities to innovate and transform

of the Association and the Wagyu beef industry

Australian beef production”.

undertaken by our retiring CEO Graham Truscott.”

“Matt’s high-calibre research career in the both

“Our 12 month selection process sourced both national

Victorian and NSW Department of Primary Industries

and international candidates eager to participate in

plus two years as a Ruminant Nutritionist with the

the extraordinary organisational and Wagyu industry

US Department of Agriculture has resulted in several

growth phase,” said Mr Gilmour.

international patents, plus executive level management

“Matt brings passion to Australia’s beef industry and

experience and a history of high impact achievements at

has accepted the exciting opportunity to lead one of the

this level”.

pivotal organisations that will shape the future of the

Dr McDonagh will take up the appointment from 3rd

Australian beef industry”.

April 2017 with assistance from Mr Truscott to 30 June

Dr McDonagh believes the Wagyu breed has the

2017. He will attend the 2017 Wagyu conference in

potential to provide step-change in profitability and

Albury, NSW, from May 1 to 5 where he looks forward to

value to the Australian industry.

meeting members.

“Clearly the Wagyu breed through the AWA plays a key role in transforming the Australian beef industry and I am keen to provide leadership to continue that change,” he said. Mr Gilmour said Dr McDonagh brings a strong familiarity with the Wagyu breed and a detailed exceptional understanding of what is required to deliver a high level of business performance for the AWA and its member services. Retiring CEO Graham Truscott said the selection process produced some outstanding talent, highlighting

... the Wagyu breed through the AWA plays a key role in transforming the Australian beef industry and I am keen to provide leadership to continue that change ...

Wagyu’s leading position in the premium beef industry. “Dr McDonagh has a broad experience with the science behind meat quality, production management, nutrition,

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

5DAY

# WAGYU EXPANSION CONFERENCE AND TOUR

PROGRAM 2017

ALBURY ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE ALBURY NSW

1-5 MAY 2017

 DAY 1 - MONDAY MAY 1, 2017

 DAY 2 - TUESDAY MAY 2, 2017

STOCKBOOK TRAINING WORKSHOP 9 am to 12 noon The Chandelier Room, Albury Entertainment Centre

REGISTRATIONS 7.30 am to 7.30 pm Main Foyer Convention Wing, Albury Entertainment Centre

While a separate activity to the Wagyu Conference the Australian Wagyu Association recommends attendance to get the most from your Stockbook software. Please bring your laptop with the most up-to-date version of Stockbook installed and your data. If you are unable to bring a computer we still encourage you to come along. $50 per business (max three people per business). RSVP by April 29:

1800 624 688 or wendy@practicalsystems.com.au

8.30 am

WAGYU SUPPLY & DEMAND

9.05 am LISA SHARP, Meat & Livestock Australia’s marketing mastermind

WHY IS THE SMART MONEY BEING INVESTED IN WAGYU? 9.55 am

REGISTRATIONS

12 noon to 8 pm Main Foyer Convention Wing, Albury Entertainment Centre

WAGYU TECHNICAL WORKSHOP

CONFERENCE OPENING Main Theatre, Albury Entertainment Centre

2 pm to 5.30 pm

Mining magnates, pastoral companies and pastoral families, processors, feedlotters and international businesses are investing huge amounts in the Wagyu industry.

Theatrette, Albury Entertainment Centre

A DECADE OF WAGYU - WHERE WAGYU HAS COME FROM AND WHERE IS IT GOING

A bonus session open to all Conference delegates - seating limited to the first 170 arrivals so be early.

Retiring AWA CEO GRAHAM TRUSCOTT and incoming CEO MATT McDONAGH

HIGHLIGHTS

GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR PASTURES.

DNA Testing and the Registration Process - An overview of the correct collection of DNA samples and how to submit the samples. Collecting Performance Information - A description of the production traits you can collect and how to submit the data to the AWA for genetic analysis.

JAMES SEWELL of PGG Wrightson

The Member Login and the Database Search Facility - Gain a greater understand and learn how to use it to benefit your breeding program. SNP Genotyping - Introduction to genotyping options. The future of Parent Verification and DNA Testing – group discussion - Discussing the range of new genomic options with varying prices and applications. New Grading-up options - The availability of the Crossbred Wagyu Test (WCT) to determine the Wagyu percentage of an animal - see how to now register those animals which previously could not be parent verified. Question and Answer session

WELCOMING COCKTAIL PARTY

6 pm to 9 pm Sponsored by Andrews Meats. Banquet Hall Convention Wing A great opportunity to meet old and new colleagues in the Wagyu industry and sample Wagyu delicacies from Andrews Meats Industries accompanied by local wines from All Saints. A social highlight at the conference. 12

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

11.10 am

11.55 am

GENOMICS IN BREED IMPROVEMENT 2.30 pm Australia’s head animal scientist ROB BANKS, Director of the Australian Genetics and Breeding Unit (AGBU). WAGYU HALL OF FAME INDUCTION. 2.05 pm A well known and highly regarded Australian Wagyu personality will be inducted into the Wagyu Hall of Fame. HOW TO PRODUCE THE WORLD’S BEST STEAK - TWICE

2.25 pm

PATRICK WARMOLL of Jack’s Creek

WAGYU’S LIVE EXPORT TRADE OF F1 WAGYU TO 2.50 pm JAPAN PROVIDES AN ADDITIONAL MARKET FOR AUSTRALIAN PRODUCERS MATTHEW EDWARDS of Edwards Livestock.

Q & A SESSION - ‘WHAT SHOULD I BREED, F1S, F2S, F3S OR MORE?” 3.55 pm The panel will include PATRICK WARMOLL (Jack’s Creek), DARREN HAMBLIN (Queensland seedstock and commercial producer), RANGERS VALLEY (feeder of Wagyu F1 Holstein and F1 Angus), PETER KRAUSE (NSW Wagyu seedstock producer), PETER HUGHES (Queensland/NT commercial producer). >>> page 14

WAGYU EXPANSION

2017

<<< from page 9

AWA CONFERENCE TOUR

MAY 1

TRANSFORMING THE AUSTRALIAN BEEF INDUSTRY

CONFERENCE PRESENTERS Presenters include producers who are already using Wagyu genetics, buyers who will contract to buy the calves and feedlotters who buy thousands of F1 Wagyu. They will explain the benefits and the pitfalls of F1 Wagyu breeding. A special bonus introductory workshop will explain how to select the best genetics and how to manage a successful F1 program. Lisa Sharp, MLA’s marketing mastermind will reveal what the future holds for beef of the highest eating quality, especially in the lucrative export markets. The live export trade of F1 Wagyu to Japan provides an additional outlet and Matthew Edwards of Edwards Livestock will explain Japan’s requirements and how to become involved. Jack’s Creek Wagyu in the Hunter Valley, NSW, has for two successive years produced the ‘World’s Best Steak‘ in an international competition. Co-principal Patrick Warmoll will reveal what is involved in producing a steak assessed the ‘best in the world’ in a field on entries for dozens of countries.

Veteran feedlot buyer Richard Eldershaw who is leaving Rangers Valley after 28 years there, will discuss the bloodlines that perform best in an operation which feeds thousands of Wagyu sired F1 Angus and F1 Holstein and which type of cattle he is prepared to buy. Nick Sher of Sher Wagyu, one of Australia’s largest Wagyu producers, will talk on how dairy farmers can best produce Wagyu Holstein F1 to fit supply chains.

REGISTRATIONS Registrations for the conference and tour can be made on the website. The five-day program is available with more things being added to the program regularly. Keep up to date by visiting

www.wagyu.org.au

EVENTS > 2017 AWA CONFERENCE

REGISTRATION ENQUIRIES

Bradley Hayden

0412 461 392

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

<<< from page 12

STANBROKE GALA DINNER

6.30 pm for 7:00 pm

Banquet Hall Convention Wing A highlight of the conference featuring Stanbroke Wagyu. MC is Sandra Moon, 2AY presenter and former anchor of ACE radio’s Countrywide rural program. The dinner features the announcement of the Wagyu Branded Beef Competition awards and the ever popular charity auction with proceeds split evenly between the Royal Flying Doctors Service and the Australian Wagyu Fellowship. SPECIAL ENTERTAINMENT - The 2017 Female Artist of the Year at the Tamworth Golden Guitar Awards, SARA STORER, will perform at the dinner. Don’t miss Australia's most awarded female country music singer and writer.

 DAY 3 WEDNESDAY MAY 3 REGISTRATIONS 8 am to 12 noon Main Foyer Convention Wing, Albury Entertainment Centre A special half day session featuring F1 HOLSTEIN & F1 ANGUS BREEDING. Should dairy farmers be joining the bottom half of their herds to Wagyu and should Angus herds use Wagyu bulls? There are many doing it with outstanding results.

HIGHLIGHTS How the Holstein F1 program works - NICK SHER of Beefcorp. A Guide to F1 Wagyu X Holstein breeding - Victorian dairy farmers LACHIE SUTHERLAND and wife REBECCA from Larpent. A guide to F1 Wagyu X Angus breeding - ERICA HALLIDAY of Ben Nevis Angus. The how and why of F1 Wagyu X Angus breeding - RICHARD PUDDICOMBE manages Paraway Pastoral Co’s Burindi Station at Barraba, NSW. How to develop a good relationship with cattle buyers - RICHARD ELDERSHAW, formerly from Rangers Valley feedlot. The Japanese Carcase Camera, Professor KEIGO KUCHIDA from the Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido, Japan,

ELITE WAGYU SALE 2.00 pm featuring 48 lots of live bulls and females, embryos and semen from the top 10% of the breed. Auctioneers will call the bids from the conference and bids can also be made online through AuctionsPlus. ELITE SALE CATALOGUE available now

www.wagyu.org.au EVENTS > ELITE WAGYU SALE

Intending bidders MUST REGISTER pre-sale with the agents GDL (Ruralco) even if you are already registered with AuctionsPlus. You can register as a potential buyer now ONLINE through the website www.gdlrural.com.au or contact GDL/Ruralco GDL/Ruralco

The two day tour returns to Albury each evening. Overnight accommodation is delegates’ own responsibility.

POST CONFERENCE TOUR - WAGYU IN VICTORIA’S NORTH-EAST Depart - Quest Albury, 550 Kiewa St 8.00 am TOUR HOST - Goorambat Wagyu/Global Reproduction Solutions 9.30 am An integrated ET, AI, IVF and seedstock operation where principal Dom Bayard will explain and demonstrate the latest artificial breeding procedures and the selection of sires and dams for AI and ET. An inspection of the Wagyu seedstock herd also included. TOUR HOST - Moyhu Wagyu

2.00 pm

Owner Bob Officer and manager Wayne Grimshaw will explain how a Wagyu seedstock operation functions. They will touch on many areas including the use of BREEDPLAN EBVs and FTIs in breeding and marketing, the bloodlines for target markets and the servicing of clients. TOUR HOST and DINNER - All Saints Winery

4.30 pm

In the famous Rutherglen wine producing area of north-east Victoria, the tour will arrive at All Saints winery for a dinner among the barrels in the century old All Saints castle. Guest speaker Matt McDonagh, the Australian Wagyu Association’s new CEO who will discuss his experiences as a Ruminant Nutritionist with the US Department of Agriculture and its relevance to Wagyu. Arrive - Quest Albury. 550 Kiewa St

9.00 pm

 DAY 5 FRIDAY MAY 5 Depart - Quest Albury, 550 Kiewa St 8.00 am A full day exploring the vertically integrated Yalandra operation in the Murray River Valley which includes an 1100 head Wagyu breeding herd, a retail outlet in Albury and the Mitta Mitta Pub in the Mitta Valley which features Yalandra Wagyu. TOUR HOST - Yalandra Fine Foods 8.30 am Discussing with Yalandra’s principal Scott Giltrap and Yalandra’s Calum McBain and staff the products sold, how Wagyu fits into the demographic, the shelf life of marbled beef and how Wagyu works in the products produced in the smoke room. Travel alongside Lake Hume and past Yalandra properties stopping to view cattle and ending at Yalandra’s Mitta Mitta property to view cattle with various Wagyu content and hear about Scott Giltrap’s Wagyu adventure. Scott and Calum will discuss their plans for the Wagyu Fullbloods, F1 Holsteins, F1 Angus and the many other aspects of their operation and demonstrate it with live cattle. FAREWELL LUNCH - Yalandra’s historic Mitta Mitta Pub Arrive - Albury to end an exciting Wagyu week 4.00 pm

07 4669 6955

Harvey Weyman-Jones

hweymanjones@gdlrural.com.au 0414 941 788

Peter Brazier

pbrazier@gdlrural.com.au

0407 525 983

Mark Duthie

mduthie@gdlrural.com.au

0448 016 950

 DAY 4 THURSDAY MAY 4

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

SEE THE COMPLETE CONFERENCE/ TOUR PROGRAM OR BOOK TO ATTEND THE 2017 WAGYU EXPANSION CONFERENCE AND TOUR

www.wagyu.org.au

EVENTS > 2017 AWA CONFERENCE

SARA STORER FOR WAGYU CONFERENCE Acclaimed country music star, Sara Storer, will perform her award winning music at the 2017 Wagyu Conference in Albury, NSW, from May 1 to 5. Sara, the 2017 Female Artist of the Year at Tamworth’s Golden Guitar awards, burst onto the country music scene in 2000 with her first album ‘Chasing Buffalo’ and was named the ‘Best New Talent’ at the 2001 Country Music Awards.

Sara Storer will perform at the Gala Dinner on Tuesday night.

Her career has expanded ever since with 19 Golden Guitar awards at Tamworth and six ARIA music award nominations. In 2016 her album ‘Silos’ was named ARIA’s Best Country Album. Sara was born in Victoria’s Mallee where her parents grew wheat. She studied teaching in Melbourne but couldn’t wait to get back to the bush and taught in outback towns including Camooweal and Katherine. In 2000 she entered a talent quest at Adelaide River and won a place at the College of Country Music in Tamworth. Producer Garth Porter recognised her talent and produced six tracks which led to a contract with ABC Music. In January 2004 she was nominated for eight Golden Guitar Awards and won seven including Song of the Year for ‘Raining on the Plains‘, Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year, Single of the Year and Songwriter of the Year. Sara, who now lives in the Albury district, will perform at the Gala Wagyu Dinner on Tuesday May 2 at the Albury Entertainment Centre. Registrations to attend the conference can be made www.wagyu.org.au through the website. EVENTS > 2017 AWA CONFERENCE

Lake Hume ,Albury

On location at Yalandra Fine Foods shop and farm - pictured below - Nicholas Hammond, Magda Szubanski, Manu Fiedel and Shane Jacobson as they film The BBQ - a new Australian comedy film based on Wagyu meat.

Albury, NSW

Yalandra's Mitta Mitta property

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

WAGYU NOW AN ‘INDUSTRY LEADER’ Wagyu has become the haute couture, or the fine wine, of the beef industry.

From humble beginnings when the breed was first introduced in Australia 26 years ago, Wagyu beef is now a luxury that sits on high-end restaurant menus and has become an industry leader in genetics and performance data.

2015, with prices consistently 50 per cent to 70 per cent higher than other breeds. AuctionsPlus recorded a top price of 789c/kg liveweight for Wagyu-Angus steers last year and 751c/kg for heifers of the same description.

Wagyu has also played a major role — if not the starring role — in improving the quality of beef consumed in Australia and around the world.

From July 2015 to December last year firstcross heifers averaged 564c/kg and steers 608c/ kg, with F1 steer prices averaging 713c/kg in November and 638c/kg in December. While the Australian beef industry has carved its own premium Wagyu product, the establishers of the breed — Japan — were on to it long before. It is easy to see why, once they realised the value of their product, the Japanese Government banned the export of Wagyu in the late 1990s.

Numbers are growing at a faster rate than any other breed, with the latest figures from the Australian Registered Cattle Breeders’ Association showing Wagyu is sixth in the breed hierarchy and is expected to rise again when the next figures are released this year. In 2015, there were 8463 new Wagyu calves registered, up 12 per cent on 2014. When Wagyu first appeared in the ARCBA statistics in 1993, there were 72 registered cattle. Membership growth of the Australian Wagyu Association has been even more dramatic, with a 39 per cent lift in member numbers last year. In 2011 joinings to Wagyu sires were 90,000, had jumped 24 per cent by 2014, and the AWA has predicted 821,000 Wagyu joinings by 2020 with a turn-off of 276,000 or 74,000 tonnes of Wagyu beef, 90 per cent of which would be exported. Adding to this growth has been the record prices being achieved for Wagyu and Wagyucross in the past two years. This is in part due to exceptional beef prices across the whole industry, as well as supply and demand of Wagyu. Nicola Bell The Weekly Times

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

50 TO 70 PER CENT WAGYU PREMIUM It is also thanks to prices now being benchmarked because online selling platform AuctionsPlus started Wagyu specific sales in

AWA president Peter Gilmour said one of the big reasons the breed has experienced significant growth in the past five years is they have been able to directly quantify objective carcase measurement. Mr Gilmour said it was also about demand, with 95 per cent of all Wagyu product exported. He said the rising middle class consumers in China, South East Asia and the Middle East meant they now had purchasing power and could afford to buy Wagyu. The third point was the realisation that Wagyu-cross cattle were performing well in large pastoral production systems in Queensland, the Northern Territory and in to the Pilbara, Western Australia. “Typically black cattle haven’t run well in the north, but the Wagyu crossbreds have dramatically changed that and there has been high Wagyu content cattle going in to these large supply chains,” Mr Gilmour said. “All three of those things come together to create a dramatic rise in Wagyu,” he said.

In terms of the premium price being paid for Wagyu cattle and meat, Mr Gilmour said it could often achieve a fourfold premium over other breeds. “It is important to understand the additional effort that goes in to each component of breeding Wagyu,” he said.

THE DEMAND FOR WAGYU IS ALSO UNPRECEDENTED. “There aren’t enough bulls in the system to satisfy the projected increase. Seedstock producers are working flat out to build up numbers.” However, Mr Gilmour cautioned people if they wanted to produce Wagyu they had to want to collect data because of the aim to produce a superior product.

WAGYU PREMIUM SUSTAINABLE Mr Gilmour said projecting a price in to the future wasn’t easy, and while overall beef prices might come back, Wagyu would still attract a premium above other breeds. When it comes down to it, Wagyu is all about the taste of the meat. Mr Gilmour said the intramuscular fat, or the marbling, in the Wagyu was what produced “that incredible taste explosion”.

“It gives a melt-in-the-mouth experience,” he said. Mr Gilmour said treating Wagyu steak more like a wine, where you eat it with care, made the eating experience even better. “Eat it small, eat it really hot and look at it before you eat it.” One of the challenges for the industry Mr Gilmour said was the space needed in feedlots for feeding Wagyu. “There is a capacity for 1.2 million cattle on feed in Australia and at the moment Wagyu is only 8 per cent of that,” he said. “If numbers keep going up we could be up to 40-50 per cent of that total feedlot capacity, so finding space in high quality feedlots could slow growth.” Rick Hunter from Bald Ridge Wagyu, at Mudgee, NSW, who specialises in producing Wagyu genetics, said the rise in Wagyu was because people wanted better tasting meat. Since Wagyu first came to Australia the popularity had been on the rise, but the growth in the past few years had been because of “significantly more demand” from consumers, he said. Nick and Vicki Sher, of Ballan, run a fully-

integrated Wagyu business. From producing their own seedstock, to running a commercial herd to custom processing and selling branded meat to restaurants and export markets, the Shers are across all aspects of Wagyu raising. Mr Sher said they started breeding Wagyu in 1991 for the Japanese market, now they export to 14 countries and supply 100 restaurants in Australia, including the Steer and The Atlantic in Melbourne. Mr Sher said the domestic market had grown a lot in the past five years. “People appreciate the quality of the meat and are prepared to pay for good quality,” he said. The highest quality 9+ marble score cut of Sher Wagyu costs about $100 plated in a restaurant, he said. “One of the reasons for the cost of the meat is Wagyu is expensive to produce and there is a lot of time and effort put in to feeding cattle for 400 or more days,” he said. Mr Sher said he thought Wagyu meat prices were about as high as they could sustainably be. He said prices were already high and he doesn’t think they will keep rising, but the Wagyu would maintain a premium above other breeds.

Congratulations Warmoll Family

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THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

LINKING WAGYU SUPPLY CHAIN DATA TO ... Genetic data through the Livestock Data Link The Australian Wagyu Association has established a pilot project with Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) to investigate the opportunity to electronically transfer carcase compliance and chiller assessment data from a processing site into MLA’s Livestock Data Link (LDL) database and then through to Wagyu BREEDPLAN. The project will use the Wagyu supply chain as a case study and a manual transfer of 50 bodies will be used to demonstrate the system. This first stage will focus on the transfer of AUS-MEAT and/or MSA data, including chiller assessment information, from one abattoir to AWA through LDL. This will include the following traits: NLIS electronic number, Carcase Weight, Eye Muscle Area, Marble Score, Rump Fat. It is anticipated that there will be additional stages to this project which could include the following opportunities: »» automating the process for information sharing »» incorporating other Wagyu supply chain data including: - commercial feedlot animal data: NLIS electronic number, Entry and Exit Weights and Dates; and - on-farm commercial animal data (eg. from Practical Systems Stockbook): Birth Weight, 200-day weight, 400-day weight, 600-day weight »» building additional LDL functionality because of this feasibility study. Additional stages will be considered for MLA funding on a case-by-case basis.

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT 1. Conduct a feasibility study of four Wagyu supply chains to determine: »» the most immediately feasible abattoir to export AUS-MEAT and MSA carcase information from their company database. »» LDL ability to receive carcase data over and above what it already receives »» LDL ability to capture “permissions” to share that data with organisations other than the “owners” »» LDL ability to export that data »» Wagyu BREEDPLAN database ability to receive that data »» Additional programming needed at each entity to enable the data transfer. 2. At least 50 AUS-MEAT and/or MSA individual animal carcase data records are to be transferred from one abattoir to the LDL database and then to the Wagyu BREEDPLAN database for at least the following traits: NLIS electronic number, Carcase Weight, Eye Muscle Area, Marble Score and Rump Fat.

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

HOW HAS THE PROJECT ‘COME ABOUT’? Meat & Livestock Australia understands that the Australian Wagyu industry has rapidly emerged over the past 20 years to be a very significant component of the Australian beef industry. AWA in association with the MLA Donor Company has undertaken the Wagyu Collaborative Genetics Research (WCGR) Project Stages 1 and 2 since 2012 to identify, determine and establish EBVs relevant to the Wagyu breed. Improved Carcase Weight and Eye Muscle Area EBVS have been established using actual carcase measures and Marble Score and Marbling Fineness EBVs have been developed, all now in production. The collection, recording and genetic analysis of large numbers of industry carcase records is required to help the beef industry capitalise on the great increase in carcase value the Wagyu breed offers. Through the WCGRP Stage 1 and 2 AWA has manually collected some 4000 carcase records, registered the animals, and loaded the data into Wagyu BREEDPLAN. This has been an extremely time consuming and expensive process requiring constant liaison with data owners, emailed carcase assessment in PDF format and rekeying of the data into the Wagyu database, estimated conservatively at $28 per AUS-MEAT animal record. Through the use of actual carcase data, confidence in Wagyu BREEDPLAN has rapidly increased over the past two years. Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) and the Fullblood Terminal Index are enabling much more accurate animal performance identification and selection for mating decisions, improving the rate of genetic gain. Younger bulls are now being used much more readily as confidence in Wagyu BREEDPLAN EBVs increases. Large volumes of accurate whole of life production data including actual carcase data clearly differentiating marble scores are needed to increase EBV accuracy, further increasing industry confidence in the technology. This project is vital to begin use of high volumes of commercial Wagyu fullblood and crossbred Wagyu performance data and encourage the various entities in the Wagyu supply chain to share the data for the mutual benefit of those organisations. While MLA considers the Wagyu case study is critical to this project, input from other breed societies will be sought towards the end of the project in order to ascertain the broader industry interest in connecting LDL to genetic data and to ensure any future development work meets the needs of the entire beef industry.

WAGYU the marbling breed

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

WIDEN THE INFLUENCE OF SUPERIOR FEMALES IN YOUR HERD Recipient dam information is important recipients are run together in the same paddock from the day of implantation, over calving and through to weaning. At weaning, the ET calves are weighed and the calf reared by the Jersey is considerably heavier than the calf reared by the Brahman. As these calves are of similar genetic merit, the difference in their weights is not due to differences in their genetic potential for growth but can be attributed to the greater milking ability (i.e. maternal effect) of the Jersey recipient.

If recipient dam information has not been submitted for an ET calf, its EBVs will simply be mid-parent values based on the EBVs of its genetic dam and sire. Recipient dam information will generate enhanced EBVs. Many Wagyu breeders are now using embryo transfer (ET) to widen the influence of superior females in their herds. The following outlines the primary considerations breeders should make to obtain useful EBVs for ET calves.

Can we calculate EBVs for ET calves? Yes!! A unique feature of BREEDPLAN is its ability to analyse the performance of ET calves.

How does the analysis of ET calves differ from naturally mated calves? While the performance of ET calves is essentially analysed in a similar manner to the performance of naturally mated calves, the calculation of EBVs for ET calves is more complex as the maternal effect of the recipient dam on the performance of the ET calf needs to be taken into consideration. To calculate useful EBVs for ET calves, information about their recipient dams must be recorded.

Why does the recipient dam have to be taken into account when calculating EBVs for an ET calf? While the recipient dam doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t influence the genetics of the ET calf, there are maternal effects on the embryo and resulting calf that are attributable to the recipient dam. Recipient dam information is required so these maternal effects can be accounted for when analysing the performance of ET calves. For example, take a situation where two identical embryos are implanted in recipient dams of different breeds. One is implanted into a Brahman and the other into a Jersey. These

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

How does BREEDPLAN take account for the maternal effect of the recipient dam? BREEDPLAN takes account of the maternal effect of the recipient dam on the performance of the ET calf through two main steps. 1. ET calves are automatically analysed in a separate contemporary group to naturally mated or AI calves. That is, the performance of ET calves is not directly compared with the performance of calves conceived either naturally or by AI. 2. BREEDPLAN removes any differences in the maternal effect made by the recipient dams of ET calves within the contemporary group by either: * Further breaking up the contemporary group into groups of calves that have all been reared by recipient dams of the same breed. In this manner, the performance of ET calves will only be directly compared with other calves where the recipient dam is of the same breed and has therefore received a similar maternal contribution. * Analysing all ET calves in the same contemporary group but making adjustments to the performance of the ET calves to account for differences in the maternal effect of their recipient dam. These adjustments are made based on the breed of the recipient dam.

What recipient dam information is required? For calculation of effective EBVs for ET calves, at a minimum, both the ident and breed of the recipient dam are required. It should be noted that the specific breed of the recipient is required (e.g. Murray Grey/Hereford) rather than a generic breed (e.g. Murray Grey cross). In addition, it is recommended that breeders also submit an approximate year of birth for each recipient dam. This is important as BREEDPLAN makes adjustments to the performance of a calf based on the age of their recipient dam.

How can recipient dam information be submitted? When the ET calf gets registered you should also supply the recipient dam information in the fields provided.

What implications do the performance for ET calves have for the seedstock producer? i) It is imperative that breeders undertaking ET programs submit recipient dam information. If recipient dam information is not recorded, the ET calfâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own performance will not be used in the calculation of its EBVs. The EBVs

calculated for the calf will simply be mid-parent values based on the EBVs of its genetic dam and sire. ii) As BREEDPLAN may only directly compare the performance of ET calves that have been reared by recipient dams of the same breed (depending on the method used to account for the maternal effect of the recipient dam), the choice of recipient dams should be carefully considered before undertaking an embryo transfer program. If recipient dams of mixed breeds are used, the performance of the ET calves will potentially be split into small contemporary groups and significantly inhibit the usefulness of this information to the BREEDPLAN analysis. At a minimum, breeders should try to select recipient dams of the same breed. This will maximise the number of ET calves being analysed in the same contemporary group. Ideally, recipient dams that have been performance recorded previously would be selected. In this situation, BREEDPLAN already has information regarding the maternal attributes of the cow, which enables the maternal effect of the recipient on the performance of the ET calf to be more accurately identified.

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THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

genotyping

CAREL TESELING

SNP GENOTYPING FOR WAGYU In recent years the price of SNP genotyping has continued to drop and the additional services available through SNP genotyping has increased to a point where members should now seriously consider changing the technology they use for parent verification of their calves.

The Wagyu breed requires parent

SNP DEFINITION

verification of a calf to both sire and

A SNP is the variation in a single

dam as a prerequisite for its registration

nucleotide (or base pair) which occurs at a

as fullblood or purebred into the AWA

specific position in the DNA as shown in

Herdbook. Since 1998 microsatellite (MiP)

Figure 1. These SNPs are of interest as they

technology has been used for this purpose

can directly cause some genetic conditions

and all Wagyu animals registered since

or they can be used as markers to study

1998 have a MiP result. However, MiPs

economically important traits where they

can only be used for parent verification and

are closely aligned with (or linked to) genes

the results cannot be used for any other

impacting the production trait of interest.

purpose. In recent years Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) have emerged as

THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF SNP GENOTYPING

the technology of choice to use for research

A range of panels consisting of different

and the development of commercial

numbers of SNPs have been developed

services and products. The increased

and are marketed by a number of service

volume of SNP genotyping has resulted in

providers. It is now possible to genotype an

a continual reduction in its cost to a point

animal with a SNP chip that will provide

where large panels of SNPs (20,000 SNPs)

1,500 (1.5K), 20,000 (20K), 50,000(50K),

are now becoming equivalent to MiP

150,000 (150K) or 770,000 (770K) SNPs

genotyping.

at the expected prices indicated in Table 1 below. Higher numbers of SNPs deliver better (denser) coverage of the SNPs across the DNA which makes the genotype more useful. Panels consisting of 1,500 or less SNPs can only be used for parent verification. The 20K and 50K panels could be considered the best option for general member use while the 150K and 770K panels are mainly suitable for research purposes. The Australian Wagyu Association has negotiated a price structure with a leading international DNA testing service provider that now makes SNP genotyping

FIGURE 1

a feasible alternative to the traditional

A single base pair change from C/G to A/T in the DNA at a certain location represents a SNP.

MiP testing. >>> page 25

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

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THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

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<<< from page 22 PRODUCT

No. of SNPs

EXPECTED PRICE

1.5K SNPS

~1,500

$35

20K SNPS

~20,000

$45

50K SNPS

~50,000

$60

150K SNPS

~150,000

$145

TABLE 1 Product, number of SNPs and expected price (incl. GST)

BENEFITS AND USES OF SNP GENOTYPING MiPs are a single use technology that can only be used for parent verification while genotypes of 20,000 or more SNPs unlock a wide range of potential information. In addition to parent verification and parent discovery, SNPs may be used for: »» genetic analysis through Single Step Wagyu BREEDPLAN, producing genomically enhanced EBVs, »» determining if the animal is the carrier of a genetic condition, »» determining horn/poll status,

COST COMPARISONS To help members understand the potential financial impact of migrating from MiPs to SNPs, the information in Tables 3 compares the genotyping costs of MiPs, 1.5K SNPs and 20K SNPs in the first year and in Table 4 for subsequent years. To keep the comparisons relatively simple it is assumed all animals in the herd will be SNP genotyped at either the 1.5K or 20K level. Also it is assumed that the herd monitors and manages genetic conditions and so this example assumes that 30% of the herd will require testing for at least one genetic condition, 20% to be tested for two genetic conditions; and 10% to be tested for three genetic conditions and the cost of the testing for each individual genetic condition is $35. Where the 20K SNP genotype has been done the cost of genetic condition testing is reduced to $30 for all five genetic conditions, so in this case it is assumed 30% of calves are tested for all five genetic conditions. TABLE 3 Comparison of genotyping costs in year 1 in a herd with 100 calves using MiP, 1.5K SNP or 20K SNP.

»» determining the percentage of Japanese Black content of an

Microsatellites (MiPs)

animal through the Crossbred Wagyu Test (CWT). In the future SNP information will be used to predict growth, efficiency and carcase performance of Wagyu animals before entering the feedlot. Some of these additional services are subject to royalties and service fees and therefore incur additional costs when requested. Table 2 compares the suitability of MiP and SNP panels for different purposes. TABLE 2 Uses of MiP and the different SNP panels.

PURPOSE

$4,000

$3,500

$4,500

COWS

$3,500

$4,500

BULLS AT 10%

$350

$450

30% FOR 1ST GEN. COND.*

$1,050

20% FOR 2ND GEN. COND.*

$700

10%

$350

$900

$6,100

$9,450

$10,350

FOR 3RD GEN. COND.*

MiPs 1.5K SNPs 20K SNPs 50K SNPs 150K SNPs

PARENT DISCOVERY

GENETIC ANALYSIS

GENETIC CONDITIONS

HORN/POLL TESTING

CROSSBRED WAGYU TEST

PERFORMANCE PREDICTIONS

20K SNPs

CALVES

30% FOR 5 GEN. COND.#

PARENT VERIFICATION

1.5K SNPs

TOTAL COST

* Individual genetic conditions at $35 each # 5 Genetic conditions (after 20K SNP) at $30 total cost

TABLE 4 Comparison of genotyping costs in subsequent years in a herd with 100 calves.

Microsatellites (MiPs)

1.5K SNPs

20K SNPs

CALVES

$4,000

$3,500

$4,500

COWS

Based on the information presented in Table 2 it is possible to make the following recommendations regarding the use of the different products:

BULLS AT 10%

30%

$1,050

MiPs - can only be used for parent verification and as it is not compatible with SNPs, cannot be used in conjunction with SNPs.

20% FOR 2ND GEN. COND.*

$700

10% FOR 3RD GEN. COND.*

$350

30% FOR 5 GEN. COND.#

$900

$6,100

$5,600

$5,400

1.5K SNP panel - due to its lower cost can be used to genotype some older cows or animals with little past and future genetic impact in your herd. This will then prepare your herd for SNP parent verification of future generations. 20K SNP panel - due to its versatility it can be used to genotype the majority of the cow herd and calves. 50K SNP panel - is ideal for genotyping bulls and ET donors. 150K SNP panel - due to its high density and higher cost is best suited for genotyping AI bulls and for research purposes.

FOR 1ST GEN. COND.*

TOTAL COST

$1,050

* Individual genetic conditions at $35 each # 5 Genetic conditions (after 20K SNP) at $30 total cost

Therefore, after the first year of SNP genotyping, where bulls and cows must also be SNP genotyped to enable the calves to be parent verified to them, the cost of the SNP genotyping options are reduced below the MiP option in subsequent years. >>> page 27 THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

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THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

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<<< from page 25

POTENTIAL OPTIONS TO MIGRATE TO SNP GENOTYPING

HOW TO REQUEST SNP GENOTYPING If an animal currently has a MiP genotype available (this information is displayed on the Animal Details Page in the AWA database search facility) there will most likely be a DNA sample available at the University of Queensland Animal Genetics Laboratory (AGL) and, in most cases, the historic DNA sample can be re-used for SNP genotyping. To request a SNP genotype select the SNP genotype level on the DNA test request form, which can be downloaded from

4. 1.5K SNP genotype all active cows and bulls and their progeny. This is the cheapest and simplest option and will facilitate migration to SNPs but will not unlock any of the additional benefits associated with higher levels of SNP genotyping.

As MiPs are not compatible with SNPs, it will be necessary to genotype some animals with both MiP and SNP technologies to create a â&#x20AC;&#x153;bridgeâ&#x20AC;? between the generations. The following are the most basic options available to you as member in migrating from MiP to SNP technologies, showing increasing use of SNPs:

5. 20K SNP genotype all calves and bulls and 1.5K SNP genotype all the active cows. This will prepare your herd to utilise the additional benefits of SNPs as the calves start to contribute to the genetic merit of your herd.

1. Continue with MiPs. However; as other members change to SNP genotyping you will need to start MiP genotyping some of your bulls and purchased cows. 2. Parent verify the current calves to their parents using MiPs (as the parents are already MiP genotyped). Also, slowly begin building up the base of future breeding animals with SNP genotypes by 1.5K SNP genotyping only retained bull and heifer calves. This will enable the progeny of the retained bull and heifer calves to be parent verified using SNPs in subsequent generations. This option requires early knowledge of which animals you will retain for breeding purposes and adds another level of complexity when compared to option 3.

www.wagyu.org.au and email the completed form to the AWA at regos@wagyu.org.au

6. 20K SNP genotype all active cows and bulls and their progeny. This option will utilise all the benefits of SNP genotyping, enabling a better understanding of the genetic history (through the cows and bulls) and future (through the calves) of your herd.

For new calves, collect the DNA samples as usual and send them with a copy of the DNA request form to AGL and email the DNA request form to AWA. The AWA will submit the test request to AGL on your behalf and prepare the AWA animal registration system to receive the SNP genotype results back. Once the AWA receives the genotype information from the lab, it will be loaded into the AWA registration system and will be available for parent verification, parent discovery and genetic analysis.

7. 20K SNP genotype all calves and cows and 50K SNP genotype all bulls and ET donors. The higher level of SNP genotyping of bulls and ET donors will assist with better genetic analysis and also linkage to other herds that used similar genetics.

3. Parent verify the current calves to their parents using MiPs (as the parents are already MiP genotyped) and SNP genotype all calves to allow the progeny of the calves to be parent verified using SNPs in subsequent generations.

Contact Carel Teseling for further information 02 6773 4222 or carel@wagyu.org.au

TABLE 5 The cost and available benefits of the basic migration options in a herd with 100 calves.

YEAR 1 COST*

YEAR 2 COST*

CWT

1) Continue with MiPs only

$4,000

2) MiPs all calves 1.5K SNP retained calves

$5,750

3) MiPs all calves 1.5K SNP all calves

$7,500

4) 1.5K SNP all active cows, bulls and their calves

$7,350

$3,500

5) 20K SNP all calves and bulls and 1.5K SNP active cows

$8,450

$4,500

6) 20K SNP all active cows, bulls and their calves

$9,450

$4,500

7) 20K SNP all active cows and calves and 50K bulls and ET donors

$9,600

$4,500

+++

* This cost estimation excludes the monitoring and management of genetic conditions. The following abbreviations are used: PV=Parent Verification, PD=Parent Discovery, GA=Genetic Analysis, GC=Genetic Conditions, HP=Horn/Poll Status, CWT=Crossbred Wagyu Test and PP=Performance Predictions

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

NEW GRADING-UP OPTION NOW AVAILABLE The new SNP-based Crossbred Wagyu Test is now offering another quality assurance option to admit animals to the grading-up section enabling their progeny to be graded up to the purebred level. Before this new development the only quality assurance technology available to admit and progress an animal to the next level of the grading-up process was DNA parent verification.

BACKGROUND It is a requirement that Wagyu animals be parent verified before entry into the AWA Herdbook Register. This requirement invariably results in some fullblood or purebred animals failing their parent verification (PV) to one or both of the parents through the parents death or inaccessibility, and as a result, the animal cannot be registered in the Herdbook Register.

THE CURRENT GRADING-UP SYSTEM Until recently, the only option when an animal failed its PV was to either register the animal in the Wagyu Content Register or enter the animal as a Crossbred Wagyu F1 50% (as it normally qualifies as the progeny of one of the parents) into the Wagyu grading-up section. Under the current grading-up system parent verification is the only technology allowed to quality assure the expected minimum percentage Wagyu content of an animal. Therefore; if no parentage can be guaranteed (through parent verification) the animal has to be entered as a Base animal

(grade 0) or if the animal have been parent verified to one fullblood (FB) or purebred (PB) Wagyu parent the animal is regarded as an F1 (grade 1). Subject to successful parent verification at every generation, the progeny of an F1 animal is eligible for F2 status, the progeny of the F2 as F3 and the progeny of the F3 as Purebred. Also see figure 1 below for a schematic description of the process. It is clear that, after a failed PV, it could take 10 years or three to four generations of breeding to get the progeny back into the Herdbook as registered purebred animals. Many breeders saw this as too much effort and taking too long and opted not to register the animal and just added it to their â&#x20AC;&#x153;commercialâ&#x20AC;? herd to breed slaughter progeny. As a result, the Wagyu industry missed out on the registration of valuable genetics that could help to maintain the genetic diversity of the breed.

THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW TECHNOLOGY The AWA in conjunction with the Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit (AGBU) developed the Crossbred Wagyu Test (CWT) to determine the Black Wagyu (Japanese Black) content of a DNA sample. Genotypes of eleven breeds were used, including about 1,600 from Wagyu, to develop the test. To analyse the Wagyu >>> page 31

FIGURE 1 The quality assurance of Wagyu content in the current grading-up system.

FB or PB WAGYU

UNKNOWN ANIMAL

GRADE 0

AFTER SUCCESSFUL PV TO WAGYU PARENT

FB or PB WAGYU BULL

F1 (50+% WAGYU)

GRADE 1

AFTER SUCCESSFUL PV TO BULL AND COW

FB or PB WAGYU BULL

F2 (75+% WAGYU)

GRADE 2

AFTER SUCCESSFUL PV TO BULL AND COW

FB or PB WAGYU BULL

F3 (87+% WAGYU)

GRADE 3

AFTER SUCCESSFUL PV TO BULL AND COW

PB (93+% WAGYU) 28

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

GRADE PB

DRENCH BETTER

LVM

THREE ACTIVES ARE BETTER THAN ONE 1

SHORT ACTING DRENCHES ARE BETTER RESISTANCE FIGHTERS 1,2

ORAL DRENCHES GO ONE BETTER: DIRECT TO THE WORMS 1,3

COOPERS® TRIFECTA® has been developed to allow livestock producers to utilise three best practice recommendations to fight drench resistance and DRENCH BETTER Ideal weaning drench for beef cattle Quarantine drench for newly purchased cattle ‘Tail-cutter’ drench following long-acting drench treatment Toll Free 1800 885 576 www.coopersanimalhealth.com.au 1 Leathwick, D.M., Besier, R.B., (2014) The management of anthelmintic resistance in grazing ruminants in Australasia – Strategies and experiences. Veterinary Parasitology 204(1-2), pp 44-54. 2 Sutherland, I.A, Leathwick, D.M (2011) Anthelmintic resistance in nematode parasites of cattle: a global issue? Trends in Parasitology Vol. 27, No. 4. 3 Leathwick, D.M Miller, C.M (2013) Efficacy of oral, injectable and pour-on formulations of moxidectin against gastrointestinal nematodes in cattle in New Zealand. Veterinary Parasitology 191 293-300. ® Coopers is a registered trademark of Intervet Inc. Trifecta is a registered trademark of Intervet International B.V. Intervet Australia Pty Ltd. ABN: 79008467034.

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Target:

Japan

In global full blood Japanese Black production, the ultimate target for 2016 is performance superior to the Tokyo 2015 Carcass Champion, which demands achievement like: Japanese Meat Grading Assc. (JMGA) Overall Grade

Carcass weight

>570kg

JMGA BMS

Retail Yield

>70%

Or nearly 200kg heavier than average Australian ‘Japanese Black’ FB carcasses, with a 3X factor in overall superior marbling, and massive, unmeasured superiority in comparative carcass efficiency. To achieve this supreme carcass profitability, you need much more than Tajima.

NEW

TOTTORIGUNS Ginjo’s 2016 ‘Tottori Sons of Guns’ From a vein of rare heritage genetics, (see the Australian Wagyu Forum website) we offer licensed semen from two new full blood AI sires, with unique Tottori Prefecture infusion and highly credentialed pedigrees. To help you build herds that better compete with the master breeders of Japan, these young sires represent opportunities for exciting new combinations. ‘Eye candy’ conformation. Tested free of all Australiannotified recessive genetic conditions.

Ginjo genetics for sale

Image taken at 22 month of age

GINJO SHIGEFUKU K921 (GINFK0921) Son of the sole 100% Tottori sire to leave Japan, K921 showcases a dam pedigree packed with proven carcass performance and additional, potent Tottori/Kedaka infusion: Dam/dam C868,a Hirashigetayasu daughter, is a flush sister to our growth/ marbling champion, Ginjo MarbleMax Hiranami B901. Dam/sire ECHFB1001, an Itomoritaka son, was our second most consistent producer of high growth, high marbling carcasses. All FB progeny will be rare: ~37% Tottori.

Image taken at 22 month of age

GINJO HATSHIRA K930 (GINFK0930) Son of a proven ‘97-drop, first ‘international’ generation Kitateruyasudoi son, K930 maintains the 003 high performance tradition. But with a massive bonus in the rare genetics of sire/dam Hatsuhi, probably the best of very few high Tottori females to come from Japan with Westholme. MarbleMax B901 is dam/sire, and a massive TF148-infused, Itoshigefuji daughter is dam/dam. With balanced Hyogo (~43%), Tottori (~31%) and Itozakura bloodlines, K930 offers exciting potential to the serious breeder.

Australia: Economical Semen United States: Down Under Genetics (Co). New Zealand Genetic Enterprises South America/ South Africa: Compliant semen available for some countries.

Ginjo Wagyu | Mike Buchanan M +61 437 047 234 T +61 2 4997 0482 E mjbuch@bigpond.com Postal (PO Box 71) 125 Pindimar Road Tea Gardens New South Wales Australia, 2324

Founding Member – Australian Wagyu Forum www.australianwagyuforum.com.au GW_AUWAG_Mar16_wƒ080316.indd 1

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

8/03/2016 2:50 PM

<<< from page 28 content it is necessary for the DNA sample to have been SNP genotyped to at least 20,000 S NPs (20K). While the test is regarded as highly accurate, early test development identified a very small number of fullblood animals with CWT results in the vicinity of 70% Wagyu breed content. These lower than expected CWT results were found to be representative of some of the rarer Wagyu bloodlines and therefore potentially very valuable and important to preserve genetic diversity in the Wagyu population. The CWT results are reflective of the unique genomic makeup of these rare fullblood animals. For more information about the development and use of the CWT please see Volume 64 of the Australian Wagyu Update Magazine which is available from www.wagyu.org.au

THE NEW GRADING-UP SYSTEM Recently the AWA board accepted changes to the Bylaws that allow the use of the CWT as another technology to quality assure the Wagyu breed content of an animal and allow the animal to enter the grading-up system at a grade that reflects the CWT result. Therefore, an animal can be SNP genotyped and CWT analysed and if the result of the CWT is 87% or higher the animal will be allocated a grade code of 3. Table 1 below indicates the grade that will be allocated to the animal based on its CWT result. It is important to note that for an animal to be graded as “purebred” through this process the requirement has been maintained for a purebred animal to be parent verified to both its sire and dam. Therefore; even if an animal has a 99% CWT result, but cannot be parent verified to both its parents, the animal cannot be allocated the purebred grade and will be

allocated a grade code of 4. Once an animal has been allocated a grade code (based on its CWT result) its progeny can progress to the next grade either through parent >>> page 33 TABLE 1 Grade codes that will be allocated based on an animal’s Crossbred Wagyu Test result.

CWT result

Allocated Grade

Below 50%

50+%

75+%

87+%

93+% without PV 93+% with PV

4 (if not parent verified) PB (if parent verified to sire and dam)

TABLE 2 CWT results and the current grading-up system (using parent verification for quality assurance) can be used to determine the grade of an animal.

Crossbred Wagyu Test Result

Allocated Current Grading-up result Grade

Below 50%

Base Animal

Higher than 50%

F1 (PV’ed to a Wagyu Parent)

Higher than 75%

F2 (PV’ed to both parents)

Higher than 87%

F3 (PV’ed to both parents)

Higher than 93% (without PV)

Higher than 93% (with PV)

GUARANTEED

PB (PV’ed to both parents)

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CHA CHA CHAR CHAMPIONING THE WAGYU INDUSTRY FOR PRODUCERS ‘Diversification’ and ‘pioneer’ are two words that come to mind when thinking about the impact Kilroy has had on the beef industry. He’s not just a restauranteur. He’s been heavily involved with the beef industry and has stood strong, working with Australia’s leading and emerging Wagyu breeders and producers. He’s sat alongside the nation’s best beef judges, contributing to the standardisation of the modern beef judging criteria, something that many Australian restauranteurs can’t say they’ve done and is also the only restauranteur who regularly attends and sponsors the annual Wagyu Conference.

leader in ‘Wagyu’ by creating a ‘destination Wagyu’ dining experience and how to take a cut, develop a menu around that and deliver it to the diner”, says Kilroy.

John; or ‘Kilroy’ as he’s affectionately known, has helped shape the Wagyu revolution into the modern restaurant; and it is at Kilroy’s iconic beef specialty restaurant Cha Cha Char in the Brisbane CBD, where ‘cooked to perfection’ Wagyu steaks have been showcased for over two decades. The Wagyu landscape in Australia is changing at a rapid rate. Shortages of this fine quality beef have been experiencing undersupply in a demanding market; and not only here in Australia, but also worldwide. In 2015, shortages drove on-line auctions prices to spike to never before seen prices. Seeking out solutions in the face of this shortage, Kilroy has approached beef diversification with ‘outside-the-box’ thinking. Instead he has focused on seaming the whole rump using all five muscles as opposed to expensive and ‘in short supply’ primary cuts, creating dishes and degustation menus championing everything Wagyu.

As is the case with many smaller operations and businesses, including his own; Kilroy is at the mercy of his people and his brands which are only as good as those representing him. “Like any business, we at times experience periods where the people representing us lack the care, passion and integrity we as a brand have worked so hard to build, something I am sure many people in the industry would have experienced also, in your slaughter houses, on your boning floors and with your suppliers and distributors” says Kilroy.

“It is essentially our aim to position ourselves in the marketplace as the industry

John Kilroy

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

As this industry grows; like any business, it is a challenge in maintaining and achieving consistency and quantity of product, and it is here that Kilroy and team are working on a ‘help us, help you’ approach. He’s putting a callout to the market to producers, in a bid to collaborate and showcase their products on his menus and bring these to market through his restaurant, Cha Cha Char.

The recent implementation of updated systems and processes has assisted with new internal quality control management. These systems have been designed to manage incoming stock with state of the art photographic recognition and image benchmarking. Orders are created at the push of a button with the generation of barcodes allowing orders to go direct from kitchen to supplier which are vetted on receival.

PH: 07 3211 9944 | www.chachachar.com.au admin@chachachar.com.au

Moving forward, Kilroy is on the lookout for new producers who are wanting their brand and product showcased to the market through his restaurant Cha Cha Char. Producers wishing to position their product alongside Kilroy’s signature beef restaurant will benefit from such a collaboration, with Cha Cha Char; who after 20 years and countless state and national beef awards are best placed to provide a platform to champion YOUR wagyu brand.

"Mayura Station is proud to partner with Cha Cha Char to supply high quality branded Wagyu to high-end discerning clients" - Scott de Bruin

Image credit: Scott De Bruin of Mayura Station

MAYURA WAGYU BEEF FARMER OF YEAR FINALIST Mayura Wagyu from Millicent SA was a finalist in the Weekly Times Coles 2016 Farmer of the Year awards. Mayura was one of only 18 finalists from six states and one of only three that produced beef cattle. The eventual Farmer of the Year came from the beef cattle section and was Palgrove Charolais and Ultrablack, Dalveen Qld. The following citation appeared in The Weekly Tiimes: The de Bruin family’s Mayura Station is not your run-of-the-mill beef farm. Spread over 3000 hectares near Millicent, in South Australia’s South East, the station not only breeds, feeds and markets its award-winning Wagyu beef — it serves it up at its own on-farm restaurant. In less than 20 years, the de Bruins have turned a casual conversation about the benefits of eating Wagyu beef into a multi-million-dollar paddock-to-plate farming operation. Today, with Scott and Kristy de Bruin at the helm, the demand for Mayura beef is such that diners in some of the world’s top restaurants pay more than $1000 a kilogram for it, and the farm is in the fourth year of a five-year expansion plan that will lead to production being doubled. The de Bruins’ love affair with Wagyu cattle began in the 1990s when Scott’s father, Auspine founder Adrian de Bruin, travelled to Japan for work. “Each time he’d travel to Japan he would try Wagyu and he’d come back and say, ‘The meat is just amazing’,” Scott said. Managers on the de Bruin property at the time heard of some Wagyu cattle leaving Japan “and they told Dad, and he just jumped at the opportunity”. Twenty-five cows arrived from Japan, via the US, in January 1998, in one of the first shipments of Fullblood Wagyu cattle to Australia. Today, Mayura is one of the nation’s largest privately owned Fullblood Wagyu herd, with 7000 cattle. The cattle are fed in the paddock for 300 days before moving to a state-of-the-art undercover finishing barn where they are fed for another 300 days wheat-based rations containing corn, meal, bran and by-products including chocolate. About 110 steers and heifers are slaughtered a month, producing 30 tonnes of beef. About 70 per cent of the meat is exported, with Hong Kong the biggest single market, followed by China (where Mayura beef retails in supermarkets for about $670 a kilogram), Singapore, Dubai, the Philippines and Taiwan. In 2010, Mayura opened The Tasting Room — essentially a cellar door-style restaurant aimed at showcasing its wares to the public — on the farm. Proving you can have your steak and eat it, too.

Grading up now available <<< from page 31 verification or by a CWT result. Table 2 illustrates how the CWT and parent verification technologies will be used to complement each other in the new grading-up system.

HOW TO UTILISE THE NEW SYSTEM The Crossbred Wagyu Test requires a genotype of at least 20,000 SNPs (20K). Members wishing to have the CWT done on animals should send a DNA test request form, which can be downloaded from www. wagyu.org.au, to the association. If the animal has not yet been SNP genotyped you should request a GGPLD test and a Crossbred Wagyu Test (the code is currently %WAG) and email the form to regos@wagyu.org.au. The AWA will submit the test request to the University of Queensland’s Animal Genetics Laboratory (AGL) and prepare the AWA system to receive the results. The animal’s DNA sample (using a hair sample or the Tissue Sampling Unit) must be sent directly to AGL along with a printed copy of the completed DNA test request form. Once AWA receives the genotype from the lab, the CWT analysis will be done and based on the result a grade code allocated to the animal and the animal registered in the grading-up section. The progeny of the animal can then be parent verified as normal and does not require CWT analysis to be registered. Contact Carel Teseling for further information 02 6773 4222 or carel@wagyu.org.au THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

Award winning “ALFA Feedlot of the Year” Over 25 years of Wagyu feeding Bespoke ration program available Currently welcoming custom feeding inquiries

Part of the

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14/03/2016 10:40 AM

WAGYU THE ‘BIG PICTURE’ FOR THE HUGHES FAMILY The Hughes family is often described as “cattle barons” in the media.

Sarah Hudson The Weekly Times

The Hughes Pastoral Company has been run for more than a century, with the BRW Rich List this year estimating the firm’s wealth at $328 million. Hughes Pastoral and Georgina Pastoral Company (a sister company created in 2004) covers about 2.7 million hectares through Queensland, the Northern Territory and NSW, with its headquarters at Tierawoomba Station. When fifth generation Fred Hughes married Sarah in 2012, she had a baptism of fire into the family business. After marrying the couple moved to manage Georgina Pastoral’s 1.7 million hectare Lake Nash Station in the Northern Territory, near the Queensland border at Mt Isa, where they encountered a one in 50-year drought. The couple was forced to truck off 50,000 head of cattle from Lake Nash, Australia’s second largest cattle station. “It was an incredibly tough time to take over the reins but we’ve seen Lake Nash at its worst and at its best,” Sarah, 32, said. “Right now you won’t find the property looking better. I’m looking out to the garden and the horse paddock across to the Georgina River. South of here it’s a sea of green grass. “We were thrown in the deep end but it’s given me the confidence to handle anything moving forward.” Speaking on the phone nursing her sixmonth-old baby Harry, Sarah’s workload has only increased over the past three years.

A PILOT & NUFFIELD SCHOLAR

Fred and Sarah Hughes with son Harry at Lake Nash NT, about to embark on Sarah’s Nuffield Scholarship trip to further her knowledge on organic Wagyu production.

Putting aside the fact she got her pilots license in 2014, she is just about to embark on her Nuffield scholarship. She said she’ll tackle the Nuffield once she and Fred leave Lake Nash and move to the 68,000ha Tumbar station, at Queensland’s Jericho,

the purchase of which was settled by Hughes Pastoral in November. Moving to Tumbar, Sarah said, will allow her time to focus on the Nuffield, as well as give Fred and her the chance to contribute to the big picture of the family’s grazing operation. That big picture is all about Wagyu cattle. About 25 years ago Peter Hughes bred his first Wagyu and since 2014 the family’s western properties of Lake Nash, Caldervale and Keeroongooloo became certified organic. Lake Nash currently stocks 13,000 purebred organic Wagyu, with about 20,000 composite non-organic cows and 15,000 Ultrablack organic cattle. Ultrablack is a Angus/Brahman composite with too much Angus content to be called a Brangus. “I believe currently Hughes Group has the second largest herd of purebred Wagyu in the world. Within the next two to three years Lake Nash will be all Wagyu,” said Sarah, whose Nuffield study will focus on overseas organic production of Wagyu cattle. “Ultimately Hughes Pastoral will be all Wagyu with 130,000 head.

LIKE MOUNTAIN GOATS “They are very hardy animals, like mountain goats. They do exceptionally well up here, adding up to 0.7kg of weight gain per day.” Sarah said currently Lake Nash did not have controlled mating, with joining year-round. “In the second half of this year we began segregating with pregnancy-testing, putting three month calving groups in different paddocks.” Cattle at Lake Nash feed predominantly on Mitchell grass, with the Hughes cutting hay for weaners. Stock are mustered twice a year - with the season running from >>> THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

WAGYU RUN TRUE AT AUSTRALIA’S BIGGEST CAMPDRAFT AND RODEO Wagyu bred by Maydan Feedlot at Warwick on Queensland’s Darling Downs were praised as ‘cattle that run true’ at the 2016 Warwick campdraft run in conjunction with Australia’s most famous and biggest rodeo. Maydan’s owner Geoffrey Willett supplied mixed sex terminal F2 aged between 11 to 14 months that had been on oats for three months. Warwick Campdraft Chairman Geoff Grant said the Maydan Wagyu were very quiet and easy to handle both in the yards and when worked with horses despite only being exposed to four wheelers at the feedlot.

He said that the Warwick Show and Rodeo Society appreciated the cattle donors who supplied the 4000 head of cattle used during the week long event. Many competitors complimented the organisers and Maydan for supplying such an excellent line of cattle for the Champion Of Champions event.

Champion of Champions Rohan Marks and Repeater with Geoff Grant, Campdraft Chairman, and Geoff Willett, Maydan Feedlot.

Despite the large number of spectators, a powerful public address system and arena lights, the Wagyu remained calm throughout.

Wagyu the 'big picture' for the Hughes Family <<< March until November - using helicopters, horses and motorbikes, with cattle not worked in the heat of the wet season between December and February. Sarah said converting to organic in 2014 was not a stretch for the couple and the 35 staff who run the cattle station. “This western country is ideally suited to organics and so we barely had to change any of our management processes and yet we can get attractive premiums.” In the past Lake Nash has used Hormonal Growth Promotants, but stopped in 2012. “There’s nothing wrong with them but some markets won’t accept them, so it was a business decision to stop their use.” Organic certification allows certain vaccinations, including botulism and vibrio, however they moved from a urea-based lick to an organic lick.”

TUMBAR’S SWITCH TO WAGYU She said the move to Tumbar is part of this Wagyu plan. The purchase of the property included 8000 head of Angus, which – with artificial insemination - will become 36

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

an F1 Wagyu herd. Georgina Pastoral has secured long-term supply agreements with AACo for Wagyu feeders, annually supplying about 10,000 feeder steers aged about 18 months or 380-390kg. She said they retain most of their females to increase Wagyu breeder numbers, but have another agreement selling several thousand PTIC heifers to Pardoo Beef Corp in Western Australia over the next few years. The herd has a high Tajima content, she said, working towards producing polled Wagyu. “The company bought a stud about six years ago and a property north-west of Armidale that greatly increased the scope and control over the genetics in our purebred herd,” she added.

ORGANIC WAGYU PRODUCTION Sarah said the aim of her Nuffield scholarship was to study overseas organic production of Wagyu cattle, including production, breed traits and genetics, and assess the potential for production partnerships that could deliver reliable and consistent supplies with the aim of securing price premiums.

“There is no one in the world producing and supplying organic Wagyu with any scale and I think there are opportunities in this space, “ said Sarah, who grew up on a 20,200ha cattle property in north-west Queensland and met Fred while working for Beef Australia in 2009. “But there are risks associated with increased production costs, time and seasonal variability and I would like to broaden my knowledge about and confidence in organic and Wagyu production systems.” After moving to Tumbar Fred, Harry and Sarah will travel to Japan, New Zealand and the United States between now and August on the scholarship. Despite her workload, Sarah is humble about her achievements. “That is life on the land. I don’t think it’s unique to me. Women on the land have always juggled different roles and jobs. I’m fortunate I’m able to work from home. “It’s about having a crack while we’re young and making the most of this wonderful opportunity.”

opinion

PERSONS NAME

TITLE FOR ARTICLE

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

- EXCELLENCE IN BREEEDING LFDFY0004 Ideal for lifting marbling in F1 and Full Blood production Outstanding cow family Very fine coated calves Quiet progeny Great bull for heifers

IN TAND OUTS

.9 LE +1 MARB 59 FTI $3 GL

200

400

600

EBV

-1.1

-1.3

-3

-2

-4

Acc

75%

93%

91%

87%

88%

MCW

MILK

CWT

EMA

RIB

RUMP

-3

77%

64%

RBY

-0.8

-8

+4.2

-0.1

-0.2

+0.8 +1.9 +0.57

66%

84%

65%

75%

67%

84%

72%

IMUFAJ2810 KITATERUYASUDOI ETJ003

LONGFORD 004

SEMEN FOR SALE BOTH SIRES

WKSFMO164 WORLD K’S MICHIFUKU WKSFMO 139 WORLD K’s HARUKI-2

1-10 DOSES 11-50 DOSES 51+ DOSES

$80 +GST $65 +GST $50 +GST

IMUFP0102 KANADAGENE 102D

LFDFT0480 LONGFORD MUTSU

WKSFL0976 WORLD K’s SUZUTANI 976

WESFZ0278 EXPORT SEMEN AVAILABLE

Very high carcass weights High retail beef yield AA for the best fat Free of all genetic disorders Extremely quiet progeny TRAIT

Great milking daughters

LEAD

TH GROW 8 + MILK .2 + SS 2

200

400

600

MCW

MILK

CWT

EMA

RIB

RUMP

RBY

EBV

+2.7 +4.6

+21

+35

+44

+40

+2.2

+30

+1.2

-2.6

-3.8

+2.0

-0.3 +0.06

Acc

80%

96%

94%

95%

88%

92%

85%

89%

90%

83%

77%

96%

WESTHOLME HIRASHIGETAYASU Z278

b.robertsthomson@bigpond.com

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

71%

SIRE - IMJFA12351 HIRASHIGETAYASU ETJ001 GRAND SIRE IMJFAJ2810 KITATERUTASUDOI ETJ003 GGS IMJFA2703 ITOMORITAKA ETJ002

Barbara Roberts-Thomson

www.adademyredwagyu.com Armidale NSW 2350

02 6772 1856

Exploring Wagyu origins and markets

JAPANESE WAGYU TRADE MISSION 30 August to 13 September 2017

Australian Wagyu Association (AWA) in conjunction with Quadrant Australia is pleased to offer you the chance to join the Wagyu Trade Mission to Japan. Departing Australia late August, the trade mission includes not only the 2017 Wagyu Show at Sendai, but also the highlights of Tokyo, Japan’s capital, and the cultural centre of Kyoto. The program provides opportunities to meet breeders, speak to officials and experience the Wagyu product throughout the Japanese food chain. The itinerary includes a stay in a traditional Ryokan (Japanese Inn), together with farm and technical visits where you can meet and learn from the local people.

WAGYU the marbling breed

In Tokyo, Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) will provide a briefing and overview of the beef supply chain with an opportunity to visit a local supermarket to see how the Wagyu product is presented in the retail market. The itinerary includes Hokkaido, Japan’s northern island, where agriculture is serious business; the cultivated land area per farm household is 15 times greater than any other prefecture in Japan. From Hokkaido it’s a short flight to Kyoto where participants will experience the cultural centre of Japan, with ancient temples, sublime gardens and colourful geishas. During this time, there will also be visits to the Kakogawa Meat Centre and local farms. A trip to Japan is not complete without a bullet-train experience, where speeds of up to 320km per hour are the norm and so participants will board a bullet-train (Shinkansen) bound for Sendai for the Wagyu Feature Show. Every five years this Wagyu show is held in a different location in Japan. Attendance at this event is a great opportunity to see Wagyu cattle and to participate in all the associated activities of the show and trade exhibits. AWA, in conjunction with Quadrant Australia, has had delegations attend in 2007 and in 2012. As this is a Trade Mission, all transactions will be conducted with the Australian Wagyu Association, but questions and the delivery will be conducted by Quadrant Australia. The price is $14,000 + GST per person on a twin share basis. Single supplement $1,000 + GST.

www.wagyu.org.au

EVENTS > JAPANESE WAGYU TRADE MISSION

The Wagyu Trade Mission to Japan is a unique opportunity to travel with likeminded people and experience the wonder of Japan, where Wagyu is considered a national treasure. We urge all interested members of AWA to book early to avoid disappointment. Accommodation at the key event in Sendai is limited with no possibility of securing more so don’t miss out, register your interest today by contacting the team at Quadrant Australia. Visit the AWA website for more details. THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

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THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

BARBARA R-T SEES RED AND BLACK Wagyu cattle produce the best meat, hands down, according to Barbara RobertsThomson. And it is for this reason she started breeding Wagyu. Barbara runs about 200 red and black Wagyu breeding cows, plus embryo transfer recipients, under the Academy Wagyu brand across 168ha at Armidale on the Northern Tablelands of NSW. She started breeding Wagyu cattle in 1998, after selling her Hereford and Poll Hereford stud of 25 years in 1997. Barbara started her career in the beef cattle industry by selling north American Poll Hereford genetics to Australian breeders. She said she learnt about the power of genetics, which had been the cornerstone of her success as a cattle breeder. “A leading Poll Hereford breeder told me he had just eaten the best meat he had ever tasted and it was Wagyu,” Barbara said. So a few months later she attended a Wagyu sale to see what the cattle looked like. While she was not initially impressed, she bought “a structurally correct young cow”, sired by Haruki 11 for $2000, starting The Wright Wagyu stud. The cow, H22, was then flushed for an embryo transfer program, producing 20 heifers. Proving longevity is a trait of the Wagyu, six of those heifers are now 17 years old and have all had 16 natural calves.

all the way through, then I look at the animal and eliminate on structure and type, then when I have the pedigree and how the animal looks, I see if I can live with the figures,” she said. “I’m a figures girl, but they are number three in the selection process.” Females were naturally joined or used in the embryo transfer program, with heifers calving at two years old. The main focus is to breed replacement heifers to then breed bulls, which were sold as yearlings. The cattle are all run on grass with some oats, hay or silage fed during the winter. The property is more than 900m above sea level and the average rainfall is 750mm.

REDS ARE RISING Barbara said she liked running red and black Wagyu because they suited different markets. She said the red Wagyu have a good embryo market to the US, whereas the blacks are good for the bull market in Australia, which is ramping up.

“That cow turned out to be one of the greatest females I ever owned,” she said.

“A red Wagyu bull crossed with any other breed female should, on average, produce progeny that marble better than any other sire,” she said.

Barbara started breeding red Wagyu cattle alongside the black Wagyu in 2006 “as a bit of an experiment”.

“I think reds will increase in popularity here because of their ability to finish on grass in a shorter time.”

“Running the blacks and reds side-by-side, I came to realise the red Wagyu fatten on grass in a much shorter time, so I could see a purpose for these cattle in our grass-fed environment,” she said.

Barbara said she was aiming to breed bulls for high marbling, milk and growth, and with a quiet temperament. Initially choosing to breed Wagyu because they produced “the best meat” she had tasted, she discovered some lines were good mothers, had good structure and feet, had few calving problems and were easy to care for.

In the first year when scanning the red and black heifers together at 20 months, the black Wagyu scanned with about 5-10mm of fat and the reds 10-18mm of fat. In 2010, Barbara sold her black Wagyu herd, The Wright Wagyu stud, to Peter and Jane Hughes, from Tierrawoomba in central Queensland, Australia’s largest privately owned cattle breeding operation with a commercial herd of 20,000 Wagyu cows. Until last year Barbara was employed by the Hughes family to do the genetic work and semen marketing, but decided to focus on her Academy Wagyu stud as she had built up her herd again.

PERFORMANCE THE KEY One of the secrets to her success she said was that she performance recorded all cattle. Barbara was one of the first Wagyu breeders to measure and compare progress by recording data and has been using Breedplan for 18 years. She said performance recording in the breed was helped along when the Australian Wagyu Association released its sire progeny testing program in 2015. “Lack of information on most of the Wagyu bulls was a problem, but now there are some good guidelines on the value of sires,” she said. Another of Barbara’s “secrets” for breeding cattle is the way she uses performance data.

“They won my heart as they are easy to manage,” she said. And the meat has a “delicious flavour, is more tender and healthier”. Barbara has also started to breed up to poll cattle using Angus for the black Wagyus and Senepol for the red Wagyu cattle. “I believe there will be large economic benefits with polls, especially to the bigger producers who process cattle less frequently,” she said. However, poll Wagyu will be purebred rather than fullblood because they have to breed up by crossing with another breed. Barbara predicts a bright future for Wagyu. “The world wants good quality meat and nothing is better than Wagyu,” she said. “I see the Wagyu doing to the Angus breed what Angus did to the Herefords — they will make the Angus a maternal breed.”

Nicola Bell The Weekly Times

“Firstly, I see if I can live with the pedigree of the animal as I like to have the pedigree stacked up with exceptionally good animals THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

LOCKED INTO WAGYU As part of a succession strategy veteran seedstock producer Lock Rogers of Guyra, NSW, has decided to disperse the highly regarded Wattletop Angus herd he founded 35 years ago and developed into a commercially focussed operation.

Last year Wattletop sold 109 Angus bulls for a $8257 average at auction and another 50 out of the paddock. Wattletop, 18 kms east of Guyra, will now be run as a commercial breeding operation by Lock’s daughter Jess MacDougall and her husband Henry producing terminal F1 Wagyu calves from a herd of 700 Angus breeders. “We just don’t have the room to run the Angus stud as that involves a huge amount of stuff besides breeding cattle,” says Lock. “There are also big costs in running a seedstock herd and an annual sale.” “The F1 Wagyu business has created tremendous demand for Angus females. It also creates good cash flow and the calves can be turned off as weaners, feeders or for export”, he said. He also rated F1 Wagyu X Angus production as ‘easy’ and warned against F2 and F3 production in the south. “Probably OK in the north where there is more Brahman content.” he said. “ I’ve always focussed on the positive traits of Angus which include calving percentages, maternal ability and meat quality. We haven’t chased excessive growth or size, if that’s what you want breed Charolais”.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR LOCK ROGERS? But there is no way this seedstock industry war horse will retire to the coast. In 2005 he purchased another property ‘Stratton’, 24 kms west of Guyra where the Angus bulls were grown out and sold. In 1994 Lock Rogers was one of the first to start breeding Wagyu and has been gradually building that part of his business. Since then he has used Wagyu bulls in the commercial Angus herd and as mop up bulls after Angus ET programs. “Even in those early days I was breeding F1s”, he said. Stratton will be the home of the expanding Wagyu herd which will grow to 300 registered Fullblood females producing 100 bulls a year that will be sold out if the paddock with no plans to hold a Wagyu auction as there is “sufficient demand for Wagyu bulls out there”. The aim to produce 100 bulls a year is closer than planned due to a male dominated calf drop. The Wagyu herd is Breedplan recorded. “We were so used to it (BREEDPLAN) in Angus that we just went ahead with BREEDPLAN with our Wagyu”. Lock Rogers with some young Wagyu bulls above and right, an Angus cow with F1 Wagyu calves. 42

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

The plan is to sell 60 yearling Wagyu bulls a year and 40 two year olds for use in mature cow herds. Lock said he was looking forward to selling his Wagyu bulls out of the paddock. “There is not the expense, the marketing, the preparation and the sale day stress of auction sales”, he said.

Kuro Kin Wagyu

Performance Beyond Expectation

KURO KIN WAGYU has been busy developing the herd that will produce the most superior performing genetics outside of Japan.

The Future Looks Bright for the Wagyu industry and Kuro Kin Wagyu based on the level of demand for Wagyu product and genetics.

Full Blood bulls will be for sale this spring with lucrative buy back opportunities for the progeny. At Kuro Kin Wagyu we value our long standing relationships with the industry and will be looking to develop more going forward. ď&#x20AC;ź For any enquiries please contact: Peter Bishop Jnr Tel: 0429 454 189 Email: pbishop@aaaw.com.au

Producing Fullblood Bulls and 1000 F1â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s each year

www.kurokinwagyu.com.au THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

Producers of the finest quality Wagyu beef

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