From EBVs to WBVs: A New Era of Genetic Evaluation for Wagyu Breeders The Wagyu industry has always been at the forefront of innovation. As demand grows domestically and globally for premium Wagyu beef, so too does the need for more precise and effective genetic tools. In 2026, the Australian Wagyu Association (AWA) is taking a major step forward by transitioning from the well-known BREEDPLAN Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) to a new, Wagyu-tailored system: Wagyu Breeding Values (WBVs). This evolution represents far more than a change in terminology, it is a fundamental upgrade in how Wagyu genetics are understood, compared, and utilised to drive profitability and sustainability for breeders and the entire Wagyu value chain.
Why Change Was Needed BREEDPLAN has served the AWA and Australian beef industry for decades, providing a powerful framework for analysing pedigree, performance, and genomic data. However, Wagyu has always been a unique breed, using genomics as a backbone to their herdbook, distinctive traits, with specialised production systems, and a different economic value structure compared to other beef breeds.
As demand grows domestically and globally for premium Wagyu beef, so too does the need for more precise and effective genetic tools
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Several limitations became increasingly clear: • Better use of Crossbred data, with thousands of F1 to F3 carcase records being added to AWA’s database each year, this required a more inclusive and advanced model that was better able to utilise the value of crossbred data. •
ew and updated traits, with the amount of new data N that AWA is acquiring each year, with Wagyu specific camera and meat quality traits, the Wagyu breed needs a more agile and flexible system to adapt to its members’ needs in a timely manner.
• Rapid increases in genomic testing within the Wagyu industry demanded a system better able to harness high-density SNP data from animals with different levels of Wagyu content that all need to be used within AWA’s genetic evaluation. • Higher frequency and streamlined delivery of results, members are demanding fast turnaround times from data submission to results being generated and published. • Most importantly, Wagyu-specific trait definitions and indexes were needed to reflect the unique attributes of Wagyu and the realities of fullblood, purebred and crossbred Wagyu production systems. WBVs were developed in response to these needs following a 4-year program of system renewal to create AWA’s future operational platform.