Web wagyu update issue 64

UPDATE

TH E AUSTRALIAN

WAGYU

Vol. 64 The Wagyu industry’s premier trade magazine produced by the Australian Wagyu Association www.wagyu.org.au December 2016

Australian Wagyu SHOWCASED IN MICHELIN STAR RESTAURANT

INSIDE ....

| FUTURE WAGYU VALUE ADD FORECASTS | GINA RINEHART BOOSTS WAGYU NUMBERS OUTSTANDING MEMBER CONTRIBUTION RECOGNISED | A CUT ABOVE - VISIT MAYURA'S OPERATION GENETIC CONDITIONS EXPLAINED | WORLD'S BEST STEAK AGAIN | NEW WAGYU GENOMIC TEST

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

2

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 10

AGM forecasts

13

Gina Rinehart boosts Wagyu numbers

15

Australian Wagyu highlighted in Shanghai's Michelin Star restaurant

16

High-tech feeders to unlock Wagyu feed efficiency gains

19

Member accounts

13

23

20 Wagyu fellowship 23 Live trade to Japan resumes 24 Honorary life membership 26 A cut above 31

Digital revolution

32 The Practical Systems experience 33 Genetic conditions explained 37

2017 conference heads to Albury-Wodonga

39 Jack's Creek Wagyu retains 'World's Best Steak' crown

37

39

40 Bar H Wagyu bulls average $11,046 42 The genetics of Horned, Polled and Scurred Cattle 46 New test identifies black Wagyu content 51

Crossbred Wagyu Test (CWT)

54 Managing and measuring BVDV WAGYU EXPANSION

26

#

2017

AWA CONFERENCE TOUR

MAY 1

5

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, JON CONDON, JAMES NASON, JAMES WAGSTAFF, MARK MORTON, DARRH BULLOCK ENOCH BERGMAN AND CAREL TESELING. Art Direction HEATHER FRAZIER heather@squishcreative.com 0432 949 764

ON THE COVER Kanpai Classic’s Sher Wagyu platter ready for the Yakiniku Japanese barbecue - full article page 15.

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.

GENERAL ENQUIRIES AWA Marketing and Communications Manager GEOFF PHILLIPS geoffphi@ozemail.com.au

0411 413 599

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.

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

02 6773 3355

CONNECT WITH US

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

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

president

PETER GILMOUR

EXTRAORDINARY GROWTH FOR THE AWA Welcome to the Australian Wagyu Association’s December Wagyu Update.

I would like to thank all AWA members, staff and the board for the considerable effort that has been exerted to create an outstanding year for the Wagyu industry. Against a backdrop of rising live cattle markets your breed has led the way as the premium priced brand being offered to international and domestic beef markets.

The AWA has undergone an extraordinary period of organizational growth in order to deal with the demand for Wagyu services. That has included engaging a Technical Services Manager, two Member Services staff and a Finance Officer as well as several outsourced service contracts.

The board has focused on strategy, policy decisions, project collaboration and corporate governance. A key mandate for the board has been and continues to be the provision of value-adding services while building a financially strong organisation and maintaining a healthy balance sheet.

2016 ensured the following key projects were developed by the staff and board sub committees and ratified by the board for the Wagyu industry: »» AWA Strategic Plan 2016-2020 »» Delivery of breeding consultancy services »» Move to online certificates »» Dedicated regular “Premium Wagyu Sales” on AuctionsPlus »» “Wagyu Revolution” National Wagyu Conference in the Hunter Valley and Tour »» Branded Beef Competition »» Sire Progeny Test Program including NFI testing »» Wagyu Content Register and associated Crossbred Wagyu Test »» Sponsoring the Brisbane RNA (EKKA) Paddock to Palate Wagyu Challenge (breeder competition) »» Launch of Wagyu Services Pty Ltd »» AWA Risk Control Plan.

4

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

Board elections for 2016/16 have now been completed and I am pleased to congratulate the successful candidates: John Hammond, Lorna Tomkinson, John Spreadborough and Chantal Winter.

Equally our appreciation goes to those who put themselves forward as candidates: Jason Lewis, Selwyn Maller and Wally Rea. Your expertise would be very valuable on the Board and we hope you will nominate again in the near future Also congratulations to the newly Board elected officer bearers and committee chairs: President and Board Chairman Senior Vice President Junior Vice President Honorary Treasurer

Peter Gilmour John Spreadborough Chantal Winter Stephen Binnie

Audit and Risk CEO Selection Competitions Conference & Events Corporate Affairs Executive Finance Genetic Improvement Strategic Planning

John Spreadborough Peter Gilmour Ron Fitzgerald Chantal Winter John Hammond Peter Gilmour Stephen Binnie Peter Krause Mike Buchanan

As your board it is our aim to make sure we lead and govern the Australian Wagyu Association Ltd well and are genuinely reflective of our members needs both now and in the future. However, we do recognize there are many challenges within the Wagyu supply chain. For example, rapidly increasing prices for the cow/calf producer do not necessarily translate to good results for the feedlot and processor sectors. Some members within the supply chain are vertically integrated and can deal with these price movements, while others only service individual sectors. Importantly we as a board need to be representative of all supply chain members both big and small. We continue to monitor and consider appropriate measures that could be taken to enhance the Wagyu supply chain without interfering in free market principles.

Important development projects for 2017 include migration from Microsatellite Marker profiling (MIP) technology for DNA parentage testing only to Single Nucleoid Polymorphism (SNP)

2016/17 BOARD OF DIRECTORS (left to right): John Hammond, Peter Krause, Lorna Tomkinson, Ron Fitzgerald, Joanne Christiansen, Mike Buchanan, Chantal Winter, Peter Gilmour, Stephen Binnie and John Spreadborough.

genotyping that includes DNA parentage testing and a vast array of other DNA test applications. Additional MLA Donor Company matching funding for R&D has also been sought for Sire Progeny Test/Net Feed Intake data collection and analysis that will hopefully lead to important EBV trait development; and Crossbred Wagyu data capture and genetic analysis to increase EBV accuracies.

Finally, the Board has an important role ahead of us in selecting a new CEO to fill the position of our retiring CEO – Graham Truscott. Graham continues to be an astute corporate leader of our operational team and his effort and work throughout the year has been outstanding. A considerable handover period is planned, with Graham retiring on 30 June 2017.

Wishing you all a joyful Christmas and an outstanding 2017 season.

Peter Gilmour President Australian Wagyu Association THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

5

ceo update

GRAHAM TRUSCOTT

WAGYU IS TRANSFORMING THE AUSTRALIAN BEEF INDUSTRY CORPORATE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND ANNUAL REPORT The 2016 Annual General Meeting was held at the Jondaryan Woolshed on 14 November. Over 120 members heard of the exciting progress made by AWA and the Wagyu brand during 2015/16 and forecasts for future years. Minutes of that meeting and the 2016 Annual Report may be found on the AWA website

www.wagyu.org.au ABOUT US > ANNUAL REPORTS

HONORARY LIFE MEMBERSHIP The Annual General Meeting honoured long standing member Greg Gibbons (“Gibbo”) for his outstanding contribution to the Australian Wagyu Association by appointing him an Honorary Life Member of the Association. Greg’s commitment, enthusiasm and generous provision of sound breeding advice has been of immense benefit to many members over the past 15 years. See page 24 for details of Greg’s remarkable contribution.

MARKETING RESTRICTED AWA DATABASE ACCESS Over the past 12 months the Association has planned to restrict access to its animal and member search databases on the AWA website to members only and use the increased revenue to fund slaughter data capture and loading to increase accuracy in the Wagyu BREEDPLAN EBVs and indexes. However the MLA Donor Company Board considered the AWA proposed “charging for access to information” model and advised that: 6

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

»» all individual EBV’s must continue to be accessible to all users in a current searchable format, such as Excel or the current web search tool; and »» insights through analysis of the base information (where the base information = EBVs) and/or access to it through newly developed software or applications could be considered a value add by the entity providing the information and would appropriately incur a membership fee to access.

The Board was supportive of a proposal for further investment to automate the transfer of the data and eliminate this transaction cost from the current AWA business model.

As a result the AWA Board has withdrawn its plans to require member only access to the AWA animal and member search services. AWA is working closely with the MLA Livestock Data Link Project to develop electronic transfer of Wagyu supply chain performance data into Wagyu BREEDPLAN and so decrease those costs.

2017 “WAGYU EXPANSION TRANSFORMING THE AUSTRALIAN BEEF INDUSTRY” CONFERENCE Conference Committee Chantal Winter and her team are once again preparing a treat for the Wagyu industry with the 2017 Conference to be held at the Albury Entertainment Centre on 1 – 3 May. This conference will focus on the extraordinary Australian Wagyu expansion that was forecast last year at the World Wagyu Conference, with confirmation at this year’s conference by MLA Managing Director Richard Norton that the MLA

global marketing research indicates this high growth will not saturate demand by 2020.

In reality, Wagyu is “transforming the Australian beef industry” through its massive improvement in beef eating quality.

Don’t miss out on your Early Bird registration fee, to close 1 March.

This year we have improved our registration process through the engagement of Country Wide Conference & Event Management.

Manager Bradley Hayden has provided our online registration system and will be pleased to personally resolve any problems – simply call (02) 6023 6300. The following Wagyu tour through the Mitta Valley on 4-5 May will be a real eye-opener, as we work our way through Scott Giltrap’s Yalandra Wagyu vertically integrated supply chain.

These tours are designed to ask the tough questions of your own business and your response to “The Wagyu Opportunity”.

www.wagyu.org.au

EVENTS > 2017 AWA CONFERENCE

PREMIUM WAGYU SALE Our commercial Premium Wagyu Sales have continued bi-monthly with growing commercial and seedstock buyer/vendor support. October 12th attracted 2719 catalogue views, 54 bidders and 71 logged in guests. 320 head and 15 genetic packages were offered. Results were: SEEDSTOCK Top priced bull $6,000 Average price bull $4,171 Top price heifer $2,875 Average price heifer $2,837

GENETICS PACKAGES Top price straws $66 Average price straws $48 COMMERCIAL STOCK Top price steers (crossbred) $496c or $1,980 This online sale has been conducted on a Wednesday, but will be moved to 9am Friday.

GENETIC IMPROVEMENT PRACTICAL SYSTEMS PLATINUM SPONSORSHIP – STOCKBOOK/AWA INTEGRATION AWA is delighted to welcome Practical Systems as a Platinum Sponsor. In particular we are forging very close integration with their industry leading herd management system, Stockbook, and our AWA animal registration and Wagyu BREEDPLAN performance data entry systems. While AWA will receive 25% of the value of each Stockbook system sold to our members with a trailing payment over the following three years, by far the greatest benefit will be better herd management for our members and smooth registration and data entry by members into our AWA systems. Monthly back-load of Wagyu BREEDPLAN EBVs and Indexes will keep your Stockbook system fully up-to-date.

Whether your herd is large or small, if you are serious about managing your Wagyu investment please consider Stockbook and see page 31 for further information.

MLA DONOR COMPANY RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS As you know, AWA have very actively invested into Research and Development over many years. Since 2012 we have invested up to 9% of annual income into the Wagyu Collaborative Genetics Research Project to deliver the powerful genetic analysis systems now widely accepted throughout the Wagyu supply chain.

However, we cannot “rest on our laurels”.

With much more R&D yet to be done, Meat & Livestock Donor Company (MDC) applications for matching funding have been submitted for the following projects: »» Net Feed Intake data collection and

analysis – matching funding would 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 MLA has indicated its support for these applications through the National Livestock Genetics Consortium (NLGC) Taskforce, and they will be finally considered for approval by the MDC Board during December.

MIP TO SNP PILOT MIGRATION AWA currently uses Microsatellite Indicator Panels (MIPs) through University of Queensland Animal Genetics Laboratory to parent verify animals for registration in the Herdbook. These MIP genotypes cannot be re-used for any other purpose.

Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) genotyping offers much greater benefits through a wide range of uses for the SNP genotyping including: »» more accurate parent verification »» more powerful parent discovery (where the parents are within groups but are not individually known) »» more accurate EBVs single Step Wagyu BREEDPLAN producing genomically enhanced EBVs

»» lower cost genetic condition tests eg. F11, CHS etc SNP technology (GGP LD) is expensive, currently over twice the cost of MIPs, but the price is expected to decrease in real terms as the technology advances. The migration from MIP to SNP technology requires all sires and dams to be re-genotyped using SNPs before their progeny can be parent verified, requiring significant member investment.

A number of AWA members have indicated willingness to invest in the migration to SNPs to obtain these major benefits.

AWA submitted a third MDC application for matching funding to assist with the MIP to SMP migration across our member base, aiming to reduce SNP costs by some 50%. It was anticipated that some 80% of registered Wagyu Fullblood animals would be migrated in two years with such a pilot offer.

However the NLGC Taskforce declined to support this MDC application on the grounds that it was not sufficiently an R&D focused project as SNP technology is now mainstream. AWA management are considering other alternatives to encourage and support member MIP to SNP migration to enable the breed to take advantage of the very large benefits. Even so, some members are beginning to migrate to SNPs as they consider the benefits sufficiently large to warrant the investment.

WAGYU REGISTERS REFINED The AWA Bylaws have redefined the Wagyu animal registers as: »» Herdbook – including Fullblood and Purebred grades. Parent verified Crossbred Wagyu F1 50+%, F2 75+% and F3 87+% grades may be recorded with the objective of grading up to Purebred Wagyu F4 93+%. »» Content – including base animals from another breed as the start of a crossbreeding program and utilising registered Wagyu bulls over them to sire progeny for Content registration; or base animals with claimed Wagyu breed content as determined by the genomic Crossbred Wagyu Test and utilising >>> THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

7

<<< registered Wagyu bulls to sire animals with increasing Wagyu content. No parent verification is required to register animals in the Content Register. »» Slaughter – includes non-breeding animals for slaughter only, with Wagyu breed content. No parent verification is required to register animals in the slaughter Register.

GRADES INCLUDE: ( F ) Wagyu Fullblood 100% ( P ) Purebred Wagyu F4 93 +% ( 1 ) Crossbred Wagyu F1 50 +% ( 2 ) Crossbred Wagyu F2 75 +% ( 3 ) Crossbred Wagyu F3 87 +% See the AWA Bylaws for further details.

www.wagyu.org.au

ABOUT US > BY LAWS > DOWNLOAD PDF

WAGYU REGISTERED ANIMAL INVESTIGATIONS The Board has required the CEO to investigate any registered animal that he considers demonstrates: »» anomalous and/or atypical traits to that expected; and/or

on the animal in question to ensure the level of Japanese Black content is as would be reasonably expected.

7. Conducting a Crossbred Wagyu Test on the animal’s antecedents to the level deemed necessary to ensure the level of Japanese Black content is as would be reasonably expected.

WAGYU CONTENT REGISTER IN USE Members are now using the new Wagyu Content Register to add value to animals with Wagyu breed content which could not be registered in the Herdbook as they could not be DNA parent verified. Over 75 animals of varying Wagyu content have been registered, some for live export, others for certification ready for sale to increase buyer confidence in the product.

The Content Register is assisting to ensure appropriate capital value where animals have Wagyu content. Also as breeding animals they will be included in the Wagyu BREEDPLAN analysis and be performance data recorded to increase their EBV accuracy, further increasing value.

See the AWA website for the Bylaws governing the Wagyu Content Register.

www.wagyu.org.au

»» breakdowns in registration process resulting in claims contrary to the animal’s registration status and report the results with recommendations to the Board for deliberation.

The investigation may include but not limited to: 1. Checking the records to ensure the animal has been registered according to the information provided.

2. Confirming the animal’s DNA sample used to conduct the parent verification is from the animal in question.

3. Checking the MIP parent verification (if HBR registered) from the animal as far back as deemed necessary to ensure parentage correctly qualifies.

4. Reconfirming the parent verifications using SNP analysis due to higher exclusion veracity.

5. Confirming genetic condition testing.

6. Conducting a Crossbred Wagyu Test 8

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

ABOUT US > BY LAWS > DOWNLOAD PDF

For further information contact Carel Teseling AWA Technical Services Manager

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

of between $1470 and $2730 per animal.

Approximately 15% variation in feed efficiency is known to exist in other beef breeds. Therefore it is reasonable to expect some 15% variation in Wagyu, representing a potential saving in feed costs of between $220 and $410 per animal. With Wagyu joinings projected at 820,000 by 2020, and some 60% of their progeny being feedlot finished, this represents savings to the industry of between $108 million and $220 million per annum. A number of Wagyu bull breeders are now preparing the progeny cohort groups for promising sires they wish to be tested in future intakes in March, July and November. Entry forms are now available on the website.

Further information is available from:

www.wagyu.org.au

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

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

WAGYU SIRE PROGENY TEST PROGRAM The first intake of 180 steers from nine sires has completed its Net Feed Intake (NFI) testing in the Wagyu Sire Progeny Test Program at Kerwee Lot Feeders at Jondaryan, QLD. The steers were viewed at the Field Day held on 14 November. Initial analysis shows significant variation in feed efficiency as expected, providing the opportunity to breed cattle requiring less feed for the same level of weight gain. With Wagyu feedlot fed for some 350 to 650 days to reach their full marbling potential feed efficiency is vital for Wagyu. Feedlots charge some $4.20 per day, representing feeding costs

WAGYU the marbling breed

WAGYU FELLOWSHIP The Association has established a Wagyu FELLOWSHIP

Fellowship to provide opportunities for younger (18+ years) Wagyu enthusiasts to expand their knowledge and experience in the Wagyu industry through conducting

Applications for 2017 are now open, with applicants required to complete an application form available at the AWA website by 15 March 2017.

www.wagyu.org.au

ABOUT US > WAGYU FELLOWSHIP

a Wagyu-related project in Australia or overseas. Travel relating to the project will be for a minimum of four weeks and normally a maximum of eight weeks, although consideration will be given to longer periods where the project requires more time.

The Wagyu Fellowship has a maximum value of $10,000. However, every Wagyu

Applicants will be interviewed and Wagyu Fellowships granted by April 2017, to be undertaken from 1 April 2017 during the following 12 month period. Successful Wagyu Fellows will be required to present their project findings at the conference the following year. For further information go to page 20.

Fellowship is different as it is calculated based on the number of areas, states or countries visited, the duration of the approved Wagyu Fellowship and an estimated airfare.

Graham Truscott Chief Executive Officer Australian Wagyu Association

Congratulations Warmoll Family

GOSHU WAGYUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S WORLD BEATING

TAJIMA GENETICS

SIRED THE

WORLDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BEST STEAK 2016

Our success is in the uniqueness of our female herd Created over 20 years - a distinctively different breeding pattern phone +61 3 5344 8441 mobile +61 427 042 818 email info@goshuwagyu.com www.goshuwagyu.com

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

9

AGM FORECASTS The Australian Wagyu Association is rapidly advancing in its project development, adding even further value to the Wagyu industry. A range of future developments were forecast by the CEO at the recent 2016 Annual General Meeting held on 14 November.

CROSSBRED INCLUSION IN WAGYU GENETIC ANALYSIS To date only Fullblood carcase data has been included in Wagyu BREEDPLAN. However with Fullblood males and females becoming much more valuable as breeding animals, their slaughter data is increasingly more challenging to obtain.

Over 80% of the Wagyu supply chain is crossbred, with its slaughter data much more readily available. Crossbred Wagyu carcase and other performance data is needed in Wagyu BREEDPLAN to drive up the accuracy of the Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs).

An MLA Donor Company (MDC) project application has been submitted for Crossbred Wagyu data collection and analysis in BREEDPLAN. This application has been supported by the newly established National Livestock Genetics Consortium Taskforce and will be considered by the MDC Board in December 2016. The project proposes in: »» Year 1: collection of 1500 Crossbred Wagyu genotypes with at least carcase data (mainly Angus, Holstein, Shorthorn, Brahman) and its analysis in Wagyu BREEDPLAN for effectiveness; and »» Year 2 – 5: collection of 1000 Crossbred Wagyu genotypes per year with carcase data and its addition to Wagyu BREEDPLAN to drive up EBV accuracies.

MIP TO SNP PILOT MIGRATION

Graham Truscott Chief Executive Officer Australian Wagyu Association 10

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

Microsatellite Indicator Panels (MIPs) have been used by AWA for the past 20 years through University of Queensland Animal Genetics Laboratory to parent verify animals for registration in the Herdbook. However MIP genotypes are a single-use technology and cannot be re-used for any other purpose.

Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) genotyping has become the technology of

choice for genetic and genomic research and development in virtually every other species and is now mainstream technology.

SNP genotyping offers a much wider range of benefits as their marker recording can be re-used for a growing number of purposes, making them a more cost-effective service investment. These uses include: »» Parent verification – higher exclusion accuracy than MIPs »» Parent discovery (where the parents are within groups but are not individually known) »» Single Step Wagyu BREEDPLAN producing genomically enhanced EBVs »» Genetic condition testing eg. F11, CHS etc While SNP technology (the generally recommended level is GGP LD) is more expensive than the older MIP genotyping, currently over twice the cost of MIPs, the price is expected to decrease in real terms as the technology advances. MIP genotypes stored on sires and dams cannot be compared and used with SNP genotypes. To enable parent verification under SNP genotyping the calf must be SNP genotyped along with its sire and dam. AWA has already SNP genotyped over 500 sires with the genotypes available to all members. However other sires and the dams in a member herd would need to be SNP genotyped prior to parent verification being undertaken. The SNP genotypes will then be automatically added to Single Step Wagyu BREEDPLAN to produce genomically enhanced EBVs. It is now no longer a question of “if” AWA moves to SNP genotyping but “when”. A herd’s annual investment in MIPs is now an opportunity cost and the longer herds delay their decision to move to SNP analysis the greater is the sub-optimal use of those funds and the larger the number of animals

needing to be re-genotyped using the SNP technology. A number of AWA members have already begun the migration from MIPs to SNPs to obtain the benefits.

for inclusion in Wagyu BREEDPLAN. Members must be enrolled in Wagyu BREEDPLAN to add performance data, but there is no extra fee for enrollment.

The Board supports the MIP to SNP migration. At its recent meeting the price of the GGP LD SNP genotype including parent verification (providing the sire and dam have already been SNP genotyped) was reduced from $71.00 to $62.00.

Members will shortly be invited to express their interest in moving from MIP to SNP genotyping in an Expression of Interest.

However, to be effective, genetic analysis needs the whole calf drop to be registered and performance recorded to consider the complete “bell curve” of herd performance.

50% DISCOUNT PROJECTED FOR SIRE PROGENY TEST PROGRAM An MDC project application has been submitted to obtain matching funds for Net Feed Intake (NFI) data capture and analysis within the Wagyu Sire Progeny Test program. If successful the funding will halve the Sire Progeny Test Program cost per sire. The application proposes in: »» Year 1 - 5: conducting 3 intakes per year for the Sire Progeny Test Program – February, July, November. Each intake will involve 30 sires and 180 progeny. A total of 2700 NFI records will be collected. »» Year 1: producing a trial NFI EBV after the first NFI test and continually improving the NFI EBV with each intake result.

A Female Herd Inventory system will be considered which will involve: »» All active females which are expected to reproduce being listed in the member’s female herd inventory. All others will remain registered but deactivated »» Every active female to be charged an annual inventory fee, which is expected to be lower than the current calf registration fee »» Providing the right to annually register one calf per active female, with both live and dead calves registered to enable calculation of fertility EBVs »» Encouraging the addition of performance No. of animals

300,000

AWA is working with the MLA’s Livestock Data Link (LDL) program to automate the capture and loading of abattoir carcase assessment data into the national LDL database and its transfer into Wagyu BREEDPLAN. This will enable larger volumes of data capture at greatly reduced cost. Later stages will also include the transfer of feedlot entry and exit weights from feedlot databases, and on-farm data from the Stockbook herd management system.

200,000

FEMALE HERD INVENTORY SYSTEM TO REPLACE INDIVIDUAL CALF REGISTRATION AWA currently uses an animal registration system where members register individual calves. This allows breeders to “cherry pick” only the best animals to register, with each calf charged an individual calf registration fee with the opportunity to add performance data at no extra charge

Membership growth is projected to follow this national and international Wagyu herd building, continuing at greater than 20% per annum.

JOININGS 5.7% FEMALE BEEF HERD

JOININGS (hd) RETAINED FOR BREEDING (hd) TURN-OFF (hd)

700,000

LIVESTOCK DATA LINK PROJECT

Commercial Wagyu (figure 1) production is estimated to continue at some 30% per annum delivering the following levels of production. Animal registration growth is needed to deliver increasing numbers of registered and Wagyu BREEDPLAN performance recorded bulls to sustain this Wagyu supply chain growth and enable product verification. Elite AI and ET seedstock genetics are required to drive genetic improvement in high performing Wagyu nucleus herds. Therefore registration growth is conservatively projected to exceed 20% per annum, delivering a Herdbook and Wagyu Content Register total of 38,000 registrations by 2020.

821,000

800,000

400,000

HIGH GROWTH

COMMERCIAL WAGYU PRODUCTION ESTIMATES

900,000

This MDC application has been supported by the National Livestock Genetics Consortium Taskforce and will be considered by the MDC Board in December 2016.

data for every calf with no extra charge (where the member is enrolled in Wagyu BREEDPLAN, at no extra fee).

600,000 500,000

276,000 HEAD TURNOFF (74,000 TONNES BEEF)

100,000 0

2011

2012

No. of animals

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

REGISTRATIONS (FORECAST)

45,500

38,000

40,0000 35,000 30,000 25,000

TOTAL

HERDBOOK CONTENT SLAUGHTER TOTAL

20,000

HERDBOOK

20,000 15,000

13,000

10,000

CONTENT

5,000 0

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

11

FAMILY OWNED AUSTRALIAN COMPANY stanbroke is purchasing quality bred wagyu f1 steers and heifers by awa registered wagyu fullblood bulls following stanbroke genetic values

fOR ALL LIVESTOCK ENQUIRES RICHARD SHERIFF - Livestock manager richards@stanbroke.com | 0428 557 258

russell handley

stanbroke supply chain vendors receive full feedback infoRmation on feeder cattle processed through our award winning diamantina brand

russellh@stanbroke.com | 0418120605

AARON HOLZ

aaronh@stanbroke.com | 0427 566 590

STANBROKE IS PURCHASING STANBROKE.COM 12

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

GINA RINEHART BOOSTS WAGYU NUMBERS Australia’s wealthiest woman, miner Gina Rinehart is rapidly emerging as one of Australia’s largest breeders of Fullblood Wagyu cattle, following the purchase of an additional 1500 mated Wagyu Fullblood females.

Jon Condon BeefCental

The acquisitions include 1000 mature Fullblood Wagyu cows from David Blackmore’s Blackmore Wagyu herd in Victoria, and a further 500 Fullblood breeders, all Blackmore genetics, from Central Queensland cattleman Mal Burston.

This acquisition not only increases the size of

On top of Mrs Rinehart’s earlier purchase of the Greenhills Wagyu herd numbering about 2000 head in NSW last year, she now controls a Fullblood herd numbering at least 3500 females.

products into the premium domestic and export

Only the Australian Agricultural Co (about 4000 Fullblood cows), and possibly Scott de Bruin’s Mayura Wagyu enterprise on South Australia’s Limestone Coast, manage larger Fullblood herds in Australia.

Ms Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting and prominent Wagyu breeder, David Blackmore started negotiations on the deal more than two years ago.

ABOVE LEFT Gina Rinehart ABOVE RIGHT Fullblood Wagyu cows from David Blackmore’s Blackmore Wagyu herd.

No price has been disclosed, but it’s not hard to put together a few plausible figures. Unmated F2-F4 (not Fullblood) Wagyu heifers, 14 months, sold recently on AuctionsPlus for $3400. It’s likely these cows, understood to be mostly 3-8 years, with the Blackmore genetics ‘premium’ attached, sold for somewhere between $5000-$8000 a head.

That would value the Blackmore herd package of 1000 cows at $5-$8 million.

Hancock Prospecting’s Wagyu herd, but the injection of high quality Fullblood genetics would ensure that the herd will be able to sustainably produce premium Wagyu beef markets, according to a Hancock statement.

The breeder herd will be located on Hancock’s New South Wales cattle properties near Dubbo, and the progeny will be grown out on an aggregation of Queensland properties in the South Burnett region bought earlier

by Ms Rinehart for a dairy venture, but since abandoned in favour of Wagyu cattle breeding.

Sources close to the deal say she is intent on Wagyu beef production, rather than using the females to simply breed Wagyu herd bulls to sell.

Ms Rinehart has established a premium Wagyu beef brand, called 2GR, to underpin her expanding cattle enterprise. Insiders in the Wagyu industry say Ms Rinehart plans to establish her own integrated supply chain, perhaps even selling premium branded beef into export markets, rather than selling the cattle to feedlots or processors. >>> THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

13

<<< Her feeding operations are taking place at Geoff Willett’s Maydan feedlot near Warwick, Beef Central understands.

Maydan has fed the last two consecutive winners in the World Steak Challenge in London - both Jack’s Creek Wagyu.

Hancock chief executive Garry Korte said the company was excited to be investing further in Australian agriculture and contributing to the development of Australia’s reputation as a clean green agricultural producer.

“HPPL recognises the value of Fullblood Wagyu and producing premium products for the discerning market, and this acquisition will allow the company to achieve that aim,” vendor Mal Burston said.

Blackmore Wagyu Beef has recently completed the delivery of the last of the 1000 pregnant, mature breeding cows.

The BWB breeding and carcase data, genomics research and eco-feeding ration were not included in the sale, company

14

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

principal David Blackmore said.

Blackmore Wagyu was recently embroiled in a land-use challenge over its cattle enterprise outside Melbourne, which neighbours branded as an intensive feedlot.

Prior to Blackmore’s application for intensive animal husbandry being rejected, the company had embarked on a breeding program to increase the size of its breeding herd, in anticipation of selling a part of the herd to fund future expansion.

Blackmore was forced by the Murrindindi Shire to shut down its existing feeding operation and it was decided to move the Wagyu business, and to double the companies beef sales.

The company has retained all breeding females born in the last 30 months. Earlier this year Blackmore purchased more than 1000 Angus and Angus cross heifers which have been impregnated with embryos from donors that represented the top five percent of the Blackmore Wagyu herd. These

superior breeding cows were not part of the sale.

The company plans to do 1000 embryo transfer matings each year for the next three years, to re-build numbers.

“The Hancock cattle transaction will allow us to enter into a period of targeted growth to expand our Wagyu production in the coming years,” David Blackmore said.

“Through our own genomic research program we have identified our superior females in our herd to use as the basis of our growth plans. We have leased a further 3500 acres in Victoria to accommodate this expansion,” he said.

Mr Blackmore said his company’s Wagyu beef customers would be pleased to know that the sale of the breeding females would not affect Blackmore’s monthly carcase production, and the company would continue supplying its award winning, premium quality Wagyu beef to more than 20 countries around the world.

AUSTRALIAN WAGYU HIGHLIGHTED IN SHANGHAI’S MICHELIN STAR RESTAURANT In a great showcase for Australian Wagyu beef, the Kanpai Classic restaurant in Shanghai, China, has been awarded a Michelin Star, a great achievement for the restaurant which opened in August 2015.

Located in Shanghai’s famous No.5 The Bund, Kanpai Classic’s menu features a range of 15 cuts of Australian Sher Wagyu beef.

Kanpai’s president Soji Hiraide thanked Sher Wagyu owners, Nick and Vicki Sher, based at Ballan in central Victoria, for their contribution to gaining this level of recognition.

“We are very excited about receiving a Michelin Star for Kanpai Classic in Shanghai. We really want to thank Nick and Vicki for all your support as we couldn’t have done it without you. We are also very grateful for the strong partnership we have”, he said.

Nick Sher said the award was a great demonstration of the value in creating strong customer relationships and the value in working closely with a customer to be able to showcase such a large range of cuts from one producer in one location.

“We are very proud to supply Kanpai Classic and congratulate their whole team on the award”, he said.

The Shanghai venue is the first foray into China for the Taiwanbased Kanpai Co. Ltd, where they have developed a chain of successful Yakiniku style restaurants and bars featuring Australian Wagyu beef.

Yakiniku is a Japanese table top self cooked barbecue style of cuisine.

Michelin Star is widely recognised as the world’s premier eating guide and awards stars to a small number of select establishments. The acquisition or loss of a Michelin Star can have dramatic effects on the success of a restaurant.

Top left, Kanpai president Soji Hiraide with Vicki and Nick Sher.

Bottom left, Fifteen cuts of Sher Wagyu on display in the foyer of the Michelin Star Kanpai Classic restaurant in Shanghai.

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

15

HIGH-TECH FEEDERS TO UNLOCK WAGYU FEED EFFICIENCY GAINS High-tech feed bins are being used to identify the most feed efficient genetics in the Wagyu industry.

In a breed where cattle typically spend more than a year in feedlots, genetics capable of producing heavier carcases and higher marbling with less feed are extremely valuable and worth identifying.

Feed conversion efficiency can vary by up to 15 percent between animals.

For Wagyu cattle being fed for hundreds of days, small improvements in feed efficiency can mean hundreds of dollars saved per animal in feed and production costs.

However, the challenge to identify superior genetic converters has been stifled in the past by an inability to accurately measure, on a commercial scale, the amount of feed each individual animal eats during a feeding program.

Lot feeders have had to work on the average feed intake across a mob to assess feed conversion efficiency.

UNPRECEDENTED FEED CONVERSION EFFICIENCY DATA

James Nason BeefCental

However, individual animal feed intake data is now available and on the way to revolutionising how Wagyu genetics are assessed, thanks to the recent installation of Canadian-developed GrowSafe feed conversion measurement bins in two pens at Stockyard’s Kerwee Feedlot near Jondaryan.

The high-tech bins are mounted on electronic weigh-cells that take 1000 readings every 3 seconds. They use RFID-ear tag readers to record when each individual animal is eating and the amount of feed each animal consumes.

This appeared in Beef Central November 16, 2016, following the Wagyu Genetics and Genomics Workshop and Field Day in Jondaryan and Toowoomba on November 14 and 15 attended by 160 delegates.

16

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

For the past three months the technology has been used for a ground-breaking sire progeny test conducted by Kerwee for the Australian Wagyu Association, involving 180 steers from Darren Hamblin’s Wagyu herd at Middlemount in Central Queensland.

The 180 steers are the validated progeny of nine high-indexing sires used in Mr Hamblin’s Strathdale Wagyu operation, and are all bred from a common cow herd.

LEFT Kerwee feedlot general manager Steve Martin explains the role GrowSafe feed bins are playing in a net feed intake sire progeny trial during an Australian Wagyu Association workshop at Kerwee on Monday.

Mr Hamblin keeps extensive data to track the performance of progeny of every bull he uses on key commercial parameters such as average daily gain and carcase quality traits.

He was very keen to pioneer the Growsafe technology, to fill in a missing part of the financial puzzle.

“We could have sires that are equal for growth and carcase traits, but we have not been able to identify which one converts feed to weight more efficiently,” he explained.

It is not just about identifying genetics that eat the least. Some cattle may eat less feed, but will not grow or marble significantly either.

Before this trial, Mr Hamblin said he knew the influence that individual bulls in his herd were having on average carcase weight and average marbling score.

“But I now know information about their performance as far as their conversion goes, and that is what I didn’t know before,” he told a field day explaining the trial at Jondaryan this week.

“I didn’t know which ones were turning my dollars into more dollars and which ones were not.”

$900 DIFFERENCE IN CARCASE VALUE BETWEEN SIRES

The dollars of feeding are going down at the same time carcase value is going up”

His 180 steers were fed for 90 days from August 4 until early November.

The trial showed a $900 difference in average carcase value from the progeny of the nine bulls tested.

‘The dollars of feeding are going down at the same time carcase value is going up” Being able to accurately measure feed conversion efficiency delivered a double benefit, Mr Hamblin said.

“Not only does the lower conversion figure mean it is less dollars of feed consumed, if he eats a bit less to put on carcase weight you also get a double whammy in the value of your carcase.

“The dollars of feeding are going down at the same time that your carcase value is going up, so that is why this is so important to me.”

GROWING WAGYU NUMBERS MEANS QUALITY WILL PAY Hefty price premiums for Wagyu cattle in recent years have triggered a significant growth phase for the breed, both through existing breeders expanding herds and newcomers being attracted to the industry.

In fact Wagyu numbers in Australia are growing at a faster rate than any other breed, according to the Australian Registered Cattle Breeders’ Association, with 8643 new calves registered in 2015.

The level of interest from new breeders was highlighted by the fully subscribed attendance of 160 people at the Australian Wagyu Association field day at Kerwee Feedlot. With larger numbers of Wagyu feeder >>> THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

17

18

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

AWA CEO Graham Truscott addresses producers at Kerwee on Monday.

<<< stock set to become available in coming years, producers at the field day were advised to develop supply relationships rather than to simply sell to the highest bidder. Kerwee Feedlot general manager Steve Martin said that with the exponential growth occurring in Wagyu production, buyers would soon be offered up more Wagyu cattle than they had been offered before.

improving their production quality.

EARLY ADOPTERS WILL BENEFIT

“Because if we don’t raise the value of our

Australian Wagyu Association CEO

product, the Australian brand will cop a hit.

Graham Truscott told the field day that

“People will start eating Wagyu that is not

because Wagyu were long-fed on grain,

good, and we’re all going to feel the pain.”

He said that with more metrics such as

feed efficiency was a trait of significant commercial importance.

Producers who developed supply relationships and used feedback to meet customer requirements would be best positioned to benefit as Wagyu numbers grew.

feed conversion efficiency data becoming

“This breed puts an enormous amount of

available, buyers will have a much clearer

money down the throats of these cattle,

idea of which genetics produce the best

so feed efficiency is absolutely critical for

commercial outcomes.

profitability,” Mr Truscott said.

“What that growth gives me (as a buyer) is choice, and what I would like to do is to make sure I spend every one of my dollars on stock that are going to do the job,” he said.

Breeders producing the best performing

AWA technical services manager Carel

stock will continue to be rewarded when

Teseling said the challenge now was for

the market is well supplied and buyers have

breeders to recognise the opportunity early.

a choice.

High-ranking Wagyu bulls were in

“We have the technology to help us

demand, and the early-adopters of the new

understand what we trying to achieve and I

testing procedure to identify superior sires

think we would be foolish not to use it.”

would be the ones to benefit.

“In terms of securing our supply we need to establish quality control.

“At the moment (because of high prices) a lot of people are sacrificing a supply relationship at the expense of price.

“That producer is definitely cashing in, but he is not getting data feedback, and he is not getting a relationship built because the next time he sells he will sell to the highest priced bidder.

“For us it is about establishing supply relationships where year after year after year our quality brand can grow and we can pass money back to our supplier.”

STORE SELLERS SHOULD BE CARCASE-FOCUSED CQ producer Darren Hamblin said producers who are selling cattle as stores may not care much about carcase quality.

But he said that as an industry it was in every producer’s interest to focus on

MEMBER ACCOUNTS

WAGYU the marbling breed PLEASE NOTE

To assist the efficient operation of member accounts at AWA, please note the following guidelines. Your cooperation will be appreciated.

Please reference your payments - We cannot guarantee your funds will be allocated to your account unless you quote your Member ID (and if possible, the invoice number) when referencing a payment. E.g. 'PLF 160923-015'.

Remember to pay on time - Don't forget payments overdue by more than 30 days will be charged a 2% administration fee when you receive your monthly statement.

You may be invoiced for DNA tests before you get the results - UQ will invoice us for your DNA testing work regardless of whether you have received the results. Their standard turnaround time is 10 working days from receipt of your DNA samples. As a result, we must pass the invoices on to you as we receive them.

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

19

WAGYU FELLOWSHIP The Australian Wagyu Association has established a Wagyu Fellowship to advance the education, experience and skills of its younger members within the international Wagyu industry.

Q

A Wagyu Fellowship is a remarkable opportunity to travel intrastate, interstate or overseas for a minimum of four and a maximum of about eight weeks to conduct research into a topic that you are passionate about and have experience in. Every application is assessed based on merit, a demonstrated need for the proposed research, the perceived benefit to Australia and a willingness to share the overseas findings and knowledge with the Australian and international Wagyu community.

FELLOWSHIP

Q Objectives of the program are to develop younger leaders for the Wagyu industry; increase the education, experience and skills within the Wagyu industry; develop lasting friendships across the international Wagyu industry and advance knowledge and learning in the Wagyu industry.

Applications for the Wagyu Fellowship are now being called with the closing date 15 March 2017.

Download an application form from the AWA website.

What is a Wagyu Fellowship?

Who can apply?

Any Australian Wagyu Association Full or Associate member can nominate an individual or group of individuals over the age of 18 years provided they can demonstrate a suitable level of achievement in the field of the proposed project.

Q

What type of projects are suitable?

Any projects that can be shown to be of value to the Wagyu industry will be considered. This may include any sector of the Wagyu supply/value chain and may include interests such as genetics, breeding, production, nutrition, processing, marketing, history and healthy eating.

Q

When can I apply and when do applications close?

Applications open on 1 December each year and close on 15 March the following year.

Q

www.wagyu.org.au

Am I too old/too young?

You must be over 18 years at the time of application. There is no upper age limit for the award of a Wagyu Fellowship however preference will be given to younger applicants and demonstrated ability for future achievement in and contribution to your particular field is taken into consideration.

ABOUT US > WAGYU FELLOWSHIP

Q

Do I need any qualifications to apply for a Fellowship?

NO. There are no academic or tertiary qualifications required in order to apply for a Fellowship.

Q

If I am studying at a tertiary institution can I still apply?

YES provided that your proposed project is directly related to the Wagyu industry and you can demonstrate past achievement in the field of the proposed project.

Q

I am already a Wagyu Fellow â&#x20AC;&#x201C; can I apply again?

NO. Only one Wagyu Fellowship per lifetime!

Q

I have already started the project I am applying for - is that okay?

YES. You can apply for funding for a project that you have already embarked on.

20

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

Q

I am already overseas can I still apply?

Q

YES. However you must be available to personally attend an interview (or interviews) by telephone or electronically eg Skype at any time during February and March.

Q

If I am called for interview (or interviews) but can’t make it can I be interviewed at an alternative time?

Not on initial application but you will be required to provide this if you are successful.

Q

Can I apply for funding to complete a project within Australia?

Q

How much is a Fellowship worth?

The amount of money awarded for every Fellowship is different as it is calculated based on the airfares and other travel, accommodation and project costs.

The total Fellowship funding will not exceed $10,000.

Q

Q

Q

Q Will you tell me where to go and what to do?

NO. Where you go and what you do is entirely your responsibility. The project and itinerary must be completed on your original application for a Wagyu Fellowship.

Can I put in a late application?

NO. The closing date is absolute. The selection process follows a strict time line and no late applications are accepted for any reason.

Q

What are my chances of success?

Every year varies slightly but nationally the Association typically will receive a considerable number of applications per year and awards Wagyu Fellowships depending on the number, quality and project focus of applications received.

Q

How long can I go for?

The duration of a Fellowship must be a minimum of four weeks and is generally a maximum of approximately eight weeks. Slightly longer itineraries are not precluded if justified.

Additional time spent interstate or overseas is allowed but time and costs outside the approved duration of the Fellowship will be at the applicant’s own expense.

Can I submit more than one application?

NO. You may only submit one application. If you are not successful you can reapply in future years.

Can I travel in the year of application?

YES. Final selections are made in late March of each year and successful applicants can travel from 1 April in the year of award through to end March the following year.

Q

Q

Will you pay my salary while I’m away?

NO. Employers can continue salary for Wagyu Fellows while they are on their Fellowship or if you are a student this Fellowship is considered an ongoing part of your studies.

Can I apply for a Fellowship with someone else or as a group?

YES. Wagyu Fellowships are awarded to individuals or groups with the individuals in the group to be clearly specified.

YES. Wagyu Fellowships are for intrastate, interstate and overseas travel.

Q

How do I apply?

All applications must use the application form provided which will include the nominating AWA member, your details, a description of the project, travel times and contacts and costs for flights and other travel, accommodation and project costs.

YES. The Selection Panel will attempt to rearrange the interview schedules to accommodate your time availability.

Q

Do I need a firm commitment from people I wish to see overseas?

If I am successful how long do I have to complete the Fellowship?

If successful you must depart on the Fellowship during the 12 months from 1 April in the year of award until 31 March of the following year. In some circumstances Wagyu Fellowships may be deferred at the discretion of the Association.

Q

Will I have to provide a report?

YES. Each Fellow or a representative from a group of Fellows must provide a comprehensive report describing the project, travel and outcomes to the AWA Board.

A 30 minute presentation including questions must also be presented to the Wagyu National Conference held in May. THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

21

MACQUARIE DOWNS LEYBURN QUEENSLAND 4365

a feedlot devoted to product excellence 2 0 14

FEEDLOT OF THE

Specialist feeders of Wagyu cattle and providing a Custom Feeding Service Macquarie Wagyu are welcoming new clients.

YEAR

Fullblood cattle are given the option of housed pens.

Anthony Winter mobile 0400 337 472 anthony.winter@macquariewagyu.com COVERED PENS

22

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

CUSTOM FEEDING SERVICE

PRODUCT EXCELLENCE

www.macquariewagyu.com

LIVE TRADE TO JAPAN RESUMES For more than 15 years a small but reliable shipping trade to Japan has been the backbone of Australian’s first-cross Wagyu industry.

After a major setback earlier this year, the trade is now back on its feet and running smoothly again, with shipments of F1 Wagyu X Angus steers leaving the Port of Brisbane bound for Japan. This report from James Nason of Beef Central.

Every five weeks or so since the late 1990s a ship has left Queensland for Japan carrying around 1000 F1 Wagyu X Angus steers and heifers, weighing 270-300kg on average.

Upon arrival in Japan the cattle are fed for 500 days for a major supermarket chain around Osaka.

Taking 10,000 cattle year in, year out, the regular trade has provided a valuable market and important price-setting role for Angus-Wagyu cattle producers from Tasmania to Central Queensland.

That was until late May this year when a consignment of Australian dairy cattle tested positive to Bovine Johne’s Disease after arriving in the market, resulting in a blanket ban being imposed on all Australian cattle imports to Japan.

Despite having no involvement in the incident that caused the ban, Wagyu cattle were suspended as well.

The $14 million-a-year F1 Wagyu trade was stopped in its tracks for three months until the Japanese Government agreed to lift the ban in late August.

Despite being unable to ship cattle, exporter Edwards Livestock had to continue buying and accumulating cattle during that ban to protect its long-term relationships with its suppliers, as other feedlots circled to try to secure their cattle during the disruption.

Edwards Livestock’s long-term customer in Japan, a major supermarket chain in the Osaka region, was also heavily impacted by the ban.

However, with the lifting of the ban on August 26, the exporter was able to prepare the delivery of a double consignment to help its customer restore numbers in its Japanese feedlot.

would impact on demand next year.

“High prices will certainly impact Japan going forward as there is more inquiry for supply in the 2017/18 year, but unsustainable prices will lessen this interest,” he said.

“Australia needs to be at a pricing level that is competitive with the rest of the world.

“Good seasons, pushing the restocker trade

That shipment of 2280 F1 Angus Wagyu steers and heifers departed Brisbane on September 28, and are now on feed in Japan.

to unsustainable levels, is going to be a

Exporter Matt Edwards told Beef Central it had been a big relief to have cattle freed up and moving again.

they operate under five to 10 year marketing

“Everyone is back at work and finally getting paid again,” he said.

“It has been a big impact.

Catch 22 in the immediate future.

“A strong Japanese live market is critical as cycles, unlike our Australian meat markets that push the supply and demand barrow.”

James Nason BeefCental

“We had plenty of feedlots trying to attack our supply chain while the ban was on and use negativity against us during that time.

“But we are back up and running again now, which is significant.”

Asked how the current high price of cattle in Australia is impacting the Wagyu trade to Japan, Mr Edwards said he believed they THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

23

OFFICIAL AWA RECORD Appointed 6 November 2004 as an AWA Director while Manager of AAco Wagyu Breeding Served 9 years as an AWA Director.

Positions held during this time: - Senior Vice President - Chairman, Conference Committee

AWA president Peter Gilmour congratulates Greg Gibbons on being elevated to Honorary Life Membership status.

Term expired 10 October 2013

HONORARY LIFE MEMBERSHIP

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION RECOGNISED “On the recommendation of the Council and in recognition of his outstanding services to the Society any person being a member of the Society may at any General Meeting of the Society by a two thirds majority be elected a life member of the Society without special payment.

Every life member shall be entitled to all privileges and be subject to all the duties of a member of the Society during his life without any further payment annual or otherwise.”

It was very fortunate for the Australian Wagyu industry, when in 2002 Dugald Cameron sold Aronui Feedlot to the Australian Agricultural Company (AACo) and the Feedlot Manager, one Greg Gibbons, known to all as “Gibbo” stayed with Aronui Feedlot as the Feedlot Manager.

Prior to joining AACo, Gibbo worked at and subsequently managed Aronui Feedlot for 15 years gathering a wealth of experience in feedlotting and Wagyu breeding, performance and evaluation.

Gibbo’s interest in Wagyu intensified as AACo focused on Wagyu production, to include the whole supply chain from genetics, backgrounding and feeding rations for Wagyu, to the collection of Wagyu carcase data and boxed beef marketing. Gibbo acquired an amazing amount of knowledge, which he so generously shared with the industry.

Gibbo was a very active member of the AWA Board for 9 years and was the Editor of the Wagyu Update Magazine from 2005 to 2007. He also made a big contribution at AWA Conferences.

For producers hungry for breeding information, Greg’s update on carcase information was always a feature – and it was often contrary to the flavour of the month. He always conducted himself as a great ambassador for the industry, strongly supported by his wife, Maryanne, through those critical times.

There would be very few Wagyu producers who have not done business with AACo through Greg Gibbons. Gibbo has always, operated with great integrity in business. He was sympathetic to producers in drought conditions, taking stock at lower weights to help out.

In 2005 he was appointed Group Manager, Breeding Operations for AACo and in 2009 was appointed to his current role of General Manager South East Queensland, Wagyu and Feedlots.

Peter Gilmour President Australian Wagyu Association 24

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

There were occasions when the market was sluggish and Gibbo purchased cattle for AACo which helped to invigorate the market.

This was very much appreciated by all producers in those times.

All in all, Gibbo has had a huge impact on the AWA board and for the whole Wagyu industry in Australia.

Board member Ron Fitzgerald recently said “If it wasn't for Gibbo and AAco when the Wagyu industry was on its knees, it would be a very different Association now.”

Former President Rick Hunter said "It is a pleasure to endorse Greg Gibbons for Life Membership to the Australian Wagyu Association, he is a very worthy recipient.

Gibbo was a key member and integral part of our board, giving a valued perspective on all sectors of the Wagyu industry."

Former President Joe Grose said “During my time on the AWA council I observed the following character traits of Gibbo.

He always took the time to listen to ALL opinions and was able to consider these

Sher Zurushige

on their genuine merit. He was strident in arguing for policy that would benefit the Industry as a whole not just for individuals or at the detriment of other stakeholders.

But above all he brought a commercial reality to an environment that sometimes needed to re-focus on the grass roots.”

Former President Scott Hughes said “Gibbo gave freely of his time and AACo technical findings in advising the conferences and field days held at AACo of Wagyu genetics and their performance.

The conferences hung off his every word!

Greg led the Wagyu certification project, assisted with conference organisation, supported AWA in AACo registrations and performance data, and assisted the Wagyu Collaborative Genetics Research Project – Stage 1 with AACo fullblood carcase performance data.”

Former President Scott de Bruin said “Greg has been a long-term contributor to the Australian Wagyu Association. During his tenure on the board he exhibited a strong passion for the development of the breed and in particular was heavily involved in the organisation and running of the annual conferences.”

Thank you Greg, you are a very worthy recipient of the Council’s unanimous recommendation for this Honorary Life Membership election.

SWSFB0119

Fullblood Terminal Index + $519

Taste the Experience

First release of semen lots Limited to only 20 14 lots of 20 doses $10,000 per lot Nick Sher: nick@beefcorp.com.au

Photo: July 2016, 10yr old

October 2016 Wagyu Group BREEDPLAN

GL BW 200 400 600 MCW MILK SS CWT EMA RIB RUMP RBY MS MF FTI EBV -0.5 +1.3 +11 +19 +27 +25 +4 +0.1 +12 +3.4 +1.7 +4.2 -0.5 +2.2 +0.6 $519

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

25

Mayura has two calvings, running from the end of February to June and from late August to early December, to ensure consistent supply year round.

A CUT ABOVE This is not your runof-the-mill beef farm.

Spread over 3000ha near Millicent, on the South Australian Limestone Coast, Mayura Station is a multifaceted operation that not only breeds, feeds and markets its award-winning Wagyu beef — it serves it up at its own on-farm restaurant.

In fewer than 20 years, the de Bruin family has turned a casual conversation about the benefits of eating Wagyu beef into a multimillion dollar vertically integrated farming operation. Such is the demand for Mayura product, diners in some of the nation’s top restaurants pay more than $1000/kg for it, and the farm is in the third year of a five-year expansion plan that will lead to production being doubled.

Mayura runs 7,000 fullblood Wagyu cattle, turning off more than 100 steers and heifers monthly to produce 30 tonnes of retail beef.

While most is exported to the lucrative Asian market, with Hong Kong, China and Singapore the major destinations, Mayura also graces the menus of some of Australia’s best restaurants, including Koko’s and Philippe Mouchel in Melbourne. Scott de Bruin said while Wagyu cattle were only introduced to the property in the 1990s, the station itself was steeped in history. It was selected in 1845 as one of South Australia’s first pastoral leases, with surveyors seeing the potential of the region that has since been ranked No.1 in the nation for primary production and is home to a number of agricultural pursuits such as forestry, viticulture, dairy, grazing and fishing.

CARVE UP

James Wagstaff The Weekly Times

26

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

Like many original large holdings, Mayura was carved up and sold off over the years.

After Scott’s parents married in the early 1970s, they bought a small slice of the former-station on which they grew treelings for forestry (Scott’s father, Adrian de Bruin, - founded Auspine, which had amassed

more than 40,000ha of tree plantations by the time it was sold to Tasmanian forestry giant Gunns in 2007). Over time the de Bruins continued to buy more neighbouring land and in the mid-1980s secured the original Mayura homestead block. The family has added more land since in an effort to restore the station to its former glory.

The de Bruins’ love affair with Wagyu cattle began in the 1990s when Adrian’s work took him overseas.

“Each time he’d travel to Japan he’d try Wagyu and he’d come back and say, ‘the meat is just amazing’,” Scott said.

Jack and Pip Rasenberg, managers on the de Bruin property at the time, added their input, having worked with Japanese-owned feedlots.

“They always used to say to us, ‘if you ever get the opportunity you should try and get some Wagyu genetics into your operations,” Scott said.

“They heard of some Wagyu cattle leaving Japan and they told Dad, and he just jumped at the opportunity.”

Twenty-five females arrived from Japan, via the US, in January 1998, in one of the first shipments of fullblood Wagyu cattle to Australia. Along with four bulls purchased in 1999, these formed the foundation of Mayura, which is now the nation’s largest privately owned fullblood Wagyu herd.

“The only fullblood Wagyu herd of similar scale and size is AACo’s, and it’s a listed entity on the Australian stock exchange,” Scott said. >>>

GUARANTEED

EXCELLENCE LOT FEEDERS PTY LTD

ӹ Partners in the industry leading Wagyu Sires Progeny Test Program ӹ E stablished marketing channels for finished cattle ӹ F irst class facility, with superior proven performance, competitive prices and a professional service ӹ D iverse business arrangements including direct consignment, forward contracting, custom or share feeding ӹ E stablished strong customer demand. Supporting Australia’s most awarded beef brand – Stockyard

Join the winning team by contacting us today!

Steve Martin General Manager P: 07 4692 2277 M: 0437 569 765 E: smartin@kerwee.com.au

LaCHie Hart Managing Director P : 07 3623 2803 M: 0408 467 803 E : lachieh@stockyardbeef.com.au

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

27

<<<

YES SIRE Mayura runs 2600 fullblood Wagyu breeding cows, mostly joined by artificial -insemination, with 150 bulls on hand for back up.

“Each year about 90 per cent of our cows get AI’d,” Scott said.

The remaining 10 per cent who might have “calved late or so forth that do not fall back into that synchronisation program” are naturally mated.

“We get about 65-70 per cent conception on the AI, depending on the year, and then mop up with the bulls.”

While Mayura does buy some outside genetics, it breeds most bulls itself. Its 2005 bull Mayura Itoshigenmi Jnr, an industry leader “for almost every trait” including marbling and eye muscle area, was “still by far outperforming any genetics that we are able to buy”, Scott said.

At the Australian Wagyu Association’s annual conference in May, a package of 10 semen straws from Itoshigenami Jnr sold for a whopping $30,500, or $3050 a straw.

Mayura has two calvings, running from the end of February to June and from late August to early December, to ensure consistent supply year round. When they are born, the calves receive an electronic ear tag which records their birth date, sex,

28

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

birthweight and mother (“by knowing the mother we know the father”).

Cattle are weighed every two months with all information assessed against its carcase performance at slaughter “so we can see which joinings worked really well, which sires are performing well, which cows are performing well or, alternatively, which bulls and sires are performing badly and need to be culled”.

RANGE ROVER The calves are yard weaned at six months and enter what Scott refers to as a 300day background “range-feeding” program, introduced in 2009.

“Fullblood Wagyus are not fantastic paddock performers. If you just left them out in the paddock, their weight gains would be very low, so I developed a program where we are actually supplementary feeding these cattle out in the paddock,” he said.

“So they get (6-8kg per head of) feed delivered to them every day, which is mainly a silage-based ration with some grains. We do that from six months all the way through to between 16 and 18 months, depending on the cattle.

“They certainly do a lot better through this production system. (And) weaning our cows from our calves early ... gives us extra capacity

to be able to run more breeding cattle.”

Mayura runs a continual pasture improvement program, sowing 150ha of new pasture - “some years up to 250ha” - a year.

Paddocks are split into 10-15ha cells that each host about 70 cattle. Half the cells are empty at any one time, allowing the pastures (mostly ryegrass with sub clover) and ground to recover. Scott said the time cattle spent in one particular cell varied according to the time of year. The property, which boasts soils ranging from deep heavy peat and rendzinas to heavy loams and black clay over a limestone base, receives an average 720mm of rain a year. Mayura employs 17 staff, which Scott said were integral to the success of the business.

GRAIN PAIN Having been caught out by high grain prices in the past - “when I first started feed-lotting, wheat was about $150 a tonne and within 18 months it spiked and I was paying $450 … it just kills you” - Mayura has an annual cropping program of 1200ha of wheat, broadbeans, oats, maize and ryegrass and clover silage. Everything, apart from the broadbeans, which are sold as a cash crop, go into Mayura’s feeding program so the business is about 70 per cent self sufficient.

“Some years your cost of production on

grains is not a lot cheaper than what it would be to buy the feed, other years you’re substantially in front. However, we can grow the silage and hay very economically. This year will probably be one of those years where it might have been cheaper just to buy the grain,” Scott said.

After about 300 days on feed in the paddock, the best performing cattle enter Mayura’s state-of-the-art undercover finishing barn, complete with sawdust floors and a fully automated feed delivery system, built in 2006. Scott said while the cattle could be undercover or outside, they preferred the protection the barn offered in winter and the shade it offered in summer “so they’re pretty much there all the time”.

The barn is licensed to hold 500 cattle but Scott hopes to increase the overall capacity to about 2000 head as part of Mayura’s expansion plans. In the barn, the cattle are sorted into pens according to their age and weight and fed about 8.2kg of dry matter a day for another 300 days. There are three wheat-based rations also containing corn, meal, bran and other byproducts including chocolate. The first ration, Scott said, was “very much about growing the cattle, growing the frame, growing the muscle”, the next “very much about marbling” and the last ration “all about the flavour”. Cattle are fed morning and night to mimic natural grazing.

CHOC HIGH Chocoalte was introduced to the rations after Scott could not readily access one ingredient designed to increase marbling in the beef. When he switched back to the ingredient, there was an almost immediate backlash from consumers.

“Within six weeks our customers in Singapore and Hong Kong were on the phone and said, ‘what have you done to your product? It doesn’t taste the same anymore’. People’s palates were refined enough to notice the difference, which was wonderful feedback for us.”

Mayura runs a continual pasture improvement program, sowing 150ha of new pasture - “some years up to 250ha” - a year.

The Mayura cattle are slaughtered at G&K O’Connor abattoir at Pakenham in a monthly kill of about 100 head: 70 for the long-fed Mayura brands and 30 for Mayura’s Limestone Ridge brand - “a free range, grain-assisted fullblood Wagyu product”.

The long-fed cattle produce an average 430kg carcase, with the Limestone Ridge cattle dressing out at about 350kg.

Scott said the cattle marbled well, with an average AUS-MEAT score of “a shade under eight” on a scale of one (for least marbling) to nine.

The Mayura brand comprises three labels: the entry level Gold label (“which is what we mainly sell here in Australia”), Platinum (“middle range, marble score eight and nine, which is mainly sold into Asia”) and Signature (“top end product, which pretty much goes into China and Hong Kong … where you see the very expensive pricing”).

About 70 per cent of product is exported, with Hong Kong the biggest single market, followed by China (where Mayura beef retails in supermarkets for about $670/kg), Singapore, Dubai, the Philippines and Taiwan.

One of Mayura’s biggest export supporters is chef Umberto Bombana, who operates four Bombana Otto E Mezzo 8½ restaurants throughout Asia, including one in Hong Kong that has the honour of being the only Italian restaurant outside Italy awarded a maximum three stars by culinary bible the Michelin Guide. Bombana restaurants in Macau and Shanghai are rated two-star by Michelin while a second in Hong Kong has one Michelin star.

Melbourne is Mayura’s largest market domestically.

TASTE FOR IT In 2010, Mayura opened The Tasting Room - essentially a cellar door-style restaurant aimed at showcasing its wares to the public - on the farm. With seating for about 35 people, the restaurant is booked out most weekends and diners spend an average $150 to be shown how to prepare, cook and savour the flavours of Mayura Wagyu by head chef Mark Wright.

It was named best steak restaurant at the 2014 South Australian Restaurant and Catering Awards. Mayura is no stranger to industry accolades, having won numerous delicious produce awards (including being a state winner this year), the 2004 South Australian Meat Exports Award and gold medals in the Australian Wagyu Association’s branded beef awards in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Scott said plans to double Mayura’s output over the next two years, taking production to 60 tonnes of retail beef a month, was to meet growing Asian demand for its product.

“We are starting to see the numbers come through,” he said.

“It is interesting because if you want to grow your herd you’ve got to keep your females so you’re greatly reducing what you can turn into market.

“So we’ve got to a point now where we’ve said, ‘right, that’s enough breeders we want to run’ and so now all those cattle will come through the system.”

A system that has mastered the art of feeding the world’s growing appetite for quality Wagyu.

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

29

INDIVIDUAL ANIMAL MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE “It’s about taking the guesswork out of beef production and basically, if I did not do this, I would have been left behind.”

Darren Hamblin, Queensland Country LIfe

Australiacniation so Wagyu As

D APPROVERE SOFTWA

DOWNLOAD A FREE TRIAL TODAY

Visit www.practicalsystems.com.au or call on 1800 624 688

30

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

WAGYU the marbling breed Official Platinum Sponsor of the Australian Wagyu Association

DIGITAL REVOLUTION

NLIS also introduced a new era for producers giving them capacity to use electronic identification to facilitate individual animal management. Digital technology is developing quickly, and importantly the livestock industry is included.

Practical Systems are excited to create this Platinum Sponsorship relationship with the Australian Wagyu Association (AWA) and provide a mechanism for members to source technology particularly PS Stockbook that will create value for their business.

It is somewhat coincidental that the emerging digital conversation meets the recent lift in beef prices. It helps set a foundation. From the outset it is important that the adoption of technology delivers business outcomes.

Efficient electronic calf registration will deliver a reduction in transaction costs.

Submission of registration details by paper or excel files is expensive to both the association and the producer. If we can reduce the cost we would like to think we can then devote those resources previously used to transmit registrations to be reinvested to the breed and its participants.

It has been 12 years since the introduction of the NLIS. It introduced Australian beef producers to lifetime traceability, market compliance and bio security; essential changes to build our place in international markets.

Not only has there been an increase in prices paid for our product we are also carrying a much higher inventory value on our balance sheets. The adoption of an inventory management process, ie PS Stockbook, is a risk management tool. We would expect that an investment in technology will lead to productivity and profitability outcomes, primarily reflected by: »» Animals reaching finished weights sooner »» An improvement in reproduction performances »» Improved values as product meets customer expectations or put another way, providing provenance.

I want to offer an important observation to the “digital revolution”. The livestock industry has been good at collecting data, and collecting lots of data. What we do with it is another question.

This gets to the core of the problem, “what problem are we trying to solve?” or put another way, ‘A problem well stated is a problem half solved”, Charles Kettering.

One of the foundations to building an

effective relationship between the AWA and Practical Systems is that we start our conversations with “what problem are we looking to solve?”.

The conversation to date has focused on solutions being delivered by the cloud. The reality is that a significant number of our customers do not have access to a reliable broadband service with sufficient capacity to reliably operate an internet cloud service.

Our solution is to deliver a hybrid (see diagram below left). Our service is based on providing the security and reliability of a locally installed service and providing multiple site access via the cloud.

TO EXPLAIN FURTHER 1. The data is hosted in the cloud. This means that when data is synchronised between locations we move small amounts of data only.

2. We install PS Stockbook in the office or at home or multiple locations, ie on farm (manager) and say in a capital city where the owner may live. We can install PS Stockbook in as many locations as required.

3. We can provide you with a PS Stockbook TSi to facilitate crush side data capture, if the return on investment can be supported; or 4. We can help you set up a laptop in the yards to achieve the same result 5. We will be releasing Stockhand as a mobile app to give access to animal details on your smart phone, expected release December 2016.

The most important point to consider is that we can provide a range of solutions to reflect your circumstances. We have accumulated years of experience that we would like to make available to AWA to ensure that we build the right customer experience.

Mark Morton CEO, Practical Systems THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

31

Working with Stockbook

MARK MORTON

THE PRACTICAL SYSTEMS EXPERIENCE Q

I have just purchased PS Stockbook, now what?

The best way to get started is by using the Quick Start Guide and/or the set up wizard. This will assist you in creating properties, paddocks, mobs and groups. We also have PS Stockbook webinars on our website that cover a range of topics.

Q

CLIENT SUPPORT > TRAINING & WEBINARS

Now it’s time to enter your cattle into PS Stockbook.

The Australian Wagyu Association may already registered animal data which can be extracted for input into PS Stockbook. Please note that if you are entering cattle via Data Extraction, it is best to set up your paddocks etc after we have provided you with your extracted data.

Q

CLIENT SUPPORT > PS KNOWLEDGE BASE

STEP 1 obtain a data extraction form from either Practical

Systems or the Australian Wagyu Association.

- complete the form and fax/email it to ABRI

- ABRI will send the data extraction to Practical

Systems where we will import the data into PS

Stockbook for you.

- your data extraction will include information

such as: basic animal details, pedigree history,

previously submitted raw BREEDPLAN data,

traits, and EBVs. STEP 2 import data you have collected from your EID reader

or weigh scale indicator into PS Stockbook in the

form of a .CSV file (excel).

32

Time for live data entry? Avoid double handling your data by using PS Stockbook Live Entry.

One of the strengths of PS Stockbook is the ability to collect data whilst live in the yards, a time saving alternative to collecting data on an indicator and exporting/importing “after the event”.

There are four different ways you can enter your cattle into PS Stockbook, as listed below. Further details are outlined in the PS Knowledge Base or alternatively our Support team are always available to assist you.

www.practicalsystems.com.au

Now it’s time to register your cattle with the AWA. STEP 1 select/filter for the animals you wish to export STEP 2 choose dam fate and calf fate, and registration status (yes/no) STEP 3 remove or add dams as required STEP 4 you will receive a validation report STEP 5 EXPORT – this will be in the form of a .dat file,

ready to email to the Wagyu Association

www.practicalsystems.com.au

Q

Live Entry feature in your PS Stockbook program whilst in the yards.

We interact with a range of hardware and have a number of preset activity based templates. Prior to heading to the yards, we encourage you to contact our Support Team for assistance in connecting your hardware to set up the data entry templates.

Q

What solutions can PS Stockbook provide to your business

✓ recording of joining and pregnancy scanning data ✓ processing animal health treatments ✓ maintain a chemical inventory ✓ produce a range of performance reports ✓ custom user reports, made to your specifications ✓ embryo transfer module When you have finished your PS Stockbook set up, we invite you to carry out an NLIS Audit. This report will highlight all active NLIS IDs on the NLIS Database versus what is active on your property. This identification will enable you to carry out the changes required for an accurate audit result, ensuring your property animal records match the NLIS Database.

THE OUTCOME ✓ successfully register your animals with the AWA

STEP 3 obtain a tag bucket file from the NLIS database to

import a list of your current active tags into PS Stockbook.

✓ successfully send your BREEDPLAN data to

STEP 4 collect data for your existing animals using the PS

✓ PIC reconciliation with the NLIS Database.

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

Keryn Hutton at ABRI

GENETIC CONDITIONS EXPLAINED All breeds of cattle, in fact, all living organisms including humans, have undesirable genetic conditions. Fortunately, advances in molecular genetics have facilitated the development of DNA tests for their management.

Breed societies are at the forefront of the development of strategies to manage undesirable genetic conditions and seedstock members are leading the industry with their uptake of this technology. The Australian Wagyu Association’s Technical Services Manager Carel Teseling explains the genetic conditions currently relevant to Australian Wagyu which are: »» SPHEROCYTOSIS (B3) – B3 is a disorder of the surface membrane of red blood cells. Affected cattle (that have two copies of the recessive or, in this instance, bad allele) have excessive bleeding caused by the abnormal red blood cells. Death typically occurs within the first seven days after birth. Some cases live to adulthood, but there is a severe retardation in growth. »» CHEDIAK HIGASHI SYNDROME (CHS) – CHS is a white blood cell disorder which reduces that ability of affected cattle to resist bacterial challenge. Blood is also slow to coagulate so, often, the first indicator is unusual umbilical cord bleeding at calving. Cattle with this syndrome often have an unusually pale coat colour. »» CLAUDIN 16 DEFICIENCY (CL16) – CL16 is a disorder that causes terminal kidney failure, and the onset can occur anytime from late adolescence. Cattle are unlikely to live more than six years.

suspected that F11 Carrier x F11 Carrier matings have an adverse impact on the production of viable fertilized embryos and full‐term pregnancies, increasing the number of repeat (return to cycle) breeders.

HOW ARE THE CONDITIONS INHERITED? Research from Japan indicates that B3, CHS, CL16 and F11 are simple recessive conditions. In other words; these conditions are controlled by only two alleles which we could describe as the normal (N) and undesirable (n) allele. An animal always has two alleles present at the particular location on the DNA. For these conditions two undesirable alleles (nn) need to be present before the condition is seen; in which case you may get a calf with the symptoms of B3, CHS, CL16 and F11 and these animals are known as “affected.” Animals with one normal allele and one undesirable allele (Nn), that appear normal (i.e. no symptoms), are known as “carriers” and animals with two normal alleles (NN) are known as “free.”

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE MATE CARRIERS TO OTHER CARRIER ANIMALS? A carrier (Nn) will, on average, pass the undesirable (n) allele to a random half (50 %) of their progeny.

When a carrier bull and carrier cow is mated (figure below)

»» FACTOR XI DEFICIENCY (F11) – F11 is a plasma protein that is necessary for the formation of blood clots and affected cattle show prolonged bleeding after injury or procedures such as castration or dehorning. F11 is a non-lethal condition, and affected animals live and breed as normal. For several years it has been

CARRIER COW (Nn)

CARRIER BULL (Nn)

Normal allele (N)

Undesirable allele (n)

Normal allele (N)

Free (NN) progeny 25%

Carrier (Nn) progeny 25%

Undesirable allele (n)

Carrier (Nn) progeny 25%

Affected (nn) progeny 25%

>>>

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

33

FIGURE 1 Estimated F11 carrier frequency change since 1996.

<<< Therefore: »» There is a 25% chance that the progeny produced will have two normal alleles (NN) and so will never pass on the condition. »» There is a 50% (25% + 25%) chance that the progeny produced will have one normal allele and one undesirable allele and be a carrier (Nn). »» There is a 25% chance that the progeny produced will have two copies of the undesirable alleles (nn) and hence be affected by the genetic condition.

F11 and the results presented in Table 1.

Gentry et al. (1998) reported that F11 is one of more than a dozen proteins involved in blood clotting and that an inherited deficiency of Factor 11 results in a bleeding disorder documented in humans, dogs, and cattle. The bovine form of the disease was first reported in Holstein cattle in 1969.

There are concerns that F11 is a bigger issue than what most Wagyu breeders would currently think. Therefore this article will investigate available information to help Wagyu breeders understand the potential impact of F11 in their herds and also how they should manage this significant genetic condition.

Dr. Jerry Reeves supplied the following results where F11 carrier animals were mated. A US producer, Tera Eerkes of iGenix provided 63 DNA test results of progeny where both parents are carriers of

As indicated previously, when carrier animals are mated, one would expect 25% of the progeny to be free, 50% to be carriers and 25% to be affected and these theoretical proportions are based on Mendelian principles. However; Table 1 shows that the proportions are not as expected with only 3% of the progeny being affected, leaving 22% of affected progeny unaccounted.

To put it another way; the number of calves born should have been in a ratio of 1:2:1 with the number of affected calves the same as the free calves. Therefore; as there are 20 free calves, one would have also expected to find 20 affected calves. However; only two affected calves were observed meaning 18 or 90% of the affected calves must have been lost before birth. To test if this outcome is due to chance, we use the Multinomial statistical test. The p-value for the overall

TABLE 1 Summary DNA test results of progeny by F11 carrier X F11 carrier matings.

FREE

32%

NUMBER OF CALVES = 20 34

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

F11 CARRIER 65%

NUMBER OF CALVES = 41

AFFECTED

3%

NUMBER OF CALVES = 2

chi-square is 0.0003 which clearly indicates that the low number of affected calves is highly unlikely the result of chance.

When the number of tested affected animals in the AWA database is compared to the known carrier to carrier matings, the level of embryonic loss is less than in the above case. However; the available number of these matings are relatively low and with an increased number of animals tested for F11 the AWA data will be re-analysed in future.

Research conducted on Canadian Holstein cattle found the most obvious problem encountered with both F11 affected and carrier cows and heifers was the lower rate of fetal and calf survival with some calves lost as a result of late abortions, still births or calf deaths within 48 hours of birth (Gentry and Ross 1993). They also reported the most frequent reason for culling calves, either affected or carriers, has been persistent infections such as pneumonia, while one of the most common reasons in heifers and cows has been infection or failure to conceive after repeated rebreeding.

The reduced number of affected calves could be due to losses somewhere around implantation up until 3 to 4 weeks after conception. The physiology and the mechanism probably involve the carrier cow and the affected embryo not making a proper implantation site in the uterus. The cows return to estrus and are bred again which increases the rebreeding percentage

and number of days between calves.

increase in breeding programs using short mating periods.

A major concern with the current situation is that, since 2000, the estimated F11 carrier frequency of calves born in the Australian Wagyu population is (as shown in Figure 1) high and has been fluctuating between 35% and 42%.

The issues associated with the F11 condition must have gone undetected by the majority of Wagyu breeders, but hopefully, the above data will help to show its potential impact on productivity.

Reproduction is the most important economic trait in cattle, so it is essential that members start to manage the frequency of F11 carriers in their herds.

From the calculated carrier frequencies, in figure 1, it can be expected that about 59% of animals in the population are free, 35% are carriers and 6% affected. If there are 100,000 matings each year (involving mating free, carrier and affected animals), there could be up to 6,000 affected calves generated. If one assume only 50% of these potentially affected calves will be lost before or at birth, it means that as many as 3,000 potential calves could be lost every year due to F11.

Kunieda et al. (2005) observed that there is a significant possibility that F11 cause lower rates of fetal and calf survival, higher susceptibility to infectious diseases, and higher frequency of being repeat breeders. They concluded that these problems have an adverse impact on animal production and may be occurring in the case of Japanese black cattle and that a genetic program to prevent the incidence of the condition is required.

The following ten sires each have more than 300 progeny registered with the AWA and are F11 carriers:

There are many options available for the management of genetic conditions which will depend on the carrier frequency as well as breeding and production requirements of the herd. Some of the options include: 1. Testing all potential carrier animals and culling the affected and carrier animals. This is a very extreme strategy which will be very expensive (due to the cost of testing), and in most cases it will not be feasible to cull all carrier cows.

2. Testing all potential carrier animals, cull all affected animals and using carriers in terminal programs only.

3. Testing potential carrier sires and using only free bulls for breeding. This option will eliminate affected progeny and, over time, decrease the number of carriers in the herd.

In some cases, the overall merit of carrier animals may outweigh the economic penalty associated with their F11 carrier status.

Carrier sires and dams can be used for breeding but will require follow-up testing of the progeny selected for breeding as we would expect 50% to be carriers.

IMUFQTF148

ITOSHIGENAMI (IMP USA)

IMJFAJ2810

KITATERUYASUDOI J2810 HONGEN (IMP JAP)

IMUFLTF151

ITOZURUDOI TF151 (IMP USA)

IMUFN2294

TF ITOHANA 2 (IMP USA)

IMUFMTF150

KIKUTERUSHIGE (IMP USA)

IMJFMJ068

FUKUTSURU J068 (IMP JAP)

The AWA express its gratitude to Dr. Jerry Reeves and Keith Hammond for their contribution to this paper and supplying the DNA test results used.

IMUFQ2599

TF YUKIHARUNAMI 4 (IMP USA)

REFERENCES

TWAFR0003

TWA ICHIRYUNO (IMP USA)

Gentry, P.A., Katrina M. Overton, K.M. and James L. Robinson, J.L. (1998)

IMUFJTF40

TERUTANI J2494 TF40 (IMP JAP)

IMUFSR018

KITAHATSUHI 97/1 (IMP USA)

The only influential sire with more than 300 progeny registered and F11 affected, is IMUFQ0402, JVP FUKUKANE 402E.

CONCLUSION The mild bleeding and reproductive inefficiency associated with F11 is not as confronting as a dead calf at birth which loses nine months of the production cycle. However; due to the F11 condition 5% of calves could be lost every year and the number of dry cows will

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

www.livestocktrail.illinois.edu/dairynet/ paperDisplay.cfm?ContentID=226 accessed on 01 November 2016 Gentry, P.A. and Ross, M.L. (1993) Coagulation factor XI deficiency in Holstein cattle: expression and distribution of factor XI activity. Can J Vet Res 58: 242 Kunieda, M., Miyadera, K., Tsuji, T., Ogawa, H., Abbasi, A.R., and Kunieda, T. (2005) An insertion mutation of the bovine F11 gene is responsible for factor XI deficiency in Japanese black cattle.

Mamm Genome 16: 383.

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

35

36

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

WAGYU EXPANSION

#

2017

AWA CONFERENCE TOUR

WAGYU the marbling breed

MAY 1

5

TRANSFORMING THE AUSTRALIAN BEEF INDUSTRY

ALBURY ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE ALBURY NSW

1-5 MAY 2017

2017 CONFERENCE HEADS TO ALBURY-WODONGA

The annual Wagyu Conference has developed into a wide-reaching event that attracts all sectors of the beef industry.

In keeping with the policy of rotating the event through various Wagyu producing regions, the 16th conference will be in the Murray River town of Albury on the Victorian-New South Wales border with the popular post-conference tour to visit Wagyu operations in north-east Victoria.

Albury is 300 kms north of Melbourne, on the Hume Freeway connecting Sydney and Melbourne.

Close to 200 flights a week connect Albury to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

WHAT TO EXPECT AT THE 2017 CONFERENCE Wagyu is Australia’s fastest growing breed and is regarded as one of the most innovative, respecting but not bound by tradition. Wagyu’s fresh approach to genetic improvement and a focus on producing high value beef of unique eating quality will be the thread through the 2017 conference themed “WAGYU EXPANSION - transforming the Australian beef industry” . This follows the previous WAGYU REVOLUTION focus.

The Wagyu Conference Committee chair Chantal Winter and her team are preparing a treat for the Wagyu industry with the 2017 Conference to be held at the refurbished Albury Entertainment Centre in Albury’s CBD - walking distance of a range of hotels and motels. Focussing on the extraordinary Australian Wagyu expansion, in reality, Wagyu is “transforming the Australian beef industry” through its massive improvement in beef eating quality.

The post conference Wagyu tour will visit Moyhu and Goorambat Wagyu operations. You’ll observe seedtsock production, the latest in artificial breeding techniques and be able to work your way through Scott Giltrap’s Yalandra Wagyu vertically integrated supply chain. These tours are designed to ask the tough questions of your own business and your response to “The Wagyu Opportunity”.

Fifteen minutes east of the town is the famous Lake Hume which holds five times the water of Sydney Harbour. The post conference tour will venture past Lake Hume into the foothills of the legendary Snowy Mountains where Wagyu are bred, grown and consumed.

2017 CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

The north-eastern Victoria is a wine producing region famous for its hearty Rutherglen reds, fortified Muscats and Tokays. A night at a 19th century winery feasting on local produce will he a social highlight during the 2017 tour.

Increasing Wagyu sired calves and what I should be producing - F1, F2 or high percentage Wagyu?

The smart money is flowing into the Wagyu industry. Find out why and discover the latest technology and business expertise being used.

Australian Wagyu is winning accolades worldwide with Michelin Stars and World’s Best Steak awards. Learn from those involved - vertically integrated.

F1 Wagyu x Holstein calfs - can it save dairy farmers and exploring demand for seedstock production - THAT’S ONLY THE START!

REGISTRATION IS A MUST Plan now to be in Albury-Wodonga with close to 500 others representing all facets of the Wagyu industry in May 2017. Visit the Wagyu website for latest news and to register. Early deals are www.wagyu.org.au EVENTS > 2017 AWA CONFERENCE available - book now to avoid missing out.

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

37

38

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

JACK’S CREEK WAGYU RETAINS ‘WORLD’S BEST STEAK’ CROWN Australian Wagyu producer, Jack’s Creek based at Breeza in central New South Wales has won the World's Best Steak producer accolade for the second year in a row.

The competition was tougher than ever with 17 countries and 83 of the world’s top beef producers entering the London based competition.

The Jack's Creek winning steak came from a Wagyu F2+ grain-fed for 450 days at Wagyu specialist feedlot, Maydan, on Queensland’s Darling Downs. The sirloin entered was wet aged for 40 days then dry aged for five days. Sire of the Wagyu F2 that suppled the world beating steak was GOSFC0520 Goshu Waraya bred by Barabara Benjamin, Goshu Wagyu, Haddon, Vic. Patrick Warmoll, managing director of Jack's Creek said considerable time was spent selecting the entry and this win confirmed Australia is producing the best beef in the world.

“Winning last year was one of the biggest things to happen to us and our brand awareness rocketed. It’s been great for business.

This is as much a win for Australia as it is for us.”

“We will be going for the hat trick next year!”

Australia Agricultural Company’s Wylarah Wagyu brand also won Gold.

Overall, Australian entries were award three out of the nine Gold medals, three of the 12 Silver medals and three of the 12 Bronze medals. Australia won more medals than any other country.

Catalina’s executive chef, Mark Axisa, rates Jack's Creek beef as

Chair of judges and butcher Keith Boxley said every Gold medal winner was worthy of winning the top prize but the overall winner was outstanding. It scored highly on appearance, quality, taste and tenderness.

flies out the door!"

He added, “People are getting more selective about the meat they eat and they want something more prepared. As a butcher judging this competition, I'm looking for something that looks and tastes nice that has no gristle.”

Jack’s Creek’s award winning beef can be found in many of Australia’s top restaurants including, ARIA, black by EZARD, Catalina, LuMi Bar and Dining and many more.

ARIA’s head chef Ben Turner said Jack’s Creek beef is always a consistent and tasty product.

being of the highest quality and with the fullest flavour. “It is a pleasure having the Jack's Creek dry-aged ribeye on my menu; it just Jack’s Creek is still regarded as a relative newcomer in the world of specialist beef after launching in 2000. However, in 1947 the Warmoll Family began farming in Breeza and the company’s links to fine food dates back to 1852, when the Warmoll Family emigrated from Ireland before opening butcher shops in the Victorian and NSW gold fields. The company is family run by co-founders and brothers, Philip and David Warmoll and sons Patrick and Robert Warmoll.

Jack’s Creek is at the forefront of Australian premium beef production – processing and marketing grain fed Wagyu and Angus, which it ships to more than 20 destinations around the world including Japan, Saudi Arabia, China and the Germany.

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

39

BAR H WAGYU BULLS AVERAGE $11,046 At their inaugural Wagyu bull sale, the Hornery family’s Bar H operation at Comet in Central Queensland offered and sold 65 bulls for an average of $11,046 and a top price of $22,500.

Que Hornery with Bar H Wagyu breeders.

Bar H utilised the simultaneous Helmsman style AuctionsPlus system with all lots available for bidding at the same time. This sale has been one of a very few opportunities where Wagyu bull buyers could bid on big lines of single vendor bulls. The average has been claimed as a record for the breed and a record for this type of AuctionsPlus sale.

Also evident was how the bidding tracked the Wagyu Fullblood Terminal Index. The higher the FTI, the greater the demand and the higher the price.

Bar H had an inspection day on October 7 but the October 21 sale was online only; no auctioneer, no live gallery of spectators, no cattle to draft and sort out, no sale barn to fit out, no expensive catalogue to print and less risk of injury to people and cattle.

But there were 114 bidders and 86 ‘view only’ guests glued to their screens while the online catalogue drew just under 3000 hits.

Frenetic unrelenting bidding did not abate for two hours. A typical AuctionsPlus simultaneous sale usually exhausts

PRICE

bidders in one hour. A traditional auction of 120 lots can take up to three hours.

$23,000

Landmark’s Bryton Virgo said reasonable

$21,000

reserves meant all but a handful of live

2 YEAR OLD BULLS

$19,000 $17,000

lots were on the market in the first 20 minutes and this encouraged bidders who realised they were playing for keeps.

$15,000

“The AuctionsPlus system and Wagyu are a good fit and the sale results proved that”.

$13,000

he said.

$11,000

“A lot of cattle went to central and

$9,000

northern New South Wales and a scattering to Central Queensland and the

$7,000 - 100

- 50

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

FULLBLOOD TERMINAL INDEX

..... bidding tracked the Wagyu Fullblood Terminal Index. The higher the FTI, the greater the demand and the higher the price.

40

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

Darling Downs”.

A Victorian bought three heifers. Overall the 24 unjoined yearling heifers and seven PTIC two year olds, all registered, averaged $6143.

Buyers showed a preference for two year old bulls with 30 averaging $13,016 while their 32 yearling siblings averaged $9234.

GY

CRO

SS

U

GOLD

B R E D WA

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

41

genetics

DARRH BULLOCK

THE GENETICS OF HORNED, POLLED AND SCURRED CATTLE Completely avoiding both horns and scurs in your cowherd is near impossible for most commercial cattle producers.

Understanding how we get polled and horned cattle is relatively simple and a genomics test can tell us if an animal is a carrier of the horn allele or not. Unfortunately, the presence or absence of scurs just barely scratches the surface of providing an understanding of what is happening genetically, and problematic in that there is not a genomics test to assist in developing a breeding strategy to eliminate scurs.

When managing a breeding program to minimize these conditions it is critical not to complicate the situation more by introducing myths and misconceptions. Understanding the relationship between polled, scurred and horned cattle is the first step in developing a successful breeding program to eliminate horns and reduce scurs.

eBEEF is the beef genetics/genomics community of practice with eXtension.

This article was first published on the eBEEF website.

The genetics association with horned, scurred and polled cattle can be confusing and we still do not know all of the answers (see Illustration 1.).

This article will try to clarify some of the misconceptions associated with these conditions and discuss strategies for minimizing the horn and scur condition.

Horned feeder calves are not desirable; they are potential hazards for other cattle and the humans working them. For this reason calves with horns are discounted at the sale barn and even though scurs pose no danger to other cattle or humans they are still discounted by many buyers. To minimize these discounts beef producers attempt to use breeding techniques to generate polled cattle or physically dehorn/de-scur their calves. If you plan to breed for polled cattle it is important to understand the genetic action of the poll/horn gene, however, you will learn that avoiding horns is relatively easy, but avoiding scurs can be much more difficult.

This article will describe the inheritance mode of the poll/horn gene and discuss what is known about the scur trait. >>>

www.ebeef.org

RESOURCES > FACT SHEETS > SIMPLE (SINGLE GENE) TRAITS > THE GENETICS IF HORNED, POLLED AND SCURRED CATTLE

Darrh Bullock Extension Professor, University of Kentucky 42

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

A

B

C

ILLUSTRATION 1.

Photo credit: Tara McDaneld, USMARC Cattle Operations.

Yearling cattle showing the smooth polled (A); scurred (B) and horned (C) phenotypes.

Ultrafresh fish Staff Training

W

HAT separates top quality fish from the mediocre? Freshness surely, putting the whiting pulled in at the beach and in the pan an hour later somewhere near the top of the pile. And those barramundi swimming in the live tanks in the local Chinese restaurant leap from vitality to plate in a matter of minutes, so perhaps Chinatown is fish-mecca.

Unfortunately things aren’t quite that simple. Life is crowded and stressful in those tanks and the water – no matter how well maintained – is a far cry from that from which the fish were plucked days, weeks, possibly months before. It’s a jail. And that line-caught whiting may have flopped around on the sand in a desperate bid to escape until dying of asphyxiation, releasing lactic acid into its blood, tearing membrane, bringing on a fast and extreme rigor-mortis and doing some serious damage to its eating quality.

Even though it is less understood and documented than it is for chickens and cattle, we know that there is a significant correlation between the quality of fishmeat and the way in which the fish was caught, killed and handled. The trouble is that very few fishcatchers, mongers and restaurants recognise that difference and go to the trouble of giving the fish the sort of handling that makes for a great meal!

Brisbane’s Jellyfish restaurant says its kitchen team do and that’s why it has the reputation as the foremost fish restaurant in Queensland, possibly the country.

Its seafood is purchased from both farms and live-catch suppliers, but both are carefully chosen and the restaurant has built strong, long-term relationships with them. Jellyfish favours smaller wild-catch fishermen.

“We prefer small boats because they tend to look after the catch better and are less likely to have the fish lying under a tonne or two of others,” says Jellyfish owner, John Kilroy. “And they spend less time at sea so the catch gets to us faster and fresher.” Fish farms are a more predictable and sustainable source.

“We buy from farms with impeccable practices. It can be seen in the quality of its fish.” It’s a long-winded way of explaining that Jellyfish weaves its magic long before the fresh fish enters its walls. Inside those walls it is all kid-glove treatment – wet towels, designated cool-rooms and a fishmonger on the kitchen team whose sole job is caring for the fish and ensuring that the handling, filleting and processing is top-notch.”

Wild fish don’t provide a constant and predictable source, so our menu is printed after 11am daily to accommodate the morning deliveries. We buy from all over Australia and New Zealand to source what is fresh. The kitchen team treats each species differently and the front page of the Jellyfish menu is devoted to the daily catch – fried, char-grilled, oven-baked … whatever method best suits. “The greatest advantage is the fact that nothing stays in the Jellyfish coolrooms for long. Fresh product arrives every morning and tends to be gone the same day.”

At Jellyfish you won’t see live-tanks. What you will see is an ever-changing array of ultrafresh fish from impeccable sources and the obsessive attention to detail needed to keep that quality intact all the way to your plate.”

Phone [07] 3220 2202 Riverside Quarter, Eagle St Pier, Brisbane CBD

HOW LONG TO COOK THE PERFECT STEAK?

Did you know that Australian Beef is some of the finest in the world? We are highly adept at rearing multiple breeds and cross breeds, we have pristine pastures, organic and bio-dynamic farming practices, we grain and grass feed, dry age, wet age, in fact we do everything but sing to our cattle. So why do so many of us think Argentinean Beef is superior?

The answer is not only in the marbling, the cut or the texture of the meat although those are all contributing factors. It’s about the cooking.

Take a piece of high end wagyu, heat a barbeque grill plate, a wood fired oven, a flat grill and an open flame barbeque then cook the same piece of meat on each one for the same amount of time. The results will surprise you.

Aged beef takes longer to cook and responds well to open flames. Younger grassfed beef breeds like Bos Indicus and European breeds work better on a high intensity flat grill or pan. A wood fired oven is the place to cook highly marbled cuts like wagyu and some cuts have higher sugar content which means they caramelise well when cooked on an open flame.

Most of us don’t have an open flame char griller or a wood fired oven at home and neither do most restaurants. Argentinean Steakhouses do and that is why it is a world renowned commodity.

The good news is that there is one restaurant in Australia that offers all cooking methods and only deals in the very best quality beef that Australia has to offer.

Cha Cha Char on the river in Brisbane’s Eagle Street Pier utilises several cooking methods for a single cut and the results speak for themselves. Smoky charry and caramelised, these superior cuts taste like no other steak. And the kicker - it’s doing your heart good. Beef is packed with essential vitamins, minerals, iron and zinc and it contains the second highest levels of omega-3’s after oily fish. In fact it blitz’s white fish so it makes sense to make a visit to Cha Cha Char a regular event.

Our kitchen is open till 11pm and restaurant closes late 7 days!

Workers in surrounding offices complain the barbeque aromas make them hungry - what can we say? Come on in and have your vitamins in the form of a world class piece of beef, cooked to perfection.

Ph 07 3211 9944

Plaza Level, Eagle St Pier, Brisbane CBD Steak Up Late (kitchen open till 11pm 7 days)

www.jellyfishrestaurant.com.au

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

43

<<< Additionally, strategies for developing a breeding plan to eliminate horns and minimize scurs will be discussed.

and 25% horned, even though the bulls and

SCUR CONDITION

cows were all polled.

POLL/HORN GENE

that there is another gene, called the

Horn growth would make it impossible for scurs to develop at the same spot but horned animals can carry the gene for scurs.

Unlike the poll/horn trait, scurs is not a simple recessive trait and is not completely understood! It has been hypothesized that scurs is a separate gene to the poll/horn gene on Chromosome 19, but interacts with the poll/horn gene, and that gender also has a possible influence on this trait.

It has also been theorized that scurs are simply a condition of the poll/horn gene that is gender influenced (J. Decker and J. Taylor; University of Missouri, personal communication). It has been shown that, regardless of the cause, the scur condition can only happen in heterozygous polled cattle, of either sex (Asai-Coakwell and Schmutz 2002; Wiedemar, et al. 2014).

The data also support that males develop the scur condition at a higher rate than females. Long and Gregory postulated that this was due to males expressing scurs when either homozygous or heterozygous for the scur allele and females only have the scur condition when homozygous for the scur allele. However, if there is no actual scur gene (i.e. separate DNA region corresponding to scur), but a sex by poll/horn gene interaction, it is theorized that male hormones could play a role in heterozygous males having an increase in the scur condition compared to heterozygous females. Since the sex-scur relationship is unknown the recommendations in this factsheet will reflect expectations in regard to the occurrence of the scur condition.

In most cattle the horn/poll gene action is simple recessive with the poll allele (P) being dominant to the horn allele (p). Every parent has a pair of alleles at each gene and they pass on one of these alleles for each gene to their calf; the calf gets one allele from the bull and one allele from the cow to make its pair. What this means is that if a calf gets a polled allele from either parent then it will be polled. If it gets two polled alleles it is considered homozygous polled; if it gets one polled and one horn allele it will be physically polled, but it will be referred to as heterozygous polled or a carrier; if it gets DIAGRAM 1 Possible genotypic combinations and phenotypic appearance of cattle for the poll(P)/horn(p) gene in cattle.

It has been speculated, but not proven, African horn gene, that can interact with the normal poll/horn gene causing it to be sex influenced (Long and Gregory, 1978).

This proposed gene has been associated with Bos indicus cattle. If this gene does exist, this is a possible explanation when a bull is tested homozygous polled and has a horned bull calf there is a slight possibility that the African horn gene was introduced somewhere in the calfâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pedigree and not necessarily a mismatched mating or incorrect genomics test. Since there is no research to support the existence of this gene it will be disregarded for this factsheet.

Reference to poll up until this point has been considering the absence of horns.

Cattle can also be scurred which will be discussed next.

GENOTYPE PHENOTYPE

PP

POLLED

Pp

(scurs possible*)

pp

HORNED

POLLED

* expect a higher incidence in males than females two horned alleles it will be homozygous horned and will be horned. See Diagram 1.

Since the polled allele is dominant to horned, if you mate a homozygous polled bull to a group of females then all of the offspring will be polled. This is shown in the most extreme case in Diagram 2 where a homozygous polled bull is mated to a herd of horned cows. In this case 100% of the calves are heterozygous polled, in other words they all have a polled appearance or phenotype, but carry one horn allele. In Diagram 3 a heterozygous polled bull (Pp) is mated to heterozygous polled cows (Pp).

In this mating it is expected that 25% of the calves will be homozygous polled, 50% will be heterozygous polled, and 25% will homozygous horned. This means about 75% of the calves will be phenotypically polled 44

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

DIAGRAM 2 Mating a homozygous polled bull to homozygous horned females and the possible genotypes and phenotypes of the calves.

HORNED p COW p Pp Pp POLLED* POLLED* POLLED BULL Pp Pp P POLLED* POLLED* P

* possibly scurred

DIAGRAM 3 Mating a heterozygous polled bull to heterozygous polled females and the possible genotypes and phenotypes of the calves.

POLLED* P COW P PP PP POLLED* POLLED* POLLED* BULL PP PP P POLLED* POLLED* P

* possibly scurred

The condition that is obvious is that horned cattle (pp) cannot have the scur phenotype.

If cattle have the genotype for the horned condition (pp) they will always be horned.

For cattle to develop scurs, it must be a horn allele carrier (Pp) and have some other unknown genetic influence, realizing that male calves will tend to develop scurs at a higher rate than females. For cattle to be smooth polled it must be either homozygous (PP); or heterozygous polled (Pp) without the unknown genetic influence that allows scurs. Diagram 1 shows all possible combinations of the poll/horn alleles and where scurs can occur.

Glossary Alleles

The possible forms of genes (i.e. poll and horn alleles) at a locus. Because genes occur in pairs, one gene of a pair may have one allele and the other gene of that same pair may have a different allele.

Carrier

An animal that has two different alleles to make up its pair of genes, both the poll and horn alleles (Pp). The dominant allele (poll) masks the existence of the recessive allele (horn) so it is polled, but it carries the horn allele and can pass it on to its calves.

Dominant

Masks the characteristic of the recessive allele. Characteristic is expressed in full if either homozygous or heterozygous (i.e. poll is dominant to horn).

Double Polled Refers to mating a polled bull to a polled cow, and producing a polled calf. It is incorrect to assume that this calf is homozygous polled; one or both parents could be carriers, and if only one horn allele gets passed to the calf it will be a carrier.

GENOMICS TESTING AND PLANNING A BREEDING PROGRAM There are genomics tests available to determine if polled cattle are carriers of the horn allele, but there are currently no genomics tests for the scurs. From a practical standpoint, if you have cattle that develop scurs then it is known that they are carriers of the horn allele and testing is not necessary, however, the lack of scurs does not conversely mean that they are not carriers, they would need to be tested. A common misconception is that a homozygous polled bull shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have scurred calves; while it eliminates the possibility of horned calves and reduces the incidence of scurs, they can still occur. If he is bred to cows that have the horn allele then it is possible for him to produce scurred calves.

Bottom line, it is easy to breed for polled cattle, buy a homozygous polled bull and you will not have any horned calves (double polled is not the same as homozygous; see glossary). Scurs, as you now know, is a completely different story; buying homozygous polled bulls will assist in reducing the incidence of scurs, since the horn allele is necessary to produce scurs. Until the genetic cause of scurs is determined and a genomics test for the scur allele is developed, if in fact scurs is separate gene to the poll/horn gene, then scurs will be difficult to eliminate.

Gene

A gene is a specific section of DNA on a chromosome that serves a biological function. Two copies of each gene exist in an animal. Only one gene of each pair is randomly transmitted to the offspring; the offspring gets one gene from each parent, thus giving it a pair.

Genotype

The genetic makeup of the animal.

Heterozygous The gene pair has different alleles.

Homozygous The gene pair are matching alleles.

Horned

The presence of horns that are attached to the skull.

Inheritance Mode The passing of genes from parents to offspring and how they are expressed.

Locus

Location on the chromosome where a specific gene resides.

Phenotype

The physical appearance of the cattle.

For the purposes of this article there are 3 possibilities: smooth polled, scurred or horned.

Polled

Absence of horns (can be scurred).

Recessive

Is completely masked if paired with a dominant allele. Is only expressed if homozygous (both alleles are recessive).

Scurs

Horn-like tissue that are attached to the skin rather than the skull. Can vary in size from small growths to small hornlike structures.

Smooth Polled Absence of both horns and scurs.

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

45

genetic testing

CAREL TESELING

NEW TEST IDENTIFIES BLACK WAGYU CONTENT

PURPOSE The Australian Wagyu Association (AWA) has developed a genomic test to determine the level of Japanese Black (Black Wagyu) in non-pedigreed crossbred animals. This ground-breaking development, known as the Crossbred Wagyu Test (CWT) will help the supply chain determine feeding regimes and the propensity of cattle to produce a genuine Wagyu eating experience.

AWA’s Carel Teseling explains the purposes of the test, how it works and delves into the prefectural nuances of the breed in Japan.

»» To assist the beef industry in identifying the approximate level of Black Wagyu content from a non-pedigree crossbred animal’s DNA sample. »» Assist in selecting a new class of breeding animals to purchase or to register with the AWA. Animals with tested Black Wagyu content can be registered into the Wagyu Content Register and used for breeding purposes. »» The AWA board is reviewing the Bylaws to determine the appropriate level at which animals with tested Black Wagyu content can enter the Herdbook as a Purebred animal. »» Supply chain verification of non-pedigree, crossbred animals. Testing may be particularly valuable before feedlot entry, offering a new cost-effective means for producers, cattle buyers, and processors to determine the Black Wagyu content in commercial crossbred cattle mobs. The results could, for instance, facilitate categorising crossbreds into the progeny of the Black Wagyu bull or a mickey bull. This knowledge would significantly influence the choice of optimum feeding regimes, processing, and marketing.

INTRODUCTION The Australian Wagyu Association has developed a genomic test to determine the level of Japanese Black (Black Wagyu) content in a DNA sample from a crossbred animal. The test measures Black Wagyu content in terms of the animal’s relationship to the mainstream Black Wagyu sub-population available in Australia. While some Australian fullblood animals will return lower CWT values, this needs to be recognised as an indication of their importance as “outliers” within the local gene pool, and the valuable contribution they can make to maintaining genetic diversity and providing future selection flexibility.

Further development work will endeavour to measure better and define these outlier populations, which have already been identified as descendants of specific, original Japanese Black prefectural herds.

HOW THE TEST WORKS Essentially the CWT measures the genomic “distance” between the genotype of a particular animal being tested and the “clouds” or reference sets of genotypes available for other breeds and delivers the estimated breed content level of each breed within that animal.

46

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

FIGURE 1. Principle component analysis illustrating the genomic distance between breeds.

The CWT software has been developed by the Animal Genetics & Breeding Unit (AGBU) at the University of New England. It uses a reference dataset for each breed type whose genotypes are currently available. At least 100 individual animal genotypes, representing the genetic variation in the breed, are required to form an accurate representation of a particular breed, so only the major breeds have sufficient genotypes to enable them to be included at this stage.

Each animal in the reference set requires a genotype of sufficient SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) density to enable accurate breed determination, with the Low-Density GeneSeek Genomic Profiler (GGPLD) of some 34,000 SNPS currently the minimum (previous GGPLD SNP levels were 10K, then 20K and these have also been used). The breed genotypes have been provided by a range of industry contributors including AWA through its Wagyu Collaborative Genetics Research Project, Meat & Livestock Australia through the various Beef Cooperative Research Centre projects and other breed associations.

The CWT uses a two-step process to calculate the breed content: »» Firstly, the software calculates the unique allele frequencies for each breed in the reference dataset. An allele is one of a pair of genes that appear at a particular location on a particular chromosome and control the same characteristic, such as blood type or coat colour. »» Secondly, it calculates the correlations between the allele frequencies of the test animal’s genotype and those of the other breeds, and this represents the breed percentages.

BREEDS IN THE REFERENCE DATASET The reference dataset currently has more than 10,000 genotypes representing 11 of the most prominent Australian beef breeds and consists of: »» Approximately 1,600 Wagyu and Crossbred Wagyu genotypes ranging from Fullblood Wagyu 100% (almost exclusively Japanese Black) to Crossbred Wagyu F1 50% provided by AWA derived from its Wagyu Collaborative Genetics Research Project co-funded through the MLA Donor Company. »» Approximately 7,000 genotypes from 10 other beef breeds largely provided from the Beef Co-operative Research Centres (Beef CRC’s) I, II and III co-funded by the beef industry and the MLA Donor Company. »» The 11 breeds currently having genotypes in the reference dataset are Angus, Brahman, Charolais, Droughtmaster, Hereford, Limousin, Murray Grey, Santa Gertrudis, Simmental, Shorthorn and Wagyu.

This reference dataset of the various breeds in their genomic “clouds” is graphically represented in Figure 1 (above), showing the distance between each breed “cloud”.

THE WAGYU REFERENCE DATASET The term Wagyu is a general term for about five breeds of cattle bred in Japan. The Japanese word is 'our' (wa) and 'cattle' (gyu).

The CWT measures only content from the dominant >>> THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

47

NUMBER OF ANIMALS <<<

200

Japanese Black breed. There are three major Japanese Black bloodlines well represented in the Australian sub-population:

175

»» Kumanami and Tajima from the Hyogo Prefecture »» Itozakura & Fujiyoshi from the Shimane Prefecture

150 125 100 75 50 25 0

<75

»» Kedaka and Eikou from the Tottori

80 - 85

85 - 90

90 - 95

95 - 100

FIGURE 2. Frequency distribution of registered black Fullblood animals.

»» Kochi; and

NUMBER OF ANIMALS

»» Kumamoto

40

Modern Wagyu cattle breeds are the result of crossing of the native cattle in Japan with imported breeds. Systematic crossing began in 1868 during the Meiji restoration. Brown Swiss, Devon, Shorthorn, Simmental, Angus, Ayrshire and Korean cattle were imported during this period. The infusions of these British, European and Asian breeds ceased about 1910. However, it can be expected that some evidence of these breeds still exists in some prefectural Fullblood Wagyu cattle herds in Japan. The red population was strongly influenced by Korean and European breeds, particularly Simmental.

75 - 80

RELATIONSHIP TO THE REFERENCE POPULATION

Prefecture Two major red (Japanese Brown) subpopulations (Akaushi) are also represented in Australia, but are not covered by the CWT. These are:

REGISTERED FULLBLODD ANIMALS

DISTRIBUTION OF F3 ANIMALS

30 20 10

0

<50

50+

57+

64+

71+

78+

85+

92+

99+

BLACK WAGYU % FIGURE 3. Frequency distribution of F3 Wagyu cross animals.

The Australian herd is descended from a foundation Black Wagyu population exported to the USA and Australia from Japan between 1976 and 2001. This comprised some 300 animals.

population in Australia as they provide

However, the genomic variation identified

the only current opportunities available to

in the genotyped registered Black Fullblood

retain genetic diversity and deliver enhanced

animals was reflected in their crossbred

selection options for traits such as superior

progeny resulting in a range for any given

conformation, growth and maternal

crossbred grade as shown in figure 3 (above).

THE CROSSBRED WAGYU TEST RESULTS

capability, with retained marbling.

NOTE: It is expected that F3 animals with

FULLBLOOD RESULTS

CROSSBRED RESULTS

An animal is regarded as a Fullblood Wagyu whose forebears originate from Japan.

Registered Fullbloods require DNA parent verification to both the sire and dam to ensure complete pedigree accuracy. Over 300 registered Black Fullblood Wagyus were represented in the reference dataset with their test results shown in figure 2 (right).

The results highlight the genetic diversity available in the registered black Australian Fullblood population. The Fullblood animals with lower CWT results are highly valuable to the future of the Black Wagyu 48

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

Initially, it was expected that the Black Wagyu content in crossbred Wagyu animals would follow the traditional genetic norm of: »» F1 or first Wagyu cross delivering 50% Wagyu »» F2 or second cross Wagyu delivering 75% Wagyu »» F3 or third cross Wagyu delivering 87% Wagyu »» F4 or Purebred Wagyu delivering 93% Wagyu

higher than 92% were out of cows that already had some Black Wagyu influence.

Therefore, crossbred progeny of a high scoring Black Fullblood sire can be expected to have content close to the expected genetic norm, while progeny from sires with other prefectural genomic content may show less than the expected genetic norm. Providing the sire is registered with known performance through its Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs), this will not pose a problem and indeed may be a distinct advantage if the sire has higher growth and other attributes.

HOW THE CWT MAY BE USED

the animal’s sale and therefore capital value

HOW TO ORDER THE CWT

WAGYU CONTENT REGISTER

as buyers can have greater confidence in the

There are many animals with Wagyu content in member herds where pedigree cannot be proven through DNA parent verification and so cannot be registered as Fullbloods or Purebreds. However, they are of considerable value to the Wagyu gene pool. These animals can now be registered in the Wagyu Content Register and their performance data input for analysis through Wagyu BREEDPLAN. The Crossbred Wagyu Test can provide the Black Wagyu breed percentage required by the Content Register Bylaws:

claimed Wagyu content.

Producers who wish to do a Crossbred Wagyu Test on animals should contact AWA staff or download a DNA test request form from the AWA website. The form contains the instructions for the collection of the sample and testing as follows:

CONTENT REGISTER 1. The Content Register makes provision for the registration of Wagyu influenced animals not eligible for registration in the fullblood or purebred registers.

2. It shall be a requirement for the registration of a Content Register calf that its sire has a DNA profile recorded with AWA at a minimum level to be specified by AWA.

TESTING ANIMALS WITH THE CWT An animal can be tested to determine its Black Wagyu content using the Crossbred Wagyu Test. This may be of value in: »» Assisting in selecting breeding animals to purchase or to register with the AWA. Animals with tested Black Wagyu content can be registered in the Wagyu Content Register and used for breeding purposes. »» Upgrading an animal into the Herdbook.

The AWA board is reviewing the Bylaws to determine the appropriate level at which animals with tested Wagyu content can enter the Herdbook as a Purebred animal. »» Supply chain verification of animals.

Testing may be particularly valuable before feedlot entry, offering a new cost-effective means for producers, cattle buyers, and processors to determine the Black Wagyu content in commercial

1. Take a DNA hair or ear notch (using the Allflex Tissue Sampling Unit) sample from the test animal 2. Send the DNA sample to the University of Queensland Animal Genetics Laboratory (UQ AGL) 3. Email the order form requesting a Crossbred Wagyu Test to regos@ wagyu.org.au.

4. UQAGL will make the GGPLD genotype available to AWA. 5. AWA will use the GGPLD genotype to conduct the Crossbred Wagyu Test analysis and return the result to you.

The CWT will cost $79.00 (inc. GST) per animal.

FURTHER INFORMATION

3. Prior to registration a hair sample of the animal will be provided to AWA.

crossbred cattle mobs. The results could, for instance, facilitate categorising

For further information see the Frequently Asked Questions or contact

4. Parent verification of calves will not be required.

crossbreds into the progeny of the

Carel Teseling

5. Random parent verification of calves will be conducted at a frequency determined by the board at no cost to the animal owners. Animals found to have an incorrect sire will be deregistered if the correct sire is not identified by the owner at the owner’s cost.

knowledge would significantly influence

Black Wagyu bull or a mickey bull. This the choice of optimum feeding regimes, processing, and marketing.

AWA Technical Services Manager

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

6. If no Wagyu content is claimed for a base animal, the breed (or breed combination) of the base animal shall be recorded.

7. If Wagyu content is claimed for a base animal, a breed content test will be required for the animal. Animals registered in the content register shall be assigned a percentage breed content calculated from the percentage Wagyu of the sire and dam or results from the Crossbred Wagyu Test.

Registration of animals with Wagyu content is expected to significantly increase THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

49

DELIVER YOUR WAGYU

We have longterm customers waiting for your fullblood and crossbred Wagyu for delivery to hotels and resorts, restaurants and supermarkets both large and small.

We have no shortage of customers only a shortage of cattle.

FOR MORE DETAILS, CONTACT DMC JOE PUGLIA Ph 0407 243 689 WAYNE BELL Ph 0427 012 610 or email sales@directmeatcompany.com.au

DIRECT MEAT COMPANY

www.directmeatcompany.com.au

YOU FEED | WE BUY AND PAY | WE PROCESS AND DELIVER ATTRACTIVE GRID PRICES BASED ON HSCW AND MARBLE SCORE | ATTRACTIVE PAYMENT TERMS

50

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

frequently asked questions

Q

CROSSBRED WAGYU TEST (CWT) breeding, is expected to create an ongoing minor deviation

What is the key objective of the CWT?

in CWT percentages of commercial cattle at a low but

The primary objective of the CWT is the provision of an accurate, easily deployed quality assurance tool for the commercial crossbred Wagyu industry in Australia, and possibly other Wagyu producers outside Japan. Most Australian commercial production involves crossbreeding from Japanese Black sires and occurs without subsequent formal parent verification of the Wagyu calf crop, which requires a complex DNA-based process in multi-sire commercial environments. The CWT will offer a new inexpensive tool to allow producers, buyers, and processors to sample Wagyu content in commercial cattle mobs to determine optimum feeding regimes, processing, and marketing.

A similar Quality Assurance sampling opportunity might be available to boxed beef processors, who may be packaging and promoting Wagyu beef by 'Percentage Wagyu' guidelines.

commercially acceptable level. These should not be considered as 'errors' and have no ramifications for pedigrees.

The lack of sufficient representation of the complete suite of Japanese Black prefectural bloodlines is a constraint in the development of a ‘truly representative’ Japanese Black content test. If all prefectures were sufficiently represented in the reference dataset, it would have enabled a definitive assessment of all Australian Wagyu animals. However, the Australian Wagyu population (and the reference dataset) is skewed towards the Hyogo prefecture and Itozakura bloodlines.

Q

registrations of Herdbook animals with less than 100%

Finally, AWA has also created the Wagyu Content Register, which enables high-performance animals with unknown pedigree but CWT-proven Japanese Black percentage to be registered. The Content Register will facilitate the registration of Black Wagyu animals that were previously ‘lost’ as breeding animals. Content Register animals may in future qualify for enhanced value sales or the commencement of new pedigree trees.

Q

Q

What impact does the CWT have on the AWA pedigree CWT Content?

None.

The strict DNA parent verification for the Australian Wagyu Fullblood and Purebred registered animals will ensure ongoing Herdbook accuracy. As discussed, genetic variation with registered Australian Fullblood Black Wagyu has been

Who will manage the use of the CWT in the Australian market?

identified as based on differing prefectural herd ancestries.

The Australian Wagyu Association is a not-for-profit member organisation, and the CWT is a commercial product. To effectively manage this AWA has created a new legal entity and wholly owned subsidiary, called Wagyu Services Pty Ltd, which will manage licensing, risk and other commercial market facets of the CWT. Wagyu Services Pty Ltd will reside with AWA in Armidale, NSW.

Fullblood Wagyu Herdbook.

Does the CWT challenge the need for Herdbook pedigree recording and or/the veracity of existing pedigree records?

The CWT will have no impact on historical or future DNA parent verified pedigree recording of Herdbook registered Wagyu cattle in Australia. No existing Herdbook pedigree records will be revisited purely as a result of an ‘unexpected’ CWT percentage. As explained previously, the inherent genetic diversity of the Japanese Black, arising from prefectural

Pedigrees alone continue to define Fullblood status in the AWA

Q

Are registered Fullblood animals with higher CWT scores “better” than those with lower scores?

No. The lower score Fullblood animals are critically important because they are different. When compared to other beef breeds, the Australian Wagyu population is very closely related. A lower CWT score is an indication that the Fullblood animal is genomically different from the majority of Black Wagyu animals used in the reference dataset. Those registered Fullblood animals with 'different' CWT scores are extremely valuable to the Black Australian Wagyu population because they offer the mainstream registered herd the opportunity to extend genetic diversity, enhance selection flexibility and counter inbreeding. >>> THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

51

Frequently asked questions

This ground-breaking development, known as the Crossbred Wagyu Test (CWT) will help the supply chain ... <<<

Q

Will CWT- assessed Content Register animals be able to transfer to other AWA registries, such as breeding up grades within the Purebred grade?

Q

dataset?

The CWT isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t able to calculate accurately the breed percentage

Not at this stage. However, given that many are likely to show content considerably over the current <50% Base grade, AWA is examining methods for enabling such transitions.

Q

Will the CWT be useful in differentiating non-pedigree, commercial Fullblood slaughter cattle from registered Purebreds or similarly high content crossbred cattle?

of breeds not represented in the reference dataset. Breeds like Brown Swiss, Ayrshire, and Devon donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have genotypes in the reference dataset but contributed genes to the development of Wagyu in Japan.

Q

Does AWA expect the CWT will be used in support of litigation in disputes over the Wagyu content of either livestock or retail/food service beef?

Definitely NO. '100% certainty' of a sampleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relationship to a specified Wagyu category (Fullblood, Purebred or other crossbred) is not a deliverable. The CWT cannot be used as a foundation for litigation on the basis of percentage Wagyu Content. The variation in the results and known genetic variation within the Black Wagyu breed means the use of the CWT should be limited to quality assurance programs.

Why do we use an Australian and not a Japanese breed content benchmark?

Due to constraints discussed previously, the CWT will not accurately identify the Fullbloods within such a group. Where Fullblood Black Wagyu content requires formal Herdbook level of verification, a full DNA parent verification process would remain necessary from an AWA perspective, meaning the animal will have full ancestral and individual breeder traceability. However, individual processors have well-established QA mechanisms in the Fullblood area, which is an established slaughter market segment. AWA believes this segment will continue to grow as high-end consumers demand ever-greater supply chain transparency.

Q

What about breeds not represented in the reference

The Japanese Black (Black Wagyu) is a genetically diverse, international breed derived from numerous ancient prefectural herds in Japan with (historically) several breeds contributing to its genetic makeup. The Australian herd does not currently include the full range of Japanese prefectural bloodlines and it is unlikely we will get access to sufficient genetic material to represent the Japanese genetic makeup accurately. The Australian Fullblood herd is a closed sub-population consisting of a subset of the overall Japanese Black genome. Using a test developed using Australian Fullblood sub-population genotypes is the best method for accurately benchmarking the local population.

Q

Does Japan have a similar Wagyu Content Test?

We are not aware of the existence of a similar test in Japan. The Japanese Wagyu industry and JMGA grading system includes a strict 'whole of life' separation of Fullblood and crossbred or 'infused cattle'. There is also no 'purebred' category, so the issue of 'percentage content' does not arise. At the Fullblood Black level, Japan has unique traceability systems starting at calf birth recording and culminating in government level maintenance of national carcass databases. However, there is no DNA parent

Q How does the CWT apply to Fullblood red and Fullblood composite (black X red) cattle?

The reference dataset used to develop the CWT contains very few red Wagyu animals. The CWT should not be used to test red Wagyu animals.

52

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

verification in Japanese registration. Mechanisms like Japan's are unavailable in Australia, but we believe with our strict DNA parent verification for Herdbook registered animals, and with the addition of the CWT to our Quality Assurance (QA) toolkit, Australian Wagyu production offers very high levels of QA.

Available now ... .. registered Wagyu fullblood bulls .. semen and specially selected embryo packages .. management options/advice for embryo transfer programs IRONGATE WAGYU STUD 1157 Dempster Road, Kalgan River, Albany WA Farm Manager

Mark James mobile: 0429 444 799 phone: 08 9846 4217

Managing Director Peter Gilmour

mobile: 0419 444 799 email: peterwgilmour@gmail.com

www.irongatewagyu.com

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

53

vet advice

ENOCH BERGMAN

MANAGING AND MEASURING BVDV Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus in Australia

As long as you keep raising Wagyu, I would like you to consider measuring the BVDV immune status of each and every group of your replacement heifers two to three months prior to joining. It will cost you a buck or two per mated heifer, but it will protect your asset, improve your profitability, or both!

Bovine Pestivirus, or Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV) is endemic within Australia. This means that it is widely distributed across extensive and intensive beef and dairy productions systems across all of Australia. Work completed in the 1960â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s found that 90% of Australian production systems had evidence of having harboured the virus. If it has been around for a long time, and almost everyone has it, what is all of the fuss about? Simply put, BVDV is a costly disease but we now

MLA 2015 List of Endemic Diseases Affecting Australian Beef Enterprises.

CATTLE TICK

The Australian Cattle Vets (ACV), a special interest group of the Australian Veterinary Association, has developed a set of guidelines for the management of BVDV both in beef and dairy production systems.

Wagyu members should seek out their local ACV veterinarian and encourage them to assist them in utilizing this excellent resource.

BVDV BUFFALO FLY DYSTOCIA NEONATAL CALF MORTALITY INTERNAL PARASITE BLOAT BOVINE EPHEMERAL FEVER BOTULISM GRASS TETANY CALF SCOURS

AWA members, through negotiation with the AWA board have access to preferential pricing for BVDV diagnostic testing including ear notching and blood testing through myself at Swans Veterinary Services.

I will work with you and your veterinarian to design a program that will work for you.

VIBRIOSIS

CATTLE (NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN)

THEILERIA PINKEYE

treatment cost prevention cost production cost

CLOSTRIDIAL DISEASES TICK FEVER BOVINE JOHNE'S DISEASE

Enoch Bergman Swans Veterinary Services, WA 54

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

NATIONAL COST ($m)

140

160

180

preconception conception 60 0 40 20 20

have the tools to systematically manage it and even eradicate it at the individual herd level. The cost of BVDV has been estimated at between $20 and $90 per breeder on affected properties. Part of the variability in the cost of BVDV relates to timing. When previously unexposed or unvaccinated animals make close contact with a Persistently Infected animal (PI), they almost invariably contract BVDV, resulting in significant reproductive losses and/or immune suppression. Reproductive losses can occur at any stage of pregnancy, but are most significant during mating or early pregnancy. Immune suppression can be significant if the affected animals are under stress or other disease challenge such as during a scours outbreak or the early phases of lot feeding. Estimates also vary as they are linked directly to the value of the production system. As producers of Australia’s most valuable beef, there is no doubt that every Wagyu producer should be paying attention to BVDV.

40

60

80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260

birth 280

DEVELOPMENT OF CALF'S IMMUNE SYSTEM Ovarian dysfunction

Early Persistently infected calf embryo loss - antibody negative - virus positive

* Antibody negative or negative. Virus positive or negative

Congentially malformed calf*

Normal or small, weak calf - antibody negative - virus positive

BVDV AND PI’S

the virus. They are born and remain

BVDV is unique in that it is transmitted

Persistently Infected with BVDV for life.

almost exclusively by PI animals. PI

From birth, PI calves continually excrete

animals themselves were exposed to

enormous amounts of virus. All animals

BVDV before they were born, whilst in utero. Either their dam was a PI herself, or, more commonly, she became infected with the virus whilst pregnant. When exposed between one and four months of

they come in close contact with will be exposed to the virus, resulting in a high proportion becoming transiently infected with BVDV.

gestation the calf’s developing immune

Transiently infected animals rarely show

system mistakenly assumes that the virus

direct signs of infection with BVDV.

is “normal”. If the calf survives to birth,

They typically swiftly mount an immune

its immune system will continue to ignore

response, clearing the virus within a couple of weeks. However, most exposed animals suffer some form of transient immune

2 WAYS PI CALVES ARE PRODUCED

dysfunction reducing their ability to fend off other infectious agents. Unlike other diseases, transiently infected animals usually don’t contribute to the spread of the disease. Without the presence of

MORE COMMON ROUTE (OVER 90%)

Susceptible pregnant female (non-PI) infected with BVDV at about 1½ - 4 months of gestation.

LESS COMMON ROUTE (LESS THAN 10%)

BVDV persistenly infected (PI) female becomes pregnant.

Persistently Infected animals the virus simply ceases to propagate in most management situations.

Whilst only BVDV exposure between the first and fourth months of gestations results in the production of another PI, exposure to the virus at any stage of the reproductive cycle can have serious

BVD virus from any source

financial consequences. BVDV has been shown to significantly impair ovarian function, reducing conception rates directly. Animals exposed within the first month of pregnancy usually suffer early embryonic death. Animals exposed from

PI calf BVDV persistenly infected (PI) calf is produced

three and a half to five months may be born with congenital defects, especially of the eyes and central nervous system.

Finally, abortion or stillbirth is a risk at any stage of pregnancy. >>> THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

55

<<<

THE TOOL BOX There are 3 classes of tools available for managing BVDV.

ANTIGEN (VIRUS) TESTING (EAR NOTCHING) BVDV antigen testing is used to diagnose and identify PI animals. PI status is a Lifetime status. PI’s will always remain PI’s. Animals that are not born a PI will never become a PI. The incidence of PI calves is thought to hover right around 1% on endemically infected properties.

ANTIBODY (IMMUNITY) TESTING (BLOOD TESTING) Antibodies to BVDV are produced as a result of an animal’s immune system mounting a response from exposure to the virus. Antibodies protect the animal against future exposure, significantly reducing the risk of further infection from the virus. Positive BVDV antibody results indirectly indicate past or present PI presence, as most infections result from exposure to PI’s. BVDV antibody testing is used to measure herd risk, identifying groups of animals without immunity or groups that may contain a PI. Antibody testing allows veterinarians to measure the status of individual management groups and to prescribe the most cost effective intervention.

In essence, ear notch testing for antigen asks, “Are you a PI?”, whilst blood testing for antibodies asks, “Have you ever met a PI?”.

VACCINATION Currently, there is only one commercially available vaccine for BVDV in Australia, Pestigard. The vaccine’s manufacturer recommends 2 preliminary doses 1 to 6 months apart, followed

by annual boosters. Whilst it is quite efficacious, up to 20% of vaccinated animals may still produce PI animals if exposed during pregnancy. Vaccination of a PI animal itself is ineffective, it does not change its status.

BEATING BVDV Cost effectively managing BVDV is about using these tools to measure and manage the immunity of individual management groups within your breeding population and to narrow the search when finding and culling Persistently Infected animals. Let’s look at some options.

CLEAN SWEEP Some Wagyu breeders have individually ear notched their entire herd and then continued to ear notch every calf ever born on their properties, as well as enrolling every breeder in a Pestigard vaccination program. They understand the potential cost of BVDV and recognize the value of their produce. With ear notch testing valued at $8 per head through Swans for AWA members and Pestigard valued at approximately $5 per dose, the start up cost of the program would be near $20 per breeder to ear notch and vaccinate every existing breeder and the ongoing cost of control would be near $15 per breeder per year, budgeting on 90% mating to marking rates, 20% replacement rate, and modest labour costs.

Sounds like a good investment to identify the lifetime PI status of every Wagyu ever produced on your property and good insurance to provide added BVDV protection to your breeding herd!

Who are SWANS VETERINARY SERVICES? Dr. Enoch Bergman and SWANS VETERINARY SERVICES pioneered ear notch testing in Australia for the diagnosis of animals Persistently Infected (PI) with BVDV using ear notch tissue.

FREEDOM FROM

BVDV

BVDV is estimated to cost between $20 to $100 per breeder on infected properties, primarily through immune suppression and impaired reproductive efficiency. Higher value production systems suffer greater losses.

What is Wagyu Guard Wagyu Guard is a loyalty program designed to give Australian Wagyu Association members access to preferential pricing for BVDV diagnostics from Swans Veterinary Services.

A proportion of proceeds from any diagnostic testing submitted by AWA members is donated back to the AWA to improve member services and to promote awareness of this potentially devastating but manageable disease.

56

WAGYU the marbling breed

Having tested over a quarter of a million Australian animals, they specialise in designing cost effective herd level management strategies to eradicate and maintain freedom from BVDV.

SWANS VETERINARY SERVICES Lot 83 Shelden Road ESPERANCE WA 6450

WAGYU the marbling breed

What now?

BVDV Laboratory phone 08 9071 5777 email lab@swansvet.com

Contact SWANS VETERINARY SERVICES to develop a strategy to cost effectively manage BVDV in your production system.

www.swansvet.com

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

GOING VERTICAL Could we sharpen our pencil a bit? PI cows always have PI calves, hence, calves that are not Persistently Infected could not have been born from a PI. If a producer were to initiate their control program once all of the calves were born, but prior to the mating program, they could reduce their initial investment by excluding the testing of any cows whose calves had been proven not to be a PI. Initially ear notch every calf, as well as any animal on the property without a calf, such as your replacement heifers, bulls, or any cows that failed to calve or lost their calves. Once you receive your results, test the dams of any positive calves found. Completed prior to mating, any PI’s will be removed before they have the opportunity to infect the next calf crop in utero.

SETTING UP A HERD RISK PROFILE If a producer intends to implement a vaccination strategy in a previously unvaccinated population, it would be worthwhile to assess the immune status of each individual stable management group. The initial goal is to identify at risk management groups, those without existing immunity, in order to identify value in initiating a vaccination program.

THE VALUE PROPOSITION Once a production system is free of adult PI’s, it is pretty simple to maintain adult PI freedom, but there is another way of ensuring that each new group of replacement heifers are PI free rather than ear notching them as calves.

Rather than asking each of our replacement heifers if they are a PI by ear notching all of them, we could instead ask a small percentage of them if they have ever met a PI by blood testing them. As long as a group of heifers is at least 8 months old and the entire group have been

Animals from each management group need to have been in stable contact for at least two months without new additions

NO

YES

in stable contact for at least a two months, we can expect an honest answer. Then we can invest in the most cost effective intervention!

Blood testing a random 5% or a minimum of six replacement heifers for antibodies to BVDV from a stable group of heifers will usually indicate the better value of either vaccinating to provide immunity or of ear notching the entire group of replacement heifers to identify and cull any PI’s. Antibody testing typically costs around $20 per head, if 5% are required to generate meaningful results, this powerful information comes with a price tag of $1 per head!

Highly immune groups of heifers (over 80% immune) should be ear notch tested to ensure no PI’s are retained and would gain limited benefit from vaccination. When ear notching them, take a moment to ear notch their management tag, to provide evidence that they do not require an annual booster vaccination.

Conversely, groups of animals with little or no evidence of immunity (less than 50% immune) would be far more likely to benefit from enrolment in a vaccination program. Their immune status indicates that a PI animal is very unlikely to exist within the group, therefore searching for a PI would be an unnecessary expense.

Occasionally, heifer screening will result in mixed results (between 50% and 80% immune), for which there are four common scenarios that you may need to work through with your veterinarian, the second of which is the most common: 1. The heifers without immunity to BVDV are persistently infected. (PI’s never mount an immune response to BVDV.) 2. Some of the heifers were exposed to BVDV prior to commingling, but no PI’s remain.

3. One or more of the heifers is a PI. 4. The heifers are being exposed to BVDV from outside of the group.

The first scenario is confirmed by conducting a PI screening test on the antibody negative blood samples. If a PI is diagnosed, the entire management group of heifers should be tested to identify and cull any other PI’s. Vaccination would be of limited value.

To differentiate the second scenario from the third and fourth scenarios, producers could wait one month and then collect a second blood sample from the previously antibody negative animals, as well as blood samples from an additional 5% or minimum of 6 random heifers. If the previously antibody negative animals remain antibody negative, it can be assumed that the existing immunity is from historic exposure (scenario 2), such as exposure from a steer or culled heifer no longer present within the management group. The group can then either be vaccinated or monitored depending upon the final immune status calculation, rendered more statistically relevant due to the additional animals antibody tested.

If all or a proportion of the previously antibody negative animals have become antibody positive, then ongoing exposure is occurring, indicating that either a PI exists within the management group (scenario 3), or the group is undergoing outside exposure to BVDV(scenario 4). Regardless, it is a sound decision to screen the entire management group to ensure that none of the heifers are a PI. If no PI is found, effort should be given to identifying the source of ongoing exposure to the virus. >>> THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

57

<<<

RAISE ‘EM RIGHT

BIOSECURITY

Many producers have successfully eradicated BVDV from their herds, simply by focusing on each new group of replacement heifers. Because PI’s tend to live shortened lives, it doesn’t take long to break the PI cycle if each new group of replacement heifers is managed as previously described. If every new heifer is both relatively immune to BVDV and PI free at mating, they are significantly less likely to produce any PI progeny. When consistently implemented, PI calves are likely to eventually cease being produced across the entire production system and the new replacement heifers will begin to render negative BVDV antibody test results when screened prior to mating. That is when we will know that we are really winning!

BVDV biosecurity starts with knowing the status of any animals you introduce to your production system, as well as any unborn progeny they may bring with them if purchased PTIC. No bull should be bought or sold in Australia without having been proven not to be Persistently Infected. The same could be said for females, but we lack an accurate test to ensure that they aren’t carrying a PI. Regardless, opportunities avail themselves and knowing the status of your existing herd will provide greater flexibility.

However, if the replacement heifers are found to continue to demonstrate pre-mating immunity to BVDV, an adult PI or PI’s may exist within an older management group, warranting further investigation. Producers can work with their veterinarian to narrow their search, either using pre-weaning antibody testing of calves or by targeting the dams of woody calves tested and found to be Persistently Infected.

SUMMARY BVDV is a serious production limiting disease, literally stealing value from every aspect of the production chain. Systematically managing BVDV revolves around knowing the status of your existing herd and then consistently ensuring that your replacement heifers are both immune and PI free prior to mating. Wagyu calves have a long way to go to make it to the abattoir, feeding and medicating PI calves is unfair to them and to the calves they share a bunk with! Don’t leave BVDV to chance… manage it systematically and eradicate it at from YOUR production system.

Heifers must be at least 8 months old and have been in stable contact for at least 2 months

NO Including pregnant animals returning from off farm

YES YES

NO

NO

YES NO

NO YES YES

NO

YES

YES YES NO

NO NO YES

58

THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

Kuro Kin Wagyu

Performance Beyond Expectation

Kuro Kin Celebrating 20 Years with the Australian Wagyu Industry — Kuro Kin Wagyu would like to thank everyone for attending the Australian Wagyu Association conference tour on 5th May 2016.

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

At Kuro Kin Wagyu we value our long standing relationships with the industry and will be looking to develop more going forward.  For any enquiries please contact: Peter Bishop Jnr Tel: 0429 454 189 Email: pbishop@aaaw.com.au

Producing Fullblood Bulls and 1000 F1’s each year

www.kurokinwagyu.com.au THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU UPDATE

59

Producers of award winning Wagyu beef

LD MEDAL GO

2 0 14

www.aaco.com.au