John Young Life Membership

Western Australian John Young was recently awarded an Honorary Life Membership for his dedication to the Angus breed and Angus Australia for over 50 years. Mr Young established Strathtay Angus stud, Narrogin, with his father Jack in approximately 1966 after immigrating from Perthshire, Scotland in the early 1960s.

Strathtay Angus stud was recognised for quality breeding and was named most successful exhibitor at Perth Royal Show several times in the 1980s and 1990s. State Committee since the 1970s, acting as president from 1985-1986 and served as a member of the Angus board in intermittently from the 1980s to the late 2000s. In 2005 Mr Young acted as Vice-President of Angus Australia and was chairperson of the Export Marketing Steering Committee. Most recently Mr Young was on the organising committee for the 2019 WA Centenary Celebration and was a driving force behind the event, being responsible for ensuring cattle for the event and contributing to speaker suggestions.

Mr Young was President of Angus Australia from 2007-2008 and assisted in the development of Certified Australian Angus Beef, export standards and updating the Angus Australia Constitution.

Mr Young has been an active member of the WA Since the dispersal of the Strathtay Stud Mr Young has maintained his involvement with the Angus breed through his enthusiasm and continuous contribution to the WA State Committee, as well as as

sisting his granddaughter in running Angus cattle.

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Angus Australia President Brad Gilmour said the following about Mr Young’s involvement in the Angus

breed. “At a State level he has been on the WA Angus committee since the 1970s and performed the role as committee chairperson in 1985 and 1986,” Mr Gilmour said. “When it comes to Angus Australia, he was on the federal committee for a total of 20 years through the 1980s and then again from 1998 to 2011. This is an incredible achievement given the distance from WA to Armidale, New South Wales.”

CONGRATULATIONS JOHN!!

- John speaking at last years WA Angus Centenary Celebrations.

Zoetis Animal Genetics and Angus Australia have entered into a partnership that will assist Australian Angus seedstock and commercial breeders extract additional benefit from genomic, or DNA-based technology. Through the partnership, Zoetis have made a considerable investment in the expansion of the Angus genomic reference population through the provision of genotyping services and sponsorship. Zoetis’ Genetics Manager for Australia and New Zealand, Mr Daniel Abernethy, highlighted how the partnership continues the long-term productive relationship Zoetis has held with Angus Australia for many years. “Zoetis is proud to partner with Angus Australia in delivering products like HD50K for Angus and Angus HeiferSELECT, and this partnership is a further demonstration of Zoetis’ commitment to provide Angus Australia members with the latest DNA testing technology, and to maximise the value members derive from the Angus reference population”, Mr Abernethy said. The Angus breed is leading the utilisation of genomic technologies in the Australian beef industry, with over 26,000 Angus animals being genomically tested during 2019.

“The value that Angus breeders obtain from genomic technology is largely determined by the value of the genomic reference population that is available”, Angus Australia’s Breed Development & Extension Manager

Andrew Byrne said. The genomic reference population refers to a reference population of animals that have both DNA profiles and performance information, with the value obtained from genomic technologies influenced by factors such as the size of the reference population, how closely related the animals in the reference population are to the animals being genomically tested, and the relevance of the production system in which the performance information has been collected. “Angus Australia is committed to facilitating the availability of large, well-recorded, relevant genomic reference population of Australian Angus animals with performance measurements in Australian production systems, particularly for hard-to-measure traits, so that Angus Australia members can get the most value from genomic technologies”, said Mr Byrne. While efforts to-date have focussed on the development of the Australian Angus genomic reference population via the Angus Sire Benchmarking Program, now in its eleventh year of operation, a priority of the new partnership with Zoetis will be to explore how performance

information collected on non-seedstock animals can be harnessed within the genomic reference population. “A particular focus will be on the feasibility of utilising performance measurements collected in the feedlot and abattoir sector”, said Mr Byrne. The investment by Zoetis in the Angus genomic reference population through this partnership with Angus Australia will improve the genomic technologies that are available to Australian Angus breeders, which in turn

will further accelerate the considerable genetic improvement that is already being achieved within the Angus breed.

*From Angus e-News 29 th April 2020

National Vendor Declaration Forms

It was announced in February 2020 that new versions of the Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) National Vendor Declaration (NVD) forms will be available for cattle (and sheep, goats and bobby calves) on 1 st July, 2020.

The main changes to the forms are the removal of the agent’s declaration and the inclusion of a destination

Property Identification Code (PIC). More information will be available closer to the release date. The changes will improve the efficiency and usability of the document across the supply chain. For a period of 6 months from 1 st July (to 31 st December) 2020, both updated and current (Edition: April 2013) NVD versions will be accepted. From 1 st January 2021, all LPA accredited producers who use hard copy NVD books will need to ensure they have the updated version, identified by version number ‘0720’.

When producers sign an LPA NVD, they are guaranteeing their on-farm practices meet LPA requirements, and ultimately customer expectations. This ensures the integrity of Australia red meat to both domestic and overseas markets.

Information on the changes to the NVD is available on the ISC website, NVD page - www.integritysystems.com.au OR via email: info@integritysystems.com.au OR Phone: 1800 683 111