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AWA DATABASE
Friday, 20 March 2020

In response to the Government-initiated requirements associated with responsible event management in the Coronavirus-19 environment, we regret to advise that the WagyuEdge 2020 Annual Conference and Tour has been cancelled. We thank the large number of delegates who had registered for the event, and the Speakers and Sponsors who had supported the program for the Conference and Tour.

The Australian Wagyu Association Board will look to re-schedule the WagyuEdge conference to 2021, with all Speakers and Sponsors contacted fully supporting this move.

Now for the Good News!

Elite Wagyu Sale to continue online

The Elite Wagyu Sale is proceeding as an online event. The Elite Wagyu Sale has been successful live and online for the past four years and has grown year on year. Online selling is firmly established as a platform for the achievement of outstanding results.

The decision has been made to move fully online this year. The Elite Wagyu Sale will be conducted via AuctionsPlus on 30 April 2020 at 3.30 pm AEST.

The preliminary lot listing will be available on the AWA website by 27 March 2020.

2020 Wagyu Branded Beef Competition Awards to be rescheduled

The preparation, cooking and judging for the 2020 Wagyu Branded Beef Competition was completed at Cha Cha Char Wine Bar & Grill in Brisbane on the 17 March 2020.
32 entries were received this year from Australia’s leading brands, all vying for top honours in Fullblood Japanese Black, Open Crossbred and Commercial Wagyu categories.

The data is now being compiled and we will be working through options for announcing the results and recognising the medallists for each category.

Usually, the results are celebrated as the main feature of our WagyuEdge Conference Gala Dinner. With the Conference cancelled, we are now exploring alternative options for celebrating our 2020 entries.  We will be in touch with all entrants shortly.

AWA office and services

AWA staff are taking steps to ensure we can continue to support our members during this period. Within the office, we have installed procedures to minimise risk to staff and disruption to member services and communications. This includes infrastructure to enable staff to work remotely as necessary, with full access to office systems.

We are working with our corporate partners, including DNA testing laboratories to ensure the processing of requests and delivery of results suffer minimum disruption.

Please consider using any down-time on-farm as an opportunity to accelerate DNA testing, including progressing through MiP to SNP or working with us to complete registrations. If you are able to act in the next few weeks, substantial savings are available on some services as we complete the move from MiP to SNP.

Meantime, we are continuously monitoring government advice and assessing the impacts of COVID-19. We are committed to regular, detailed communication and will advise you of any change to services and support over the coming period.

Please do not hesitate to contact the AWA should you have any questions

Important Notice and Disclaimer

It is very important that you appreciate when viewing the AWA database that the information contained on the AWA database, including but not limited to pedigree, DNA information, Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) and Index values, is based on data supplied by members and/or third parties.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information reported through AWA, AWA officers and employees assume no responsibility for its content, use or interpretation. AWA disclaims all liability (including without limitation, liability in negligence) for all expenses, losses, damages and costs you may incur as a result of the use by you of the data on this AWA database and the information supplied by ABRI and AGBU being inaccurate or incomplete in any way for any reason.

Regarding EBVs and Index values, it is very important to appreciate, and you need to be aware that:

  • EBVs are derived using Wagyu Single Step BREEDPLAN technology developed independently by the Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit (AGBU), using the information contained within the AWA database.
  • AGBU is a joint venture of NSW Department of Primary Industries and the University of New England, which receives funding for this purpose from Meat and Livestock Australia Limited.
  • AWA relies solely on advice provided by AGBU and ABRI in accepting Wagyu Single Step BREEDPLAN software.
  • EBVs published in Wagyu Single Step BREEDPLAN are estimates of genetic potential of individual animals and may not reflect the raw animal phenotype.
  • EBVs can only be directly compared to other EBVs calculated in the same monthly Wagyu Group BREEDPLAN analysis.

Regarding pedigree and DNA testing results submitted to the AWA, it is very important to appreciate, and you need to be aware that:

  • Pedigree and DNA data submitted and supplied to AWA may have errors in it which cannot be detected without further DNA testing.
  • Technology may have advanced since a particular test was undertaken so that previous inaccuracies which were not detectable are now able to be detected by current testing technology.
  • AWA estimates that less than 1% of the pedigree entries, ownership or breeding details in the AWA Herdbook may have errors or which may be misleading. For this reason, users ought to consider if they need to obtain independent testing of the relevant animal (if possible) to ensure that the data is accurate.

Regarding prefectural content, it is very important to appreciate, and you need to be aware that:

  • Prefectural content is based on the estimation of prefectural origin from Japanese breeding records of 201 foundation sires and 168 foundation dams.  As genotype-based parent verification is not used in Japan, and full Japanese registration certificates are not available for all foundation animals, exact prefectural composition for these sires and dams cannot be validated.
  • The calculation of prefectural content for Australian Herdbook animals relies on the accuracy of pedigree records and DNA samples provided by AWA members.
  • The reporting of prefectural content for animals within the AWA Herdbook relies on the calculation provided by ABRI.

If you consider that you do not understand or appreciate the nature and extent of the data provided on this website or the EBVs of a particular animal, then AWA strongly recommends that you seek independent expert advice.

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