Wagyu Progeny Test Program

NOMINATION INFORMATION & SELECTION PROCESS

Information to complete a nomination and details on the selection process

Nominate your Sire/s for the third intake of the Wagyu Progeny Test Program.

Participation is encouraged from domestic and international-born Fullblood and Purebred sires. Animals may be nominated by the AWA member (owner) who has legal ownership of the animal/s and/or represents the interests of all owners and wishes to nominate for participation in the Project in agreement with the terms and conditions of the Project.

Contact

Laura Penrose
Genetic Projects Manager

Phone 0437 356 759
Email  [email protected]

Katie Dailey
Genetic Projects Officer

Phone 02 8880 7712
Email  [email protected]

 

Bull (Semen Sire) Owners

Any Australian or international based AWA member can nominate sires for the AWA-PTP, giving all AWA members the opportunity to have their sires proven through the world’s largest independent Fullblood Japanese Black Wagyu Progeny Test Program outside Japan. Bull Owners will receive improved BREEDPLAN EBVs and accuracies for current and new traits.

Entry requirements

Wagyu sires that enter the AWA-PTP must be Herdbook-registered, Fullblood Japanese Black Wagyu sires, nominated by Australian Wagyu Association members.

Fees, terms and conditions

Members can nominate sires under two categories

Project Standard Sire     AUD $7,500 plus GST
260 semen straws to be supplied to the Project

  • 60 straws to be retained and used by the project
  • 200 straws will be offered for public tender as part of 20 semen packages (10 straws from each sire (maximum 20) chosen by the purchaser). Where possible, some export quality semen packages will be available for tender, however, sire selection may be limited.
  • 30 sires will be accepted as Project standard sires each year.

Project Link Sire     AUD $15,000 plus GST
200 semen straws to be supplied to the project

  • 100 straws to be used across two years, creating double the progeny numbers and enabling genetic linkage between years of the project within the analysis.
  • Semen from these sires will not be offered for tender, with residual straws (100) held by AWA for use in future genetic projects as Link Sires.
  • In the first year of the project, a maximum of 10 sires will be accepted as “Link Sires”, with subsequent years calling for five new “Link Sires” to join the existing pool of sires.

Sire entry checklist

To complete the nomination form, you will need:

  1. Your AWA Member ID & contact details
  2. Each animal’s ID number.
  3. Which category you are entering (Standard or Link sire).
  4. If semen has been collected, you’ll need the storage facility name, location and contact details for this facility.
  5. Whether export qualified semen is available, and if so, for which countries.
  6. Animal health records including health status or proof of vaccination for Pestivirus, IBR, Vibriosis and Leptospirosis (dates must be prior to semen collection).
  7. If you wish to nominate 5 or more sires, you will need to download a Sire Nomination Template. This form can be completed ahead of time and uploaded with your nomination form.

Please note, fees and terms and conditions differ depending on if you nominate a standard or link sire. Please ensure to indicate the correct sire type for each sire you nominate.

Selection Process

The AWA Genetic Improvement Committee, in conjunction with an independent quantitative genetics’ advisor, will make recommendations on animals to be accepted into the Project to the AWA-PTP Consultative Committee. The AWA-PTP Consultative Committee will be responsible for the selection of animals.

Recommendations will be based on the following criteria:
– Linkage within the Wagyu breed
– EBV diversity and accuracy
– Younger or unproven (low progeny number) animals are preferred, however high accuracy link-sires will also be considered
– Genetic conditions (testing for genetic conditions must be completed)
– Animal health status (proven to have tested negative for or vaccinated against Pestivirus, IBR, Vibriosis & Leptospirosis).

Please note, preference will be given to animals from members who have a high herd completeness of performance recording and data submission to Wagyu BREEDPLAN. All nominated animals must be genomic DNA tested as recognised within Wagyu BREEDPLAN monthly reports.

Next Steps

You may be required to provide AWA with a full animal health history including recent test results or proof of vaccination against Pestivirus, Infection Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR), Campylobacter (Vibriosis) and Leptospirosis).

If your nominated sire/s have not yet been collected and are not yet at a collection centre, we strongly advise that you arrange for them to be placed into a collection centre to enable collection and shipment before 1 May 2023.

You will be provided with a sire owner agreement after you nominate, which needs to be pre-signed pending the acceptance of your sire/s by the AWA Genetic Improvement Committee & AWA-PTP Consultative Committee.

PROJECT TIMELINE

16 December 2022 – Cohort three nominations close
February 2023 – AWA Genetic Improvement Committee meeting
February 2023 – Recommendations made to the AWA-PTP Consultative Committee
March/April 2023 – Bull Owners notified of the selection outcome
April 2023 – Accepted Sires Announced at WagyuEdge23 (AWA Annual Conference in Sydney)
April/May 2023 – Shipment of semen straws to AWA Storage Facility
June 2023 – PTP Semen Sale by Tender
October to November 2023 – Southern AI programs commence
November 2023 to February 2024 – Northern AI programs commence

Got a question?

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.