CWB Audits & Morgan beef

After nearly six months of negotiation, we have finalised our agreement with CPG, SAMIC and the Department of Agriculture regarding the CWB audits. The intention is and has always been to provide our CWB members with a Registered Quality Indication Mark (claim and protocol) that is credible yet cost effective. The retail sector and producers are used to these audits for products such as natural beef, grass-fed beef, karoo lamb etc. The Wagyu “claim” is something new to Wagyu breeders however and I believe we have negotiated a system that is fair to everyone, including the retailers. The protocol and audit document needs to include the latest changes and will be distributed to all producers within the next few days.

For Wagyu to work, their needs to be a significant premium that allows producers to afford the audit costs. Developments in our Wagyu industry over the last six months is finally adding the value to the carcass that enables these costs to be absorbed by the producer.

Protokol rondom CWB Abattoirs

CWB Abattoirs:

  • Die abattoir moet aan die CWB protokol voldoen.
  • Die dier word met die genootskap RFID tag gelees en geslag d.w.s. naspeurbaarheid regdeur.
  • ‘n Warm karkas gewig word geneem.
  • Die karkas eienaar kan op 5/6 of op 12/13 rib laat slag vir vet diepte.
  • Alle karkas data, die eienaar asook die koper van die karkas word op die databasis gelaai om aan alle naspeurbaarheid behoeftes te voldoen;
  • Die karkas data word aan die teler en die kantoor verskaf.

Morgan Beef

Omdat baie van ons telers se diere by Morgan is, besoek die kantoor Morgan om op ‘n gereelde basis te sorg dat die voerkraal aan die CWB protokol voldoen. Ons gee as volg terugvoer:

  • Genootskap oorplaaitjie (RFID) nou 100% in werking. Die kantoor het dit self getoets. Morgan gebruik die nuwe Gigalot sagteware wat beide die genootskap oorplaaitjie asook hulle eie “High Frequency” oorplaaitjie (voerkraal vriendelik vir hoë volume diere) kan hanteer.
  • Morgan sal slegs diere aanvaar wat deel is van die CWB protokol.
  • Morgan sal geensins diere toelaat wat nie aan die protokol voldoen nie. U diere sal nie afgelaai word nie;
  • Slegs osse wat voor 5 maande gekastreer is asook verse sal aanvaar word.
    • Indien nie korrek gekastreer, sal Morgan ‘n veearts kry om die dier te kastreer op die boer se koste (insluitend arbeid);
  • Ten minste 30 diere vanaf ‘n boer om ‘n kraal van 50-60 diere op te maak (moet dus bereid wees om met ander boere ‘n kraal te deel) sal aanvaar word;.
  • By aankoms sal ‘n intree gewig geneem word. Wagyu staan gewoonlik tussen ‘n jaar of twee in die voerkraal. Morgan Beef sal dus ten minste elke 3 maande ‘n gewig aan die teler verskaf en op versoek van die teler, maandeliks weeg sodra die diere slaggereed word;
  • Morgan sal daarna sorg dat alle diere die nodige protokol volg tot by slaggewig.

Base/Commercial cows

The Wagyu charges you only a once-off fee for the base (commercial) cows for your F1 heifers upgrading to seedstock/stud (a standard practice in many of the societies in the stud industry). If the heifers are to be used for slaughter, they should be moved to the CWB register (no fee is charged). You must please let the office know the heifer calves that are not to be used for stud.

CWB voerkrale wat Wagyu voer

Die protokol wat op die plaas moet gebeur voordat diere na ‘n voerkraal gestuur word:

  • Bulle moet verkieslik voor ‘n ouderdom van 3 maande gekastreer wees en beslis voor 5 maande.
  • Daar moet reeds ‘n geboorte asook ‘n speengewig op die plaas geneem wees en daar moet ten minste teen 0.6 kg per GDT oor die periode groei wees.
  • Diere moet ‘n CWB oorplaatjie in die oor hê. Formaat van bestuurs oorplaatjie moet wees kudde kenmerk/jaar/nommer. Let wel, die kudde kenmerk ontbreek by sommige kuddes wat dit baie moeilik vir die voerkraal maak om u diere te identifiseer.
  • DNA moet geverifieer wees.
  • Diere moet op die databasis wees voordat hulle by die voerkraal aankom
    • ‘n Registrasie vorm asook beweging (transfer) vorm moet aan die kantoor verskaf word voor diere geskuif word vir naspeurbaarheid.
  • Voerkraal sal vereis dat u beide die CWB lidmaatskap asook CPG oudit sertifikaat verskaf.

DNA SNP profiles

We have had a good response from members taking up our offer of subsided SNP tests for Purebred and fullblood cattle. Ideally we should be SNP’ing the F1 progeny for their carcass data but realize that this might be prohibitively expensive. The offer to members to move to SNP’s for the purebreds and fullbloods, where the Wagyu Society committed R100 000 as a subsidy for one out each five tests, on a first come first serve basis has been changed to a maximum of 25 tests per producer.

SNP based DNA will give Wagyu producers in South Africa the opportunity to genotype animals that will enable easier identification of parentage, more accurate performance recording, better detection of genetic conditions as well as more accurate linkages through genetic relationships rather than just pedigrees.

Selection Indexes

Our producers now receive monthly genetic evaluations that covers both growth and carcass traits. We now have the following records being analysed:

Birth Weight: 16425

200 day weight: 21216

400 day weight: 15059

600 day weight: 15081

Mature weight: 1979

Carcass weight: 4361

Carcass Eye muscle 2694

Carcass IMF (marbling) 5367

 

Estimated Breeding Values – EBV’s (the gold standard for selection) are being produced for all these traits. However, the ultimate goal is to put the appropriate weighting on these traits to produce an “Overall EBV’ to target a specific production environment. WSA is working with ABRI-BREEDPLAN to produce a “Selection Index” targeting two production systems i.e.

  • a terminal production system for the production of F1 calves and
  • a self-replacing Index for the Stud-Seedstock producer to produce replacement heifers and still put emphasis on high marbling bulls with good rib-eye’s.

 

The breed improvement committee, with input from leading producers, are also examining different feeding regimes for different ages for example 300, 350 and 400 days on feed for F1 production, and to examine if bulls will rank differently. Results will be shared with members before being finalised. A questionnaire for producers will also be circulated.