Jeremy and Carmen Cooper, Circle 8 Bulls, use DNA testing to accelerate the rate of genetic improvement in their Wagyu herd.

The power of DNA testing and genomic analysis has put within reach the ‘triple crown’ of achieving three-times the breed average for growth, carcase weight and marbling for Circle 8 Bulls’ Jeremy Cooper.

The Marulan, NSW, based Wagyu breeder says the milestone would not have been possible without an early decision to adopt new genomic selection technologies, which have rapidly accelerated the rate of improvement in his herd.

And now the inclusion of these elite Wagyu genetics in a commercial Angus breeding group for F1 Wagyu production is generating new possibilities for advanced genomic analysis, through new a customised DNA testing program being developed by Neogen.

“My first use of genomics was in the late 1990s when I was solely breeding Angus cattle and when I learnt about DNA testing, I knew I needed to start using this technology for verifying my animals’ parentage and giving them pedigree integrity,” Mr Cooper said.

“It was expensive at the time, but I knew that as the technology moved forward that one day we would be able to look inside the animal at key genetic traits.”

Circle 8 Bulls currently supplies about 50 Wagyu bulls to a NSW-based supply chain, which runs 5000 Angus cows, with plans to increase the herd to 8000 in the future.

Working with Neogen, Circle 8 is implementing its first Igenity Enhanced testing program. Neogen’s Igenity Beef test is designed to provide commercial cattle breeders with an objective genetic selection tool for within herd ranking. It utilises DNA to predict genetic variation in both heifers and steers, providing an additional selection tool to commercial producers to use when culling, joining or supplementary feeding.

By applying the Igenity testing system across the various commercial cows that are bought for the breeding group each year, the breeders will be able rank the female population for joining or culling, with only the top females selected for mating with the elite Wagyu bulls.

“We’ll then collect DNA from the progeny, along with feedlot and carcase data, and through the Igenity Enhanced analysis, we’ll have a comprehensive set of rankings for a range of production traits to use in when making selection decisions for the next generation,” Mr Cooper said.

“With the Igenity Enhanced rankings, we will be able to accelerate the rate of genetic improvement, increasing marbling and decreasing days on feed. This whole process has only been made possible through the use of genomics.”

Source: Neogen