Wagyu Breeders Association set to be EU-wide hub for European Wagyu populations
An agreement has been reached for Spanish Wagyu breeders to register their Fullblood and crossbred Wagyu cattle through the Wagyu Breeders Association (WBA) of Britain & Ireland. Breeders in Spain will now have access to the innovative online animal registration, tag and DNA Interface developed by the WBA with its partners TL Biolabs and Caisley Tags.
Commenting, WBA Company Secretary, Richard Saunders, says: “With a similarly sized Wagyu population to that of the UK, having Spain join will effectively double our animal throughput and at the same time generate important income for the WBA.”
Further to a visit by Spanish Wagyu breeders to the UK at the end of February, a Services Agreement has been signed by both the WBA and EmbrioMarket who will act for breeders on the Spanish side.
With the WBA already working with its counterpart in Australia, the Australian Wagyu Association (AWA), the WBA is tipped to be the hub for further EU associations to link through to Australia and its world-leading Breedplan genetic evaluations provided by ABRI (Agricultural Business Research Institute) to the global benefit of the Wagyu breed.
Daniel Martinez from EmbrioMarket comments: “Spanish breeders will now be able to use the WBA Interface to register their cattle and benefit from the complete registration, DNA and tag package to help promote the breed in Spain.” This rounded approach ensures lifetime traceability of premium Wagyu beef backed by robust science and its own Wagyu brand.
“With Wagyu populations in the USA, Australia, Britain & Ireland already part of a single global database, and with other EU members now joining, Wagyu producers will soon be able to access genomic tests for the key, market-driven traits of Wagyu beef namely tenderness, marbling and healthy eating,” adds Richard Saunders.
The WBA will be holding its ‘UK Wagyu Revolution Conference’ in Yorkshire on Monday 27th June where the keynote speaker is Australian Wagyu Association CEO Graham Truscott. Delegates will discover how the Wagyu Breeders' Association in Britain & Ireland is tapping into the huge success of Wagyu in Australia that has seen membership grow by 32% in the past year and registrations predicted to triple in the next few years.