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Australian Wagyu Association has confirmed international genomics leader Weatherbys Scientific as a new genotyping provider for its 1400-plus members.<\/p>\n
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TO EXPAND access to advanced genotyping services, the Australian Wagyu Association (AWA) has confirmed international genomics leader Weatherbys Scientific as a new genotyping provider for its 1400-plus Australian and international members.<\/p>\n
The collaboration is set to make DNA testing more accessible, affordable and accurate to AWA\u2019s members, offering powerful tools to enable more informed decisions that drive long-term genetic gain.<\/p>\n
Australian Wagyu Association CEO, Dr Matt McDonagh.<\/p>\n AWA Chief Executive Officer, Dr Matt McDonagh, said the partnership with Weatherbys Scientific would deliver immediate benefits and play a vital role in the ongoing prosperity of the breed.<\/p>\n \u201cThis collaboration with Weatherbys opens up real opportunities for our members as genotyping strengthens the accuracy of Estimated Breeding Values, enhances transparency and gives buyers confidence in what they\u2019re purchasing,\u201d Dr McDonagh said.<\/p>\n \u201cAustralian Wagyu is already a global success story but to stay at the top, and drive future growth, we need access to world-class genomic tools, and the pricing model is very attractive to Australian Wagyu Association members.\u201d<\/p>\n Weatherbys Scientific Business Development Manager, Michael-John Barry, said the partnership would help deepen the relationship with one of Australian agriculture\u2019s success stories.<\/p>\n \u201cAustralian Wagyu breeders are some of the most innovative and forward-looking in the world in the quest for constant improvement in a competitive marketplace,\u201d Mr Barry said.<\/p>\n Weatherbys Scientific Business Development Manager ANZ, Michael-John Barry.<\/p>\n \u201cOur partnership with AWA has the aligned interests of providing more options to their members, allowing better genotyping uptake to support AWA genetic improvement and accuracy objectives, and the desire for continuous new product development.\u201d<\/p>\n With more than 250 years of operations, family-owned Weatherbys Scientific has been supporting breeders across Europe since the eighteenth\u00a0century before expanding globally. Blending its long heritage with seven years on the ground in Australia, Weatherbys Scientific now pairs its long history of research and development with the most innovative new techniques to make us a trusted and cost-effective genotyping partner.<\/p>\n Celebrating 40 years of genotyping this year, Weatherbys Scientific Head of Research and Development, Paul Flynn said the AWA partnership marked a significant step forward in the application of advanced genomic technologies to Wagyu breeding.<\/p>\n \u201cThe collaboration brings together a combination of heritage, industry experience and the latest genomic technology for the long-term advancement of the Wagyu breed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe look forward to this partnership with AWA which will leverage our established track record and availability of latest molecular technologies to help serve AWA and respective breeders on their journey of realising their breeding objectives.\u201d<\/p>\n Innovative new DNA chip now available in Australia<\/p>\n To support AWA members, Weatherbys Scientific has developed a suite of bespoke service offerings tailored specifically to the Wagyu industry.<\/p>\n The 85K chip, run on the Illumina technology platform, fully integrates with AWA\u2019s database, parentage and genetic evaluation systems. Testing confirms significant overlap with products offered by existing providers, with 99.8pc concordance across common SNPs. This means different genomic products deliver the same result at an individual animal level.<\/p>\n The genetic tests cover a wide spectrum of traits, from health and welfare right through to coat colour, offering a broad range of genomic output for breeders\u2019 consideration. Combined with Weatherbys Scientific\u2019s proven track record in delivering accurate and reliable bovine genomic profiles, the partnership promises a seamless sample-to-data process for AWA and its members.<\/p>\n Weatherbys Scientific Head of Research and Development, Paul Flynn.<\/p>\n \u201cThese services can be delivered as bundles, add-ons, or standalone options, providing flexibility for breeders at every stage of their program,\u201d Mr Flynn said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe new service is already live, with the first results successfully delivered. Pricing has been designed to be highly competitive, giving AWA breeders access to world-class genomic testing solutions at exceptional value.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are looking forward to talking more about the innovative new products we\u2019re bringing to Australia and New Zealand and will make further announcements publicly soon, but I encourage anyone interested in the latest genetic testing technology to get in touch for a private briefing on our next-generation products so they put our industry-leading tools to the test.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking ahead, Mr Flynn said Weatherbys Scientific\u2019s research and development team will continue to enhance its Wagyu-specific offerings, ensuring they evolve in line with the AWA\u2019s strategic objectives.<\/p>\n \u201cBoth organisations are united in their vision to enhance advancements in genomic technologies and better the Wagyu breed for future generations,\u201d Mr Flynn said.<\/p>\n Dr McDonagh added that the two organisations shared a drive for continual improvement in the face of developing consumer demand.<\/p>\n \u201cLast financial year, we saw a 30 percent increase in genomic DNA turnover to 100,000 genomic tests so this partnership is coming at a pivotal moment for our members,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWeatherbys brings innovation and a customer-first approach to the table, which aligns well with the values of AWA, which provides the largest and most accurate global genetic analysis of Wagyu with over 400,000 animals included in our fortnightly Wagyu genetic analysis.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n For more information, visit www.weatherbysscientifc.com.au<\/a> or www.wagyu.org.au<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Australian Wagyu Association has confirmed international genomics leader Weatherbys Scientific as a new genotyping provider for its 1400-plus…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126933,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[64,63,88799,88800,13331,1115,336,88801,42385,128,27460,11708,88802],"class_list":{"0":"post-126932","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-genetics","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-australian-wagyu-association","11":"tag-awa","12":"tag-cattle","13":"tag-dna","14":"tag-genetics","15":"tag-genotype","16":"tag-genotyping","17":"tag-science","18":"tag-testing","19":"tag-wagyu","20":"tag-wetherbys"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126932\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.beefcentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Image-Two-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nAt the centre of this is the launch of an exciting new-generation chip in Australia and New Zealand to provide a genotype-only service complemented by a range of Wagyu-pertinent genetic tests.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n