Some Australia beef producers would question our nation’s competitiveness in the international market when beef powerhouses such as the US come into play.
However, America is on the brink of waving the flag as our strongest ally on the red meat scene should a global genetic partnership deal be sealed over the course of Beef Australia 2018.
American Brangus Association CEO Dr Tommy Perkins, San Antonio, Texas, boasts a PhD in animal science and genetics and visited Queensland’s beef capital this week in what he called a vacation with a hint of business.
“I came to watch the Brangus judging but also to meet with officials from the Brangus association,” he said.
“We’re looking at trying to create a global genetic evaluation process so we can include Australian cattle, American cattle and Argentinian cattle in one big evaluation group.”
The world Brangus conference was held in Houston, Texas, in March and Dr Perkins said a strong contingency of Australians were present discussing the large amount of semen and embryos purchased in America and shipped home to Australia.
He said unfortunately government issues prevented the same transactions in reverse, yet it was important to maintain a joint partnership and positive relationship between the two nations as genetic work was the way of the future.
“The Australian Brangus Association will win in that deal because we have such a large database and can offer so much help Down Under,” he said.
“We’ve been in genomics for about six years and we’re discussing options for America to offer some of our genomics free of cost so Australian producers can go in and start their programs at the upper level instead of from scratch.”
Dr Perkins hoped to finalise the deal at Beef Australia 2018 to have the process flowing as soon as possible.
Undoubtedly, the American beef industry would also win from the partnership.
Dr Perkins said giving Australians the ability to evaluate American genetics in line with their own made it likely Aussie producers would find US lines very competitive and in turn wish to buy more American genetics.
“There are already pure American genetics operating within Australia and despite being born and raised here through embryo work they are actually 100 per cent American, and the quality of the cattle is very good,” he said.
American Brangus cattle typically show a 37.5 per cent Brahman influence as compared to a 54 per cent Brahman influence in Australia.
Dr Perkins said the higher Brahman content in Australia was to be expected given tough climatic conditions but there was no sacrifice on softness or desirable carcase attributes with many noticeable improvements in recent years.
“I was here six years ago and the quality has improved immensely in that time frame,” he said.
“I’m seeing more volume and more moderate, wider based cattle that offer those big bellied, soft, loose and growthy traits we beef producers like to see.
“Typically we select for more levelness from hooks to pins and our cattle are more square through the rump structure but other than that they’re pretty similar.”
Brangus are the eighth largest breed in America operating in 37 states with dominance in the southern tier.
With about 50,000 cows in the American Brangus inventory and a possible free leg up into the world of genomic exploration for Australian producers, such a partnership can only be a positive move for Brangus breeders and our beef industry in general.
