VOL 2, NO 15

2021 continues to bring good news to the Wagyu breed. Auctions have been strong and well attended, new membership applications continue to come in, and demand for Wagyu beef has never been stronger.

Included in this week’s newsletter is an article from NCBA that brings good news to the Wagyu breed as demand for beef is up, consumer confidence is strong, and positive trend to online and farm to market sales.

The 2021 Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Research Symposium and Convention program is now confirmed. This year’s event will be hosted in person June 22-25 in Des Moines, Iowa.

Also, a note from our good friends in Australia as they prepare to host their annual conference and tour April 27-29, 2021.

Change of Physical Address at the AWA Office
The city of Post Falls, ID has changed our physical mailing address for 911 purposes.
If you send anything to the AWA via UPS or FedEx please update your records accordingly:
American Wagyu Association
958 S Lochsa St. Suite 120
Post Falls, ID 83854

For all regular US Postal Service Mail please continue to use our regular mailing address:
American Wagyu Association
P.O. Box 1115
Post Falls, ID 83877
This is the best address for US postal service mail.

If you any questions regarding the change of address, please contact the AWA office.

Impact of COVID-19 on Consumer Behaviors (NCBA)
The number of consumers who say they intend to eat beef at least weekly increased from 67 percent to 72 percent compared to 2019, and consumer positive perceptions of beef reached 70 percent for the first time1, according to a new report released by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association(NCBA), a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, that examines the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on consumer attitudes, behaviors and perceptions.

“The impact of the pandemic has been transformative in every corner of our economy,” said Buck Wehrbein, 2020 NCBA Federation Division Chair. “The good news is that consumers are choosing beef more often as they adapt to cooking more at home.” The full “State of the Consumer” Report, with detailed statistics and graphs can be found here.…
beefitswhatsfordinner.com/newsroom/state-of-the-consumer

Iowa to Host 53rd Annual Beef Improvement Federation Research Symposium and Convention
MANHATTAN, KAN. – The 2021 Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Research Symposium and Convention program is now confirmed. This year’s event will be hosted in person June 22-25 in Des Moines, Iowa.

The BIF Symposium features two and a half days of educational programming and a full day of tours. The first general session — “Beef Industry: Where is it going?” — will feature presentations by Michael Uetz, Midan Marketing; Jim Pillen, Pillen Family Farms; and Dr. Dan Thomson, Iowa State University Department of Animal Science chair. During the second general session the theme will be Precision Livestock Technology. Speakers Thursday will include Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam, UC Davis; Justin Sexten, Precision Livestock Analytics; Pat Wall, ISU extension specialist; Reiss Bruning, Bruning Farms; and Cody Jorgensen, Jorgensen Land and Livestock.

The afternoon technical breakout sessions both days will focus on a range of beef-production and genetic-improvement topics. The conference also features a Young Producer Symposium on Tuesday afternoon, designed for networking and to equip young cattle producers with essential knowledge as they grow their role in the business. Tuesday evening attendees will enjoy an opening reception as well as the National Association of Animal Breeders (NAAB) symposium.

This year’s event is being planned to take place in person. “The BIF Board believes it is imperative to provide ‘face-to-face’ networking and educational opportunities for its members. We understand that our in person 2021 meetings might look a little different, but we are excited to begin meeting together again,” says Dr. Bob Weaber, BIF executive director.

Registration is scheduled to open April 15. Online registration will be available at BIFSymposium.com.

For more conference details, including registration options, complete program and lodging information, visit BIFSymposium.com. Prior to and during this year’s symposium, be sure to follow the event on social media channels using the hashtag #BIF2021.

Each year the BIF symposium draws a large group of leading seedstock and commercial beef producers, academics and allied industry partners. The attendance list is a “who’s who” of the beef value chain, offering great networking opportunities and conversations about the issues of the day. Program topics focus on how the beef industry can enhance value through genetic improvement across a range of attributes that affect the value chain.

Learn More About Expected Progeny Differences
Trait descriptions, how to read EPD, information on accuracy, percentile rank tables and guidelines for the publication of EPD are all available, simply follow this link. https://wagyu.org/members/genetic-evaluation/

Australian Wagyu Association Hosts WagyuEdge 2021: In-person, Online, On-demand
The WagyuEdge 2021 Annual Conference and Tour will take place 27-29 April, at RACV Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast, with the Tour for delegates to take in southern and central Queensland Wagyu operations between 30 April – 3 May to finish up at Beef2021 in Rockhampton.

The Wagyu sector’s annual conference and tour attracts between 400 and 600 attendees annually. This year online attendance is offered as part of our first ever hybrid conference presentation.

Registrations are open to virtual delegates for the conference. We welcome our international members to be a virtual delegate, with full access to all the conference presentations as it happens. All presentations will also be recorded and posted immediately so that you can get up and watch at a time it suits you.

Our speakers have a high level of expertise in Wagyu production, genetics and marketing and will include leading Japanese Researchers in genetics and production trends in Japanese Black, keynote Australian and New Zealand presenters from large and developing supply chains focused on genetics, global marketing and integrity.

Our focus is to gain insights on herd re-building and genetic improvement and scaling up across the sector. We will hear first-hand from leading Australian and international Wagyu operations on their experiences and factors underpinning their success.

A particular highlight of the conference is the Elite Wagyu Sale, to be held on Day 2, 28 April 2021, featuring the top 5% of EBV traits and top 1% of Breed $Indexes. With limited Lots in this Sale, it is promising to be a high caliber Sale, attracting Vendors and Buyers from around the world.

An additional treat for attendees is the 2021 Wagyu Branded Beef Competition Gala Dinner announcement ceremony. The AWA Branded Beef Competition is the pinnacle of Wagyu awards, renowned across the sector as the benchmark for national brand recognition by industry. Awarding of winners, including the overall Grand Champion Wagyu Brand for 2021, will take place during the Gala Dinner on Day 2.

Early Bird rates for onsite delegates are currently open, and close 30 March 2021. For those that cannot make the event in person - registration is available for virtual delegates where all presentations will be available to watch online or at their leisure. To register, visit https://www.wagyu.org.au/wagyu-edge-conference

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