Introducing Office Personnel and their responsibilities

Activity – February 2024

An information and training day with a Junior Inspection course was held on 29 February 2024 at Amersfoort, Mpumalanga.

The day was a huge success with 105 attendees and 8 participants of the junior inspection course. We had farmers, farm managers, government representatives of local and national Municipalities as well as lecturers with their students from the University of Mpumalanga (UMP) who joined our information day.

Some samples of Wagyu branded clothing was available for sale as well as Wagyu tasters for everyone to sample the magnificent taste of Wagyu Steaks!

The Wagyu Society would like to thank Mr Thabani Nxumalo from Ithembelihle Group for hosting this wonderful initiative with Wagyu. We thank Dr Baldwin Nengovhela (Wagyu Director of Social Development) & Mr Waldo Scheepers (Wagyu Director of Breed Improvement & Genomics) for informing our guests on all Wagyu topics and Waldo for instructing the junior inspection course and last but not least we thank both Martin Claassen and Mawande Ngayo for all your hard work and enthusiasm on this special day.

Activity – March 2024

Fritz Bezuidenhout is doing a friendly farm visit drive through the Eastern Cape between 10-15 March 2024 for informal visits.

This is an opportunity to have a chat about everything Wagyu or if anyone needs any information or assistance, he will be there to answer questions or inform on Wagyu progress etc.

Important Information

  • Feedlots – all breeders that currently have any animals at a feedlot must please supply a list of these animals to the office as soon as possible. The office must be informed of animal movements throughout the Value Chain for full traceability.
  • The Wagyu constitution requires that for stud animals, calves must be DNA verified to Sire and Dam i.e. both parents must be DNA tested. For CWB animals (commercial) all calves must be DNA tested to the Sire.
  • Ear tag must be in the ear within three months of birth. At the same time take a DNA sample and immediately send it together with the calf registration and DNA 780 form to the office
  • All animals MUST be registered on the Wagyu or CWB system database within six months as specified in the constitution.
  • Take the weaning weight of every calf at more or less 200 days (6 months). BREEDPLAN accepts all weights within the 80 – 300-day age range. Record the cow’s Mature Cow Weight (MCW) on the same day as the weaning weight of her calf. Report MCW by indicating “M” in the Analysis Indicator column.
  • Sale catalogues – If you are interested in having a sale or auction, please contact the office a month in advance to help with a catalogue and to make sure all animals are correct on the system.
  • PLEASE TAKE NOTE that the office will be closed from 13h00 on every pay weekend Friday (exact dates on the Wagyu Calendar).
  • The banking details have changed for all CWB payments, please note the new banking details at the bottom of each invoice and statement.

Breeding Tools 101: What are EBV’s?

The Breed Improvement & Product Support Committees have put together an easy-to-understand manual for members. This is the first in a series of manuals to be released throughout the following months. Breeding Tools 101 illustrates what exactly contributes to creating EBVs. This helpful tool will guide you to not only understand EBVs but also how to use EBVs in your herd.

You can download the manual from the Wagyu website by following the link https://5.tipsy.co.za/manuals-breedplan/

Commencement of CPG Audits 2023

CPG will commence with the annual audits for 2023 starting in March. Last year the audits were carried out online due to FMD. However, this year audits will be carried out on-site. Please take note of the following:

  • All CWB members are to be audited annually.
  • Action taken to correct findings from previous audits must be shown. Send an email to tumisang@5.tipsy.co.za if you have not received your previous audit report.
  • An audit can only be postponed once.
  • To decrease the travel cost of the auditor, audits are scheduled on route. If an audit was postponed the member will be solely responsible for the travel cost of the auditor.
  • The office will send out the scheduled audit dates via email.
  • The CPG auditor will contact the member to confirm the time of the audit by latest a week before the audit is to take place.

Members who do not show up for their scheduled audit automatically fail the audit. A subsequent audit will be scheduled, and both the failed and subsequent audits will be billed to the member. To prevent a failed audit due to lack of attendance, contact the CWB office as soon as possible:

  • Check when your audit is scheduled and set a reminder for yourself.
  • Notify CWB immediately if your contact details or the contact person have changed.
  • Notify CWB in writing if you are unable to attend the audit for any reason. The notice must be given at least 2 weeks before the audit is scheduled to take place. Note that the audit can only be moved once.
  • Notify CWB if the auditor has not contacted you at least one week in advance telephonically or via email to confirm the date and time of the scheduled audit.
  • Familiarize yourself with the criteria of CWB that apply to your business. The CWB audit booklet can be downloaded at https://5.tipsy.co.za/manuals-breedplan/
  • If you are unsure about any of the requirements you can contact CWB directly or schedule a farm visit before the audit. To schedule a farm audit please send an email to tumisang@5.tipsy.co.za.
  • Notify CWB immediately on the day of the audit if the auditor has not contacted you and failed to carry out the audit, to avoid being billed for a failed audit due to lack of attendance.

Compliance with the CWB protocol, as well as the successful completion of the audit, remains the responsibility of all CWB members. The office is available to assist with any enquiries. As well as making farm visits before the start of the audit. Contact Tumi in the office by email at tumisang@5.tipsy.co.za or by phone at +27514921852. The auditors (CPG) can also be contacted by email at elizra@ltlgroup.global or auditor16@ltlgroup.global and by phone at +27 10 010 0685 or +27 76 145 9149.