Ascot Cattle Co Leaves No Stone Unturned with Genomics
Ascot Angus and Charolais are using genomic testing solutions to lift productivity and genetic gain in its stud operation, which is having a flow on effect to its clients and the wider supply chain.
Owned and operated by Jim and Jackie Wedge, the forward-thinking stud is based at North Toolburra Station, Warwick, Queensland.
The business operates to strict standards utilising both modern and traditional methods to deliver what they describe as low-risk, thick, polled bulls, bred with an MSA-targeted approach.
According to Jim, the couple made the decision to concentrate solely on the stud side of the industry to enable them to focus on maximising genetic gains within their herd to breed bulls that will be highly profitable for their clients.
At present, there are around 450 stud breeders on the property, all of which are genomically tested in what Jim describes as a balanced breeding program that produces around 160 bulls per year across the two breeds.
“Every calf gets tested at roughly two months of age,” he said.
“The traits we’re looking for are pretty well balanced across the board. We want docility, calving ease, we want good early growth, good fertility. And then obviously, good carcase traits. We don’t breed for any particular trait over others.”
Jackie said genomic testing every animal and using that information together with traditional phenotyping makes strategic breeding decisions easier.
“It’s very important to know what breeders you keep, what bulls you sell and how we use those within our program,” Jackie said.
The Wedges say innovation is at the heart of everything they do.
They are committed to upholding the highest standards in Angus cattle breeding, striving to innovate all aspects of their operations and leaving no stone unturned to ensure their customers receive the best possible outcomes.
“The genomics allows us to get higher accuracy,” Jim said.
“When I’m trying to pick out a potential donor cow, the pedigree can be exactly the same, but the genomics allows you to pick out the one that’s going to give you the most genetic gain.”
The effort by the Wedges is already producing dividends, with their 2024 bull sale average ranking sixth overall across all sales and breeds held in Australia (138 Angus and Charolais bulls sold to average $17,123). Further their Angus result (73 Angus bulls sold to average $17,329) placed them fourth within the Angus breed & ranked No1 in QLD.
“It’s making some headway, and I think genomics has really helped us with that,” Jim said.
“We can really drill down and get some good genetic gain, which our clients are really appreciating.”
About 10-20% of the bulls from Ascot are sold to other stud breeders who the Wedges know pay close attention to their genomic test results. However, they have also noticed increasing interest from commercial customers too.
“Particularly the younger ones that are coming through more educated in this modern era, they’ll be looking for that genomic testing as well,” Jim said.
“The more stud people use it, and the more commercial people realise what it’s all about, it will definitely keep growing.”
Jackie said not only do they use genomics to assist with their own decision-making at Ascot, but to deliver their product to the standard they set of themselves, it plays an important role in assisting their customers to make the choices that are right for them.
“I think as stud breeders we are trusted to do everything we can do, because we’re creating this product for them to buy, to make them more profitable,” Jackie said.
So, it’s one of our tools to help our clients assess an animal that they’re buying from us, to know that those EBV traits are as accurate as we can make them.
According to Jim, genomic testing is not just an advantage, it is fast becoming an expectation.
“We use semen from the US, for example. Those bulls have got to be genomic tested before we use them so we know their traits are what we think they are,” Jim said.
“And we’re exporting to New Zealand. Once again, the people that want that semen in New Zealand want genomics done on those bulls, so the EBVs are more accurate.”
Ultimately, it comes back to productivity gains and return on investment.“It’s like any industry in Australia, or the world for that matter.
If your productivity is not going forward, you’re going backwards,” Jim said.
“Genomics is a really good way to lift that productivity, because it’s improving the accuracy of the traits that you really want in those cattle to lift the profitability.”
“You must adapt and adopt the technology,” Jackie said. “That’s the way forward.”
Jim and Jackie have been working with the team at Neogen since the AGL days at the University of Queensland citing customer service, reliability, an easy process, and the new state-of-the-art lab in Bundamba as some of the reasons they continue the relationship.
“We use genomics, we use the services at Neogen,” Jackie said.
“We just always saw it as an essential part of what we do as a stud operator that we need to be using every technology available to us and every tool we can use.
“It’s such an easy way to do it and always reliable. There’s no need to look elsewhere.”
