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Calendar of Events

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 9:58:47 EST

Romagnola Cattle on display at these Events:

2008

July

10 - 11 Innisfail Show

10 - 12 Ag - Grow Emerald

www.aggrow.com.au

16 - 18 Cairns Show

www.cairnsshow.com.au

August

7 - 16 Ekka, RNA Showgrounds

Judging: 8 August 2008, 8:30am, Ring 4

Members Meeting: 8 August 2008, 3:00pm, Meeting Room 5

www.ekka.com.au

29 - 30 Wondai Show

September

2 - 4 Ag Show, Toowoomba

www.agshow.com.au

9 - 10 Westech Field Days, Barcaldine

www.westechfielddays.com.au

26 - 27 Kyogle Show

October

11 Casino Show

15 - 19 Lismore Show

www.lismoreshow.org.au

December

TBA KIT (Keep in Touch) Meeting, Romagnola Beef Genetics

Matt & Anna Ahern, "Bulala", Roma

2009

May

4 - 8 Beef 2009, Rockhampton

www.beefaustralia.com.au

Planning an event? Want it included on our Calendar of Events?
Please Click Here to email us the details.

Registration of Cattle

Fri, 16 May 2008 9:55:54 EST

For an animal to be eligible to enter the Herd Book Register it must:

be the progeny of a Sire and Dam each of which are also registered in the Herd Book or;

comply with the table of blood percentages for upgrading.

Grading System

Letter	A	50% Romagnola Blood
	B	75% Romagnola Blood
	C	87.5% Romagnola Blood
	D	93.75% Romagnola Blood not deemed pure for cattle if wrong colour or pigmentation
	P	93.5% Romagnola Blood deemed pure bred cattle if colour & pigmentation are the same as full blood cattle
	F	100% both parents Italian blood

DAM GRADE	BLOOD %	SIRE GRADE
		Base	A	B	C	D	P	F
Base	To 50%	-	-	-	-	-	A	A
A	50 - 75%	-	A	A	A	A	B	B
B	75 - 87.4%	-	A	B	B	B	C	C
C	87.5 - 93.74%	-	A	B	C	C	D/P	D/P
D	93.75% +	-	A	B	C	D	D/P	D/P
P	93.75% +	A	B	C	D/P	D/P	D/P	D/P
F	100%	A	B	C	D/P	D/P	D/P	F
		Progeny Grade

Romagnola cattle containing 93.75% (15/16) Romagnola genes and showing coat colour and pigmentation to that of full blood Romagnola shall be deemed to be purebred cattle and be recorded with the letter "U" for all animals born before 1 January 1999. Animals born on or after 1 January 1999 will be recorded with the letter "P".

Fullblood Romagnola can only be the result of a mating of two original fullblood Romagnola animals and recorded with the letter "F".

Registration Fee

Female Inventory Fees (Annual)
A Grade	$5.50
B Grade	$11.00
C & D Grade	$16.50
P & U Grade	$22.00
F Grade	$22.00

Re-Instatement Fee
*(Fee + 1 year inventory)

$22.00

Calf Registrations
Natural, E.T. & A.I.	$5.50

Artificial Breeding
Unrestricted A.I.Sire approval for semen sales (once only)	$220.00
Donor Dam approval for Embryo sales (once only)	$44.00
Embryo Certificate	$11.00

Nominating a Herd Prefix and Tattoo

In accordance with the regulations, all Stud members are required to apply for a Herd Prefix & Herd Tattoo.

The Herd Prefix shall be used to, and as part of, the name of every animal registered within that herd and shall not exceed 25 characters. The Herd Tattoo shall comprise 3 characters.

Both the Herd Prefix and Tattoo shall be distinct from all others so as not to be misleading.

The following year letters shall apply for tattooing:

Year	Letter	Year	Letter
1997	S	2007	C
1998	T	2008	D
1999	U	2009	E
2000	V	2010	F
2001	W	2011	G
2002	X	2012	H
2003	Y	2013	J
2004	Z	2014	K
2005	A	2015	L
2006	B	2016	M

Tattoos shall show:

Alphabetical letter in accordance with Table 27 of the Regulations

Animal number - up to four numeric digits

Alphabetic grade

Should you require any further clarification please contact the Society office.

Click here for Registration Form

Click here for Inactive Female Form

Contact Us

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:35:11 EST

Within Australia

Phone: (07) 4921 2548

Fax: (07) 4927 4033

International

Phone: + 61 7 4921 2548

Fax: + 61 7 4927 4033

Email: info@romagnola.com.au

All queries should be directed to the Society Office.

PO BOX 1155 Rockhampton 4700.

122 Denham Street, Rockhampton. Qld 4700.

Office Hours are 8.30am to 5pm - Monday to Friday.

A.B.N. 99 063 283 938

Merchandise Available

The Romagnola Breeders Society has several items, promoting the Romagnola, for sale.

Tie - Navy blue with Romagnola Bull Head - $27.50 (incl. gst)

Badges - Two varieties - $5.50 (incl. gst)

(1) shape of Australia, black enamel, with silver Romagnola inside

(2) Oval Shape, pewter, with Romagnola inside

Stickers - "For a better end result" with Romagnola bull - 55c (incl.gst)

Caps - Maroon with "Romagnola" written in grey/black - $9.90 (incl. gst)

Appendix A:

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 15:01:42 EST

Breed Outline

The following outlines the Society's recommendations for those animals available for sale or placed on display at Society events.

Characteristics

Weight

Animals should be well grown for their age.

Recommended weight ranges for bulls are:

18 months of age - minimum of 500kg

24 months of age - minimum of 700kg

30 months of age - minimum of 850kg

Dentition

Under 18 months - Milk teeth

18 and under 24 months - 2 teeth

24 and under 30 months - 4 teeth

30 and under 36 months - 6 teeth

Scrotal circumference

Testicles should be even sized

21 months of age and over - minimum of 35cm

Vaccinations

Highly desirable

5 in 1

Lepto - or 7 in 1 for both

Vibrio

3 day sickness

Desirable

3 germ blood

Botulism

Performance Data

Veterinary Examination

Morphology

Crush side semen test

Soundness evaluation

Scans

Fat and eye muscle area

Genestar testing

Marbling, Tenderness and Feed efficiency

Female breeding history

Days to calving and gestation length

Standard of Excellence

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 20:02:59 EST

Breed Standards

Selection Goals

The purpose of selection as far as the Romagnola breed is concerned is to obtain cattle with a marked capacity to produce beef (significant growth rate, early maturation and yield at slaughter) with excellent eating quality characteristics, while ensuring the ability to adapt to all environments with superior fertility and maternal function.

Bull and Cow Ideal Conformation

Structure and Type

What is immediately striking about the Romagnola breed is its compact structure, which is due to the balanced development of the animal's trunk featuring notable thickness, and is also related to its well-expressed muscle development and exceptional leg structure. This compactness does not imply coarseness and must be accompanied by a light and distinctive head. Its agile movements and lively yet docile temperament represent additional elements that make it easy to appreciate the functional traits of a breed whose dynamic past can account for its great versatility in adapting even to harsh environments.

COAT - White with shades of grey spread, especially around the eye-sockets, the neck, the thighs and the ears.

PIGMENTATION - Black pigmentation should be seen in the following areas: oral mucosa, perivulvar and perianal area, switch and sheath hair, muzzle, hooves, tips of the horns and base of the scrotum The persistence of reddish hair exclusively around the poll area, a grey tail and partial depigmentation of the oral mucosa are tolerable in subjects with valuable functional-morphological traits.

Hair colour is ivory with darker shades of grey that are more intense on the forequarters, especially in bulls. The coat changes appearance depending on the season. During the winter the hair becomes much thicker and darkening in colour and conversely during summer the hair gets shorter and lighter. The variation in coat thickness allows the breed to adapt easily to a range of environments and temperatures. Romagnola calves are also born wheat-coloured and then turn white at around three months of age. The presence of red hair, particularly on the poll, is only tolerable in young cattle.

SKIN- Thin, elastic, easy to lift.

HEAD - Distinctive, expressive and light, not overly short; with a straight profile and a flat forehead with a broad muzzle.

Head dimensions must be proportionate to the animal's overall size, must indicate lightness and distinctiveness, showing very evident secondary sexual characteristics. The frontal profile should be straight or slightly concave and the forehead should be wide. The eyes are lively and well hooded within the socket and must have almond-shaped eyelids. The muzzle is wide, with broad cheek muscles. The dewlap must be light around the neck area. Ears are wide and set horizontally, and are extremely mobile.

NECK - Muscular and rounded in bulls, muscular in females. Light dewlap.

Powerful and muscular neck, covered with numerous skin folds. The neck is more muscular in males, even at an early age. The dewlap should be light.

SHOULDER - Broad and muscular, set closely to the trunk, parallel to the back line and properly angled.

The shoulder must be wide and should be covered with abundant muscle tissue. It must show harmonious continuity with the adjacent areas. In addition, there must be a proper joint angle between the shoulder blades and the upper leg bones (115-120°).

WITHERS - Broad and muscular.

They must be broad, muscular and flat, in relation with the productive capacity of this breed. This area must show notable muscle development on a general level and must blend harmoniously with the adjacent areas.

BACK - Straight, long, broad and muscular.

This is an area of fundamental importance, since these muscles yield the highest quality cuts that are the most tender and most valuable. The most important of these is the latissimus dorsi (eye muscle) which contributes to the value of the lumbar region. The back must demonstrate the greatest possible muscle development, to the point of presenting double convexity, blending well into the adjacent areas of the withers and loins without any discontinuity whatsoever.

LOINS - Thick, straight, long, broad and muscular.

In addition to the longissimus dorsi, this region includes other sublumbar muscles that constitute premium cuts such as fillet and sirloin. Like the back, the loins must also be extremely muscular, long and full. The dorsal line must be straight or slightly inclined from front to back (particularly in adult males). This shape indicates excellent structural strength and muscle tone.

CHEST - Broad and muscular.

This feature must be broad and powerful, muscular, sloping and full.

THORAX - Broad and deep, with well-arched ribs and well-covered with muscle mass.

The area has a primary role in determining the development of the rib cage and thus of adequate coronary and pulmonary function. Therefore, it is an important index of constitutional strength. In the Romagnola, the ribs are well arched and set vertically. Thorax height is always greater than the distance from the sternum to the ground.

ABDOMEN - Broad and well-supported.

The modern Romagnola type also involves a volumetric decrease of the abdomen, which must be well supported, making the underline practically straight. Adequate abdominal capacity is found in the increased length of the trunk, which works to the benefit of weight and yield.

FLANKS - Full well-connected with the adjacent areas.

RUMP - Long, broad and covered with enormous muscle mass; horizontal or slightly inclined from front to back. The sacral vertebrae are not very marked. Slender tail with proper insertion point, descending to the hock.

No compromises are possible as far as the surface and muscle development of the rump are concerned, given the importance of this area in producing premium cuts. The tail area must be flat and the tail must extend at least to the hock. The transverse diameters (pin bones) are pronounced, so that this breed is predisposed to an extremely low rate of calving problems, even at first calving.

THIGH - Deep, broad, muscular and convex.

BUTTOCKS - Thick, muscular and noticeably convex.

These areas, which are of primary importance in beef cattle, are particularly well-developed in Romagnola subjects of both genders. Muscle development, which tends to be short-lined, is compact and has markedly convex profiles in both areas.

FORELEGS - Proper slope, muscular arms and forearms, solid and light shin.

HIND LEGS - Proper slope, very muscular leg, lean strong hocks, solid and light shin.

FEET - Strong, very compact, with heels set high.

The Romagnola breed is widely recognized for the strength of its legs and feet. Both the forelegs as well as the hind legs must be lean, with sharp and sturdy joints that exhibit proper slope. The foot is average in size and is properly angled. The horny tissue is well pigmented, strong, compact and the heels are high. Movement should be agile and graceful.

UDDER - Well-developed vascularized and broad-based with even quarters. It should feel spongy with well-directed teats that are suitably sized for suckling.

The Romagnola cow is able to raise its calves until weaning without any problems, even in unfavourable environments. The udder should have a good capacity, with harmoniously developed quarters and properly-sized teats in order to ensure that the calf can be fed without any problems, particularly during the first few days after birth.

TESTICLES - Well-proportioned and developed descendent in the scrotum area.

Romagnola Breeders Society

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 12:52:29 EST

"Australian beef producers are recognising the Romagnola for it's ability to adapt and thrive in all environments, with superior fertility and maternal function and to produce beef with excellent eating quality characteristics."

Romagnola cattle are found in all states of Australia and are primarily used in cross breeding programs to produce superior animals for all modern beef markets.

Database Search

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 12:47:13 EST

This facility allows any person in the world with internet access to search the entire Romagnola database for animal, member and sale details. This web database search facility was developed by the Agricultural Business Research Institute (ABRI). Details are automatically updated once a week.

This powerful and easy to use search facility allows information to be accessed under four titles. These being:

Animal Enquiries

Member Enquiries

Sale Catalogues

Semen Catalogues

Further Help:

1) Animal Enquires: Any animal recorded on the Romagnola database can be accessed under this search title. The search criteria includes animal name, stud book number, calving year, horned status, location etc. When the criteria have been entered all you need to do is click on the search button and the search for animals fitting the selected criteria will begin. The animal or animals fitting the search criteria will then be displayed.

You can then click on any one of the animals found in the search to bring up their individual details. The details shown include sex, tattoo, date of birth, registration status, horned status, sire, dam, breeder, current owner and latest EBVs (figure 1.). A full pedigree tree and recorded progeny (if any) can also be viewed for the animal selected. A picture may also be available for some animals.

Example selection: Name - Wyoming%, Calving year - 2002, Select if - Male, Horn status - Polled. *Please note that the % is a wildcard ie will find any animal with Wyoming in it name.

(66 animals found).

2) EBV Enquires: This search is basically the same as the animal enquiry search facility but it includes the added benefit of allowing you to search for animals that fit within a range of EBVs that suits your production system and breeding program. Again, once the selection criteria has been entered and the search button clicked the animals fitting the criteria will be displayed.

Example selection: Name - Wyoming%, Calving year - 2002, Select if - Male, Horn status - Polled.

600 day weight EBV - +25 (min).

Milk EBV - +2 (min).

(7 animals found)

3) Member Enquires: Romagnola member details can be accessed through this facility. The search criteria includes surname, stud prefix, stud no., postcode, zone etc. Members that fit the selected criteria will be displayed. The user can then click on any one of the members found in the search to bring up their individual details.

The details shown for the selected member includes stud prefix, stud no., stud name, address, telephone no., zone, email, firebrand etc. This search is particularly useful if needing the contact details for a specific Romagnola member or if trying to find Romagnola breeders in a specific zone.

Example selection: Member Located - Central/North Qld, Select if - Member is in BREEDPLAN, Select if - Full member.

(5 members found)

4) Sale/Semen Catalogues: The details of Romagnola sales will be included under this title throughout the year. The sale details will be listed here long before they are available in a hard copy catalogue. This will allow you to view pedigree and performance (EBVs) information on sale animals well before the sale day.

The first screen displays sale descriptions, sale dates and number of lots. Both single vendor and multi vendor sales can be displayed. Any sale can then be selected to view the details of each lot. Individual lots may then be selected to view specific animal details such as vendor, sex, date of birth, registration status, vendor's comments, pedigree tree and latest EBVs.

Romagnola members who wish to include their sale details on the web database should contact the Society office.

All stud and commercial producers are encouraged to use the Romagnola Online database search facility to access animal, member and sale information.

Romangus

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 13:18:20 EST

The progeny of a combination of a registered Romagnola bull or cow with an identified Angus animal can be recorded on the Society database as "Romangus".

Certificates will be produced showing the pedigree and the percentage of Romagnola and/or Angus blood. The "Romangus" numerical sequence will be imprinted as well as the crossbreeding reference number on the normal A.B.R.I database certificate.

Normal rules for tattooing, registering, transfers and so forth apply, including normal inventory fees related to their percentage of Romagnola blood.

Technical Notes

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 9:52:58 EST

Romagnola Meets Market

Trial work at the Beef Quality Cooperative Research Centre in southern NSW has shown that a wide range of genotypes will produce carcasses of acceptable eating quality for the domestic market. The steers evaluated were the progeny of Hereford cows mated to a range of European, British and Wagyu sires.

For this market, where age is a primary consideration, growth rate and carcass yield will be the most important traits that determine profitability for the producer.

This was borne out in the C.R.C trials, where, with saleable beef valued at $10 per kg, the steers by European sires produced carcasses valued up to $140 above the other breed types.

The trials are valuable because with new technologies for beef production continually being developed, it is sometimes difficult for cattlemen to keep everything in perspective and to get our priorities right. We need to be able to identify and focus on those factors that have a real impact on the efficiency of our production system.

The selection of bulls for their propensity to marble and the development of DNA tests for the presence of genes that contribute to tenderness, are both means by which the eating quality of beef may be improved.

However before we adopt new technologies such as these, we must consider two things:

Firstly the critical level of expression for each characteristic. That is the level beyond which there is no financial reward for further improvement.

Secondly, the negative correlation that can exist between traits, such as between some adaptive and production traits or between growth rate and marbling.

The Romagnola breed holds a unique position in the industry in relation to both of these considerations:

It inherits the adaptive traits and strong constitution of its Bos Indicus ancestors and, at the same time, is unsurpassed for growth rate and muscularity by any other European breed.

In addition, Italian breeders and researchers have focused strongly on improving the eating quality of the end product to satisfy their discerning customers.

At present most of our markets do not pay a premium for quality criteria such as tenderness and marbling. Under these circumstances high growth rate and high yield are the most important production traits.

However, interest in the eating quality of beef is increasing and more markets are incorporating quality criteria in their specifications, such as in the MSA system. The Romagnola is one breed that can be used to meet these changing conditions without the need to trade off performance for quality. Mated to British bred cows, Romagnola bulls not only generate maximum growth and higher yielding carcasses but have already proven to do so without any adverse effect on marbling.

Bloodlines

Let's Look at Bloodlines (from a presentation given by John Onley at the Romagnola KIT meeting July 2004)

Within the breed people often talk about "old blood," "new blood," "New Zealand blood, etc." It may be timely to look at what all this means.

Romagnola cattle, wherever they are bred throughout the world, all trace back to 9 sire lines, or "tori capostipiti". Of these, 7 are available as direct sire lines and 2 are only available through maternal lines.

The original export of Romagnola cattle from Italy in 1974 included the bulls Scottish Dritto, Scottish Caesar, Avoncroft Telstar, Avoncroft Marcus, MMB Binario and BRS Vadis to Scotland and Orlone, Orlando, Marco and Monello to Canada. Very soon after semen from 7 of these bulls representing 4 of the available bloodlines arrived in Australia. The bloodlines of these bulls are shown in Table 1.

Table 1

Foundation Romagnola bloodlines (F1-F4)

Semen Sires imported 1974 (1-7)

Sireline	Semen Sires

Dritto (F1)	Scottish Dritto (1)
	MMB Binario (3)

Molosso (F2)	Avoncroft Telstar (4)
	Avoncroft Marcus (5)

Carpinello (F3)	Orlone (6)

Trento (F4)	Orlando (7)

Early in the next decade semen from a further 3 bulls, Rashwood Gerald (8) and Friarton Ajax (9) both by Avoncroft Telstar and BRS Vadis (10), whose direct sire and dam lines were both Molosso, was imported. This did little to increase the genetic diversity available at the time.

The 4 bloodlines that were available, if used judiciously, were adequate to get the breed off to a good start in Australia.

However Scottish Caesar, Avoncroft Telstar and Avoncroft Marcus were all direct Dritto - Molosso combinations and very closely related. Scottish Dritto, Friarton Ajax, BRS Vadis, MMB Binario and Rashwood Gerald were also closely related to them while only Orlone and Orlando represented different bloodlines.

This did pose some problems for breeders who did not pay close attention to planning their matings.

By the 1990's the heavy use of Orlone and his sons and the Molosso line bulls Avoncroft Marcus and Wemala Mike (by Vadis) saw these bulls responsible for a large majority of the females in the breed. Combined with the consequent underutilisation of Dritto and Orlando bulls at the time this resulted in an increase in the degree of inbreeding above the acceptable safe level.

From 1993 to 1998 semen from bulls representing the other 5 bloodlines was imported into Australia. These lines and examples of representative sires are shown in Table 2

Table 2

Foundation Romagnola Bloodlines (F5-F9)

Semen imported 1993 - 1998

Sireline	Semen Sires

Bolero (F5)	Ande

Belvedere (F6)	Cesare

Otello (F7)	Monello

Discolo (F8)	Elisir (maternal line)

Caronte (F9)	Bulgaro (maternal line)

Chart 1 shows the pedigrees of the 1974 - 1983 imported semen sires and Chart 2 those for the 1993 - 1998 importations. Similar charts can be drawn up for any bulls wherever they are bred, to show how they fit into these bloodlines or families.

It is important to remember that in any breed or population, if selection is made for a limited number of criteria, such as growth rate and carcass quality, certain lines will tend to perform better for those traits than the others. Continued selection will tend to concentrate the genes of these few lines in the population and if care is not taken other lines will simply be lost to the breed. The position can then arise where as genetic diversity decreases the coefficient of inbreeding will increase with a parallel increase in inbreeding depression because we have reduced the available bloodlines below a sustainable level. Inbreeding depression results in lower growth rates, a reduction in vigour, fertility and overall performance as well as an increase in the incidence of physical defects. Fortunately, these problems can be readily overcome by introducing other bloodlines to the breeding program.

We do not have a problem at present but we must consciously maintain the range of bloodlines we have. They all have traits we need but breeding is a complex art. Adaptation, fertility and mothering ability, growth, carcass quality, temperament, structural soundness and more are all needed for optimum performance.

However selection for some measures of performance such as growth rate or feed conversion efficiency may be antagonistic to some important adaptive traits and it is important to understand that these negative relationships can exist between different traits.

As a Society, we must maintain the diversity of our breed's genetic base in order to avoid the loss of valuable genetic material and as an insurance against the negative effects of inbreeding. We can do this by being aware of the genetic profile of our breeders and the range and attributes of the bloodlines available.

DPI - Semen Sires

World Italian Congress