Where does one begin and end with regards to talking about the Queen of the Breed, Suzutani. Suzutani was a direct import from Japan along with Okutani and Rikitani. She has gone on to establish herself as the most genetically influential cow of the Wagyu breed outside of Japan. She has produced breed leading sires in both the US and Australia. This long list includes sires such as Sanjirou, Shigeshigetani, Kanadagene 100, TWA Shikikan, and the US carcass trait leader, Sanjiro 3. Both the US and Australian sire summaries are dotted with her grandsons and great grandsons. Suzutani has put a powerful stamp of quality carcass traits into her offspring, particularly with extensive marbling and huge rib eye area. Because of this, feedlot operators the world over specifically seek Suzutani influenced cattle. If breeders are looking to capitalize on the specific trait of marbling that is unique to Wagyu, then you need to be pursuing Suzutani genetics.
Sanjirouand Shigeshigetani are showing their fantastic carcass quality traits in well-known herds around the world. In the Lone Mountain Ranch program Sanjirou and Shigeshigetani are averaging an impressive 31.48% IMF (23 carcasses) and 30.88% IMF (58 carcasses) respectively. Marble Ranch has reported that Shigeshigetani has averaged 35.63% IMF, 16.27 In2 REA, and 1008 lbs HCWT in their program. In Australia at Mayura Station, Shigeshigetani has averaged an 8.33 AUS-Meat MS, 100.33 cm2 (15.55 in2) EMA (10/11th rib), and 416 kg (917 lbs) HCWT on 12 carcasses. Sanjirou has averaged a 8.23 AUS-Meat MS, 96.28 cm2 (14.92 in2 ) EMA (10/11th rib), and 406 kg (895 lbs) HCWT on 149 carcasses at Mayura Station. These figures rank Sanjirou and Shigeshigetani at the top end of all three of these leading herds.
Also, in Australia at Mayura Station, the next generation Suzutani sire Mayura Herald is performing well. He has produced 89 carcasses with an Average MS of 8.52, Ave CWT 425.9kg and EMA of 86.96 (10/11th rib) Ave DOF 281. He now has 108 carcasses in Breedplan he has a leading +2.1 MS EBV with 92% reliability.
The Suzutani’s are continuing to show their genetic superiority through next generation sires Longford 004 (LFDFY0004) and Longford 005 (LFDFY0005). These standout sires are full brothers sired by Kitateriyasudoi 003 out of a Michifuku x Haruki x Suzutani dam. They both have marble score EBVs over +2.0 and eye muscle area EBVs over +4.5! Their proofs are backed by genomics and carcass data producing reliability over 70%.
The new standout proven sire from the Suzutanis in the Longford herd is Longford Mr Awesome!He has leading Breedplan Indexes because of his all-round balance of MS, REA, CW, Milk, and Growth. He is a TF 148 x TF 147 x Kitateriyasudoi 003 out of a Michifuku x Haruki x Suzutani cow. He goes back to his 003 grandmother who the same breeding as Longford 004 and 005. His GEBVs currently include a +2.8 MS, +4.9 REA, +17 CW, and $301 SRI! He is backed by a nice 55 carcasses producing a MS reliability of 92%.
Arthur Dew presented some of the elite Longford Mr Awesome Carcass data at the 2021 AWA conference. Where Mr Awesome was also was also presented the award for the most profitable sire in the AWA Net Feed Intake Trial! Below are two Mr Awesome live export carcasses fed out and killed in Japan where they scored an incredible BMS 11 & 12! Including huge carcass weights and massive ribeye area. Also listed are carcass results from Mr Awesome steers fed in Australia showing incredible consistency in MS (all at an Aus-Meat maximum 10), Ribeye Area, and Carcass Weight. Mr Awesome semen sold in 2021 shortly after the release of this data for an incredible $3,600/ Straw!
Also from Longford, in the 2017 Australian Wagyu Association’s Growsafe RFI test program a Suzutani bull claimed the top spot for most profitable sires! Longford F C11712 (LFDFC11712) ranked 1st and was $1,025 more profitable than the average. The Suzutani family has stood out in the Longford herd as a clear top performer.
In the legendary Westholme herd run by AACo two of their top marbling sires hail from the Suzutani maternal line. Westholme Kitaitonami (AACFC0650) is a Kitaguni Jr x TF 148 x Michifuku x Takazakura x Suzutani, and has an incredible MS EBV of +2.4! Ten straws of his semen sold for $1,000/ straw in the November 2018 Premium Wagyu Sale. He is known as one of Westholme’s top performing carcass sires in their herd. The other standout is Westholme Itoshigefuku (AACFB0462), who is a TF 148 x Michifuku x TF Kikuhana x Haruki 2 x Suzutani. He has a MS EBV of +2.0 backed up by a solid 79% reliability.
According to data from the Hammond family at Robins Island Wagyu, World K’s Kanadagene 100 has been one of their most profitable fullblood sires ever. Carcass data they have published on the Poll Wagyu website shows Kanadagene 100 averaging a 9.06 MS, 450 kg (990 lbs.) HSCW, and 103 cm2 (15.97 in2 ) EMA on 38 carcasses (472 DOF average).
The Sher Wagyu Holstein F1 and Fullblood programs are founded on Suzutani genetics with their leading sires, SHER SHIGESUZU A303 (SWSFA0303) and SHER KENTARO X51 (SWSFX0051)among their best. Sher Shigesuzu A303 is a TF 148 x 003 x Kehnanafuji x Michifuku x Suzutani with a +1.4 MS and +3.3 REA on 40 carcasses. Sher Kentaro X51 is a double bred Suzutani thru his sire stack of Overflow Kaneyama x 003 x Kehnanafuji x Michifuku x Suzutani with a +1.6 MS and +4.8 REA on 19 carcasses.
On the 2017 WSU Sire Summary (who’s data comes from exclusively F1 carcasses) Sanjiro 3, Bar R Itoshigenami 48U, Sanjirou, Hoh Kiatani 25Y, Overflow Kaneyama, Bar R Dbl Suzutani 50T, and Bar R Dbl Suzutani 59T are all leading Marbling EPD sires from the Suzutani maternal line. This proven performance in a wide variety of settings around the world drives the high demand for Suzutani genetics. If breeders are looking for marbling, then you need to be pursuing Suzutani genetics!
In the PDF is a list of the leading proven Wagyu Sires over 80% reliability for Marble Score. We use 80% reliability because it is a well-known marker for carcass proven sires to give significant confidence in the accuracy of their EBVs. As you can see, Suzutani maternal line sires dominate the high MS leaderboard. This illustrates perfectly the unique ability of this cow family to transmit marbling and carcass quality!
