The Wagyu breed is unsurprisingly the fastest growing breed society in Australia and those backing the breed’s evolution are forecasting a uniquely Australian Wagyu within the next decade.
Such Wagyu breeders are Selwyn and Jocelyn Maller, Hamilton Park Wagyus, Wallumbilla, who have built a 1700-head Wagyu and Wagyu-cross breeder herd since 1998.
The Mallers run Wagyu cattle across Hamilton Park and Glenora Downs, Walllumbilla, Lussvale, Mitchell, and leased property Carrington, Roma, and said the breed’s uptake in Australia had been slower than expected due to its physical characteristics.
“Beef producers have been sceptical about Wagyus because of their finer bone structure and lesser muscle composition however the premiums being paid are enticing more producers to consider them,” he said.
“Their fertility is unrivalled as is their temperament. We had a total of 1150 females at Lussvale ranging from maiden heifers through to older cows and had a 97.6 per cent pregnancy test.
“When you put bulls with 150 replacement heifers and get 145 to 148 in calf it’s very easy to increase your numbers – as a beef producer these attributes are crucial to improving profitability of a business.”
Mr Maller said traditional management strategies were sidelined when he entered into Wagyu breeding.
“Culling cows at 10 years of age no longer applies in our herd as longevity is another attribute of the Wagyu breed and a Wagyu cow is still producing a consistently good Wagyu calf at 14 years of age,” he said.
The Mallers join replacement heifers at about 14 months of age weighing 280 kilograms to 350kg and Mr Maller said the breed’s fertility was such that a young Wagyu bull began producing fertile semen at just 250kg.
While the majority of the family’s herd consists of crossbred F1, F2, F3 and purebred Wagyus built up from their original Santa Angus cross herd, Mr Maller said they now owned 300 full blood cows.
“We’re using the elite full blood cows in a fresh embryo transfer program to multiply top genetics for our replacement herd and sale bulls.”
Mr Maller said elite Wagyus fell in the top five to ten per cent of their EBVs based on a terminal sire index introduced by the Wagyu Society, which also provided a dollar value for each strand of the index.
“The higher that dollar value the better the progeny of that animal will be,” he said.
“We’ve started buying semen to suit those genetics to further improve this terminal sire index.”
The Mallers sell Wagyu progeny as feed-on steers and heifers to Jack’s Creek in NSW where the cattle are fed a slow release ration for 450 days to enhance marbelling.
Cattle exit the feedlot at about 850kg to be marketed to 22 countries.
A recent slaughtering in Casino of 145 crossbred Wagyus resulted in an averaging marbling score of 6.7 and Mr Maller said it was humbling to see cattle perform so well – a passion that extends deep within the Maller family.
Mr Maller said an explosion in F1 Wagyu numbers in recent years had breeders worried the market would become saturated but the Wagyu conference held in May this year alleviated such fears.
“We were told China is quite likely to take it all provided we do the marketing,” he said.
“Every country has a proportion of the highly affluent who are prepared to pay for the very best.
“You look at Indonesia and all the Brahman cattle heading there from northern Australia yet there’s a big demand for Wagyu beef there and people with the money to buy it. We’re also exporting back into Japan, the US, the United Arab Emirates and China is just going to take off.”
Mr Maller said the growing awareness among consumers of the quality of the Wagyu product was fueling demand domestically and internationally, hence the breed’s $2 to $3/kg premium.
“We’ve noticed when you mention Wagyu to people unfamiliar with the beef industry, their eyes light up and even though they may not have eaten it they know Wagyus are associated with a higher standard of beef.
“There is a real awareness out there and the sheer fact Wagyus drastically improve the meat eating quality tells me they have a certain future in our Australian beef herd.”
Selwyn and Jocelyn Maller’s passion for producing premium Wagyu beef has extended to their children, with their son Nathan and daughter Hannah Maller currently taking steps to enter the Wagyu breed.
