Parker's plan to breed high performing poll Wagyu

Mr Parker said when he was growing up his parents tried every breed under the sun at their Cania Gorge property, Bluff View, and always had trouble with fertility in their cattle.

He said his parents bred cattle, growing them out as bullocks to sell to Teys in Biloela, and tried everything from Murray Greys and Limousins to Simmentals and Romagnolas.

"There was never an even line of weaners, they were all very multi coloured," he said.

"But, it just seemed to be a struggle all the time with fertility and we tried all those breeds including Angus and Senepol to try and increase fertility and nothing really worked."

Mr Parker said he moved into Wagyus by chance after talking with some blokes he knew at cutting horse shows.

"They had Wagyus and it just lit a flame as to where we should go because they had some pretty ordinary country, but were getting phenomenal rates with their fertility," he said.

"So we started buying bulls and putting them over our Brahman and Droughtmaster cows that we had at the time, cows which had issues with bottle teats and prolapses.

"Because we were having fertility problems every few years, we seemed to have to buy a big heap of cows so we put Wagyu over them and the calves that came out were unbelievable.

"They were clean coated and the weaners were 20kg heavier on average than our commercial Brahman and Droughtie cattle or F1 calves. And then we started joining them with Wagyu bulls and the F2s were just phenomenal."

Since the introduction of Wagyu bulls to their commercial herd, Mr Parker estimates their calving rate has been sitting around 92 to 96 per cent every year, regardless of seasonal conditions.

When the Parkers first introduced Wagyu, the plan was to slowly breed their numbers up in the herd.

"But I'm pretty impatient and that was taking too long so we went out in 2018 and purchased 288 purebred cows from Hughes Pastoral Company at Nebo," he said.

"It was before a lot jumped into the Wagyu market...the market was a little bit flat, but the interest was starting to come. I think about two years after that she really got some momentum going. I think we just got in - if we had waited 12-18 months, we would have had to pay a lot more for them."

Mr Parker said they then started breeding from the bulk purchased cows and their fertility was amazing.

The Parkers run about 1500 head on 11,000 acres, 50km north of Monto, made up of three properties - 7000 acre Harrami and adjoining properties, Avalon and Brumby Creek, which are 2000 acres each.

Harrami is a mix of black soil and granite forest country and accommodates 600 breeders and 150 joiner heifers. Avalon and Brumby Creek are a mix of softwood and brigalow scrub country where the Parkers have 200 females including stud cows, maiden heifers and first calf heifers, and 600 feeder cattle that are sold to Lotus Park Feedlot at Marlborough at 15 to 18 months old when they average around 380 to 400 kgs.

A fourth-generation grazier, Mr Parker said they had only just started their Wagyu stud and the long-term plan was to breed poll Wagyu.

"We never ever thought about breeding bulls or having our own stud, but we just love Wagyu that much and especially poll Wagyu," he said.

"Wagyu are typically horned cattle, but three operations - Robbins Island, Strathdale and Mayura - created the poll Wagyu brand or breed and we've been buying bulls off them for years now - and credit must go to them for what they've been able to achieve in creating high performing poll Wagyu cattle.

"That's the direction we believe we need to go - it's the direction of the future."

Mr Parker said his herd and bull selection was based on genetics and carcase data.

"I spend hours and hours on the computer and on the phone talking to the guy with poll Wagyu, Darren Hamblin, because that's where we sourced our cows and bulls from. I am all over their herd and we're constantly getting updates on their carcase data," he said.

"I am also what you'd call a traditionalist so I like to go and look at the animals and see how they walk and see that they are still functional and have the right temperament."

But, if the genetics and carcase data don't add up, Mr Parker said he did not care how good the animal looked he would not buy it or keep it in his herd.

"We're in a niche market here of producing the world's best protein and Wagyu are renowned for their marbling and fertility so if we lose sight of that we're really not breeding Wagyu," he said.

In the next five years, the Parker's plan to get a fully poll herd without compromising on fertility and carcase traits like marbling and weight gain.

"We want to have all polls, but we're not going to compromise on fertility for one, marbling for two and carcase weight for three, and temperament," he said.

"The stud is really about wanting to control our own genetics so we're never going to shut the door on selling bulls on the open market, but it's purely and initially for our own use in our herd because we just feel it does get quite hard and competitive to buy those top bulls.

"So, if we can breed them ourselves for our own use, then we are ahead of the game."

Mr Parker said the steers and heifers that go to the feedlot were their main drive and focus.

"Obviously, on the stud side, you can't keep them all, but we'll be trying to breed the best bulls and females we can for ourselves," he said.

"And, you're obviously going to have some to sell...but we're definitely not going to be a bull farm where we're just breeding bulls and bulls and bulls to sell."

As to their breeding regime, Mr Parker said the cows were joined as yearlings and the bulls go in during the last week in November and come out in the first week in March. He estimates between four to eight per cent of their females are culled every year.

"The cows have to be preg tested in calf and they have to bring a calf to the yards at branding - so we cull anything that's empty at preg testing, we cull anything that's dry when we brand and we cull anything that's dry when we wean so it's fairly heavy criteria on females," he said.

"If a cow doesn't produce you a calf, what have you got her for, why is she there? It's like marbling. Wagyus are renowned for their fertility and marbling so if you stop putting pressure on that, you're going to lose it so why breed Wagyus?"

At the moment, Mr Parker said the market for Wagyus was not going gangbusters, but was firm.

"It's steady and the demand for Wagyu beef is good," he said.

"It seems to go up and down...when the market goes up everyone seems to dive in and put Wagyu bulls over every single cow they can find and that floods the market with inferior products which then drives the market down a bit and we're in that cycle at the moment," he said.

"Our motivation to get into Wagyus though was definitely for their fertility - if you're breeding Wagyus just to make more money then you're in it for the wrong reasons.

"We are breeding them because they have way more calves - they're fertility is number one and they live and have a calf until they're 15 or 16 year old, their longevity is amazing and their meat quality is just next level."

Mr Parker said he saw a future in breeding poll Wagyus because cattle hate being dehorned and it knocks them around.

"We were trying to breed poll Droughtmasters and Brahmans before we went into Wagyu.

"Full blood Wagyus have horns on them harder than rocks and I just believe we can breed a Wagyu - a well performing Wagyu, that's polled," he said.

"The data we're seeing and that we're getting now is proving that...and there's going to come a time when there's going to be pushback about dehorning cattle."

Mr Parker believes Wagyu are not bred to win ribbons on the hoof, but for their meat to win meat and carcase competitions.

"That's what they 're renowned for, they're beautiful flavour, texture and tenderness of the meat, plus all the other traits that goes with them like fertility and temperament," he said.

"They're just great animals to be around. Wagyus are not for everyone, but they're definitely for us."