As a part of the Australian Agricultural Co’s two hundredth anniversary this yr, Beef Central has printed a sequence of articles on the world’s largest cattle producer’s beef genetics historical past. Earlier, we chronicled AA Co’s development by way of its Shorthorn, Santa Gertrudis and Composite eras. Immediately’s fourth and ultimate instalment appears on the Wagyu period.
Click here to learn the earlier merchandise within the sequence on the Santa period; click here to read concerning the firm’s genetic roots 200 years in the past in Shorthorns; and click here to read about the corporate’s Composite cattle period.
WHILE one of many defining the options of the Australian Agricultural Co’s current historical past is the best way the corporate has vigorously embraced Wagyu cattle, it hasn’t all the time been that approach.
As our four-part historical past of AA Co’s genetic evolution has proven, the world’s largest beef producer has continued to evolve over its 200 yr historical past, as instances, tastes and markets have modified.
Click on on picture to enlarge, click on twice to develop additional
Immediately, Friday 1 November, marks the precise 200-year anniversary since AA Co was created in London by Royal Decree – a becoming book-end to this sequence. The picture printed right here (click on on picture to enlarge) is the Royal Proclamation struck on 1 November 1824, formally launching the corporate in Australia.
It was the general public itemizing of AA Co on the Australian Inventory Trade on 10 August 2001 that arguably supplied the catalyst for the latest change in genetic route.
The corporate’s then high-profile chief government, the dashing Peter Holmes a Court docket, cultivated a imaginative and prescient to raise the corporate’s beef manufacturing out of the ‘commodity’ subject through which it had performed for many years, into one thing extra ‘particular’, with a differentiated, provenance-driven model hooked up. All that was missing was a transparent route, and the instruments to attain it.
The corporate had already established its 1824 model program based mostly on its composite cattle, however in actuality that program was little totally different from dozens of different 100-120 day grainfed beef packages throughout the nation.
Serendipity
In what could have been a case of serendipity, AA Co was on the time trying to develop its Queensland lotfeeding footprint past the corporate’s current Goonoo yard at Meteor Downs in Central Queensland.
It began discussions with outstanding Darling Downs lotfeeder, Dugald Cameron, one of many grainfed trade’s true pioneers, who had based his Aronui feedlot close to Bell approach again in 1964. Dugald was trying in direction of retirement.
One of many actual innovators within the beef trade, Dugald had pioneered quite a few novel new instructions within the manufacturing and advertising of grainfed beef cattle. A kind of was the creation of Pacific Satisfaction, a provide chain community involving a set of devoted feeder cattle suppliers whose job it was to breed feeders year-round to a good spec; the lotfeeding assets at Aronui; and Teys Brothers export plant at Beenleigh. The midfed product was to be marketed below its personal devoted model title and identification into high-paying export and home markets. Cattle suppliers obtained premiums on carcase efficiency in addition to intensive feedlot and chiller information – extraordinary, on the time.
Additionally aligned together with his adventurous strategy, Dugald was one of many first to feed Wagyu-influenced cattle in Australia.
Peter Cabassi had began his personal fledging Wagyu beef enterprise referred to as Kobe Delicacies in 1996, and joined forces with Dugald & businessman Harold Seeley in 1999, to proceed feeding small numbers of Wagyu F1s – each black and purple – that Peter was advertising into Japan and to focused Woolworths shops in Sydney.
A few of the first grain-finished Wagyu ever produced in Queensland, and probably Australia, got here out of Aronui. Dugald’s feedlot supervisor Greg Gibbons was to play a serious position within the challenge.
Greg remembers an Aronui feedtruck driver being shocked by the looks of speary-horned new arrivals in a pen as he drove down the lanes, asking over the two-way radio why the yard was now feeding ‘Spanish preventing bulls.’
They turned out to be four-year outdated bullocks, bred from US purebred Wagyu genetics, that had been lotfed in WA earlier than switch to Aronui, the place they had been fed-on for an additional 100 days and processed at Teys, Beenleigh – the primary batch of crossbred Wagyu fed by the Kobe Delicacies enterprise.
Temper for change
Former AA Co managing director Don Mackay, who spent 9 years with the corporate between 1999 and 2008, was on the helm earlier than and in the course of the firm’s entry into the Wagyu trade.
Don sees the corporate’s buy of Dugald Cameron’s feedlot in 2002 as ‘ground-zero’ in what was to come back.
In addition to the feedlot itself, the enterprise transaction additionally included the small, however rising Kobe Delicacies Wagyu beef enterprise, together with some genetics.
It’s wrongly assumed by some that AA Co’s major goal was the Aronui feedlot itself, and that the Wagyu program and cattle had been one thing of an ‘undesirable by-product.’
Greg Gibbons, who later spent 16 years working the Wagyu program and feedlots for AA Co, says the fact was considerably totally different.
“The reality is that AA Co was extraordinarily within the Wagyu enterprise, and actually indicated it will not go forward with the feedlot buy with out it,” Greg mentioned.
In the end the deal was accomplished, and each companies moved below AA Co possession in 2002.
Don Mackay mentioned the Wagyu program at that stage was little greater than an a ‘modest experiment’, shopping for a couple of Wagyu feeder cattle, feeding them at Aronui, processing them at John Dee abattoir close to Warwick, and advertising the product below the Grasp Kobe model. Not one of the early cattle had been bred by AA Co itself.
“It wasn’t massive numbers, by any means – round 30 head per thirty days,” he mentioned. “Wagyu feeder cattle had been nonetheless very restricted in quantity on the time, and the vast majority of the cattle in Aronui had been nonetheless export 100-day varieties and a big Woolworths program.”
Don mentioned AA Co’s new Wagyu program, by then below the administration of Peter Cabassi, shortly grew right into a ‘actual enterprise’, however on the time was based mostly solely on feeder cattle purchased from different breeders, moderately than being bred by the corporate itself.
Dugald Cameron’s former Kobe Delicacies Wagyu enterprise accomplice Peter Cabassi joined AA Co after the Aronui buy, together with Greg Gibbons, and collectively the pair supplied a stage of information and experience that was unsurpassed within the Wagyu trade at the moment.
A few of the earliest Kobe Delicacies Wagyu product destined for Japan
Whereas the Kobe Delicacies program by way of Aronui was worthwhile and steadily grew, any critical try to maneuver into its personal Wagyu program was met with some derision and opposition inside the firm ranks.
“In any case, we’d all spent a lifetime attempting to breed cattle that didn’t appear to be Wagyu,” Don Mackay mentioned.
“There was some pushback on the board and workers stage, however as everyone knows, the true worth of the Wagyu is within the forequarter meat and the loins, not within the rumps. And on prime of that their draught heritage meant they had been essentially the most hardy animals I’ve ever had something to do with, and their excessive stage of fertility has added worth in different methods. Their calf-getting capacity shocked everyone.”
Don thinks that whereas it was fortuitous that the Aronui feedlot + Kobe Delicacies Wagyu enterprise deal got here alongside when it did, it will have been inevitable that AA Co would have finally discovered its approach into the Wagyu trade, regardless.
“The board on the time was searching for the place to go, and the best way to dramatically change the worth of the manufacturing of the animals the corporate produced,” he mentioned.
“Across the board desk, we mirrored on the incremental transformations that had taken place earlier with the arrival of bos indicus genetics in northern Australia, and requested: Is there one other a kind of on the market?”
“We clearly spent some huge cash and needed to go additional down the Wagyu path, however to be truthful, no person on the time foresaw the diploma to which the Wagyu trade would develop – not solely inside AA Co, however extra broadly throughout the trade.”
The corporate frolicked, cash and energy on due diligence with a sequence of stories and forecasts ready earlier than making the dedication to breed Wagyu cattle at a industrial scale.
AA Co was already making ‘actually good cash’ from shopping for different breeders’ F1 calves and feeding them into the Kobe Delicacies model program. But it surely shortly turned evident that even higher margins might be had by breeding the cattle themselves.
One of many AA Co administrators in that period specifically – Englishman Charles Vibrant, representing shareholder Elders – was arguably the largest supporter of the Wagyu initiative across the board desk, pushing it enthusiastically behind the scenes.
Westholme acquisition
The corporate’s subsequent main step into Wagyu genetics was its buy in 2006 of Chris Walker’s elite, high-marbling Westholme Fullblood Wagyu herd, regarded on the time as amongst one of the best Wagyu genetics on this planet, exterior of Japan. The herd buy value of $10 million was an unbelievable amount of cash on the time to be paid for any beef herd of its dimension.
The names Westholme, together with Wylarah – the property close to Surat which later turned AA Co’s bull breeding depot – later turned the foundations for AA Co’s Wagyu model identities, used to at the present time.
“The Westholme herd buy gave the corporate the chance to ‘get critical’ about constructing a large-scale Wagyu program,” Don Mackay mentioned.
“There was no level in shopping for 5 or ten Wagyu bulls right here and there, when the corporate was working greater than half 1,000,000 cattle. It wanted a serious genetic injection like Westholme to shift the needle.”
Previous to that time, AA Co’s Wagyu feeder cattle had been being contract bred by others, utilizing semen provided by AA Co. A few of these calves had been out of dairy herds on the NSW/Victorian border, following the lead of Wagyu x dairy breeding practised in Japan.
The corporate additionally bought massive portions of Wagyu semen out of the US, and began breeding Fullblood bulls in appreciable numbers at Wylarah utilizing AI, embryo switch and pure mating.
A few of the first matings of the Westholme-bred bulls with AA Co-owned breeders occurred a yr or two after the Westholme herd buy – firstly over Angus x Santa cows at Carrum Downs close to Julia Creek, adopted by Angus x Santas and straight Santa cows on Headingly, close to Dajarra, and somewhat later, Charolais x Santa cows bred on Avon Downs on the Barkly.
Wagyu bull, Santa cross cows and early F1 calf, Avon Downs late 2007
The corporate began to speed up the usage of Wagyu bulls in northern areas, to ‘see how they might go.’ Wagyu on the time had been nonetheless a totally unknown amount below northern Australian grazing circumstances.
“We, together with everyone else, assumed that as a result of they had been black-hided originating from a temperate local weather, they need to carry out like Angus below powerful circumstances,” Don Mackay mentioned.
Requested whether or not it was ever foreseen that the Wagyu footprint within the AA Co pastoral operations could be as important as it’s to day, Don mentioned “it was mentioned, however was all the time met with some scepticism.”
“There was definitely some expertise in working Wagyu additional north, by way of Peter Hughes, Wally and Ralph Rea, Percy Hornery and others, however most of that was in Central Queensland.
“So there was some expertise in working Wagyu within the dry tropics, however many felt it will nonetheless be a daring transfer to take massive numbers of Wagyu bulls onto the Barkly,” he mentioned.
As soon as the cattle had really confirmed themselves (hardiness smart) on the Barkly and elsewhere, it opened up the floodgates for breeding Wagyu influenced cattle at scale within the north.
Given the time taken to breed up bull numbers, it wasn’t till round 2009 or 2010 that the primary ‘actually important’ numbers of Wagyu-influenced F1 calves began to reach in AA Co’s northern breeding paddocks.
Wagyu backgrounders Meteor Downs 2011
Former AA Co Wagyu program supervisor Greg Gibbons, now working in the same position with Hancock Agriculture, mentioned the marbling efficiency distinction at Aronui was ‘like evening and day’ when the primary of the Westholme-influenced calves began to reach on the yard.
Requested whether or not there was any push-back from station managers concerning the Wagyu challenge, Greg mentioned head workplace “copped quite a lot of warmth about these black Jerseys,” nevertheless it didn’t final lengthy. “Precisely the identical occurred a decade earlier with the arrival of the AA Co composites, and even earlier, the arrival of the Santas,” he mentioned.
“Private biases got here into it. The Wagyu bulls had been generally put into the toughest breeder paddocks, for instance, to attempt to show some extent.”
“However none of us working within the trade at that early time may have contemplated how far Wagyu would go in Australia, or inside the massive herds like AA Co,” he mentioned. “It in a short time shifted from being a distinct segment product into mainstream.”
Feeding methods
Whereas additionally managing everyday operations at Aronui feedlot, Greg mentioned the arrival of Wagyu feeders in numbers meant lotfeeders (each inside AA Co at Aronui and Goonoo and elsewhere) needed to learn to successfully feed Wagyu cattle for marbling efficiency.
“Legendary Japanese lotfeeder and genetics producer Shogo Takeda, was chargeable for a lot of Australia’s early information on feeding Wagyu,” he mentioned.
“The trade fairly shortly discovered that totally different approaches to ration had been vital. The primary cargo of beef to Japan by way of Kobe Delicacies within the late Nineteen Nineties introduced effectively (visually), however they didn’t just like the flavour. The importing firm despatched out a consultant to Australia, and he helped us alter our ration to Japanese model feeding,” Greg mentioned.
“The fundamentals of that ration are nonetheless in use throughout the Wagyu feeding trade right this moment – they haven’t modified a lot in 25 years.”
AA Co Wagyu in 2024
Quick ahead to 2024, and the AA Co’s beef manufacturing based mostly on its herd at the moment comprising round 455,000 head bears little resemblance to that which existed previous to the arrival of the primary Wagyu genetics in 2006-07.
Over the next 17 years, the corporate shortly established because the world’s first and largest vertically built-in Wagyu beef producer – breeding, backgrounding, feeding, processing and exporting below the corporate’s personal banner.
Together with Hancock Agriculture and probably Hughes Grazing, AA Co right this moment operates one of many three largest Wagyu beef herds on this planet.
The Wagyu herd injection required some adjustments to the corporate’s authentic provide chain, with acquisitions of additional backgrounding nation (in addition to long-term leases on holdings like Sunset Pastoral Co in northern NSW, since concluded) being vital to produce feeder cattle at scale.
Immediately, about 50 p.c of AA Co’s complete inventory stock has some Wagyu element – starting from F1 to purebreds.
On prime of that, 100% of the corporate’s branded beef output is Wagyu-based – below both the Westholme, Wylarah or Darling Downs model packages.
As a measure of progress, this yr’s annual report says that Wagyu branded beef gross sales final monetary yr reached a brand new document excessive of 13,600 tonnes, up 24 p.c on the yr earlier than.
Whereas it has gained little prominence at this stage, AA Co in the course of the yr added its first grassfed Wagyu product to its branded beef vary, following a profitable trial.
“This product caters to rising shopper tendencies, notably within the US, the place some clients are in search of a young, marbled Wagyu product with a stronger beef flavour profile,” the corporate mentioned.
Breeding the horns off
David Harris
Current day AA Co managing director David Harris mentioned the proportion of purebred and better content material Wagyu cattle below the corporate’s management was rising – largely as a result of goal of ‘breeding the horns off.’
“It’s no secret that we now have purebred Wagyu herds now stationed on Dalgonally, north of Julia Creek, and Avon Downs on the jap a part of the Barkly Tableland, and numbers of purebreds proceed to develop,” Mr Harris mentioned.
“We, together with different native graziers, are testing purebreds in these environments, and the variety of purebreds being produced within the north has expanded over time, as our confidence of their efficiency has grown.
“That’s on prime of the F1 breeding that has been taking place within the space over composite cows for 15 years or extra. It’s a part of a course of – initially we had been testing purebred and Fullblood Wagyu bulls within the north, and as soon as their efficiency and adaptableness was confirmed, we’ve now moved on to working extra purebred females.
The dialog across the trade had all the time been round precisely how a lot Wagyu share the north deal with, Mr Harris mentioned.
“Completely different producers have had totally different threat appetites on that topic. In AA Co’s case, we began off fairly conservatively, however as time has handed, the Wagyu cattle proceed to exceed our expectations. However inside that there’s a administration angle and an infrastructure angle – it’s not simply concerning the cattle themselves.”
Ballot breeding
The newest main extension inside AA Co’s Wagyu breeding historical past is definitely its extension into Ballot Wagyu choice and breeding.
The choice program began 5 – 6 years in the past, and final yr for the primary time, Ballot purebred Wagyu bulls had been despatched into the corporate’s northern industrial breeding herds for the primary time.
“The variety of Ballot cattle within the seedstock nucleus breeding herd has now constructed to cheap scale, and can begin to filter out extra annually into the corporate’s composite F1 breeding herds in addition to purebred Wagyu herds within the north,” Mr Harris mentioned.
“We’re getting nearer to the time when massive traces of younger Wagyu bulls going out to our industrial breeding herds will produce ballot calves solely.”
By way of meat high quality efficiency, Mr Harris mentioned by way of genetic choice, there was all the time alternative to make additional enchancment, and AA Co had dedicated appreciable technical assets to that goal – each in Wagyu and composite breeding packages.
“Based mostly on sheer numbers, merely taking out the tail makes a huge impact on the general outcome,” he mentioned.
“However given that almost all of branded Wagyu beef we promote is from F1 calves, it implies that round 50pc of the meat high quality and feedlot efficiency is contributed from the Mitchell composite females – so we’ve got to work on it, from each side.”
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