WITH 120,000 Angus breeders currently being joined to Wagyu bulls at the moment, and that figure expected to rise to 833,000 by 2020 there are plenty of concerned eyes looking at the future of that premium beef.
Their premium attracts an extra 250c/kg but they come with risk.
Don Mackay, managing director of Japanese-owned Rangers Valley feedlot, Glen Innes, said poor Wagyu genetics would create lines of cattle destined to fail.
A good Wagyu that produces a fat score of 7-9 will earn its owner $1000 after 360 days in the feedlot but one with average genetics which produces a fat score of 3-4 will lose its owner the same amount.
“I’m not concerned about the numbers coming through in future years,” he told his audience at the recent rma conference. “But I am worried about the quality. We are cruising for a crash if the genetics are not there.”
When compared to pure Angus, with a fat score of 3.5 that can pile on weight at an average of 1.4kg day, Wagyu looks pretty poor in comparison putting on less than a kilo.
JBS northern livestock manager Duane Woodham agreed, saying Angus at 14 days looked pretty good when compared to a 350 day Wagyu.
“If a Wagyu can deliver a fat score of 8-9 plus it will be given rockstar status but not one that falls below a 5-6,” he said.
“Wagyu are dear to buy, dear to feed and dear to process so you don’t want a poor performer.”
Mr Mackay, from Rangers Valley, suggested a win-win for those planning on remaining in the game could rest with producing the highly effective Wagyu/ Holstein with heifer offspring competing well against steers of the same cross.
“They have a large frame and are not grossly over-fat,” he explained. “The Wagyu/ Holstein heifer is better than the Wagyu / Angus heifer.”
The cross also neatly finds a home for unwanted bobby calves in the dairy industry, with milkers getting their product and feedlotters getting theirs.
“The best Wagyu is the ugliest,” said Mr Mackay of the right genetics. “If you are going to cross you need Tajima bloodlines and you need to know what you are doing.”
Animal rights a growing concern
Livestock producers and processors must learn to deal with animal rights activists, because their message is gaining ever more traction, says Mr Mackay.
Rangers Valley itself was the target of activists, who breached security to photograph sleeping cattle and broadcast the footage saying it showed thousands of dead animals.
“Understand that these people will not stop at pigs, chickens and live export,” he told attendees at the annual rma conference.
Producers can adopt practices that will go a long way towards appeasing animal activists - things like proper yard weaning and reducing stress on animals through transport and in pens at saleyards.
In the feedlot itself cattle are checked on horseback and woodchip bedding helps ease foot problems while maintaining feed intake.
