Making sure young people involved with Wagyu cattle have a safe place to learn more about the breed and ask questions is behind the formation of a new youth association.
Jessie Macqueen works for Bar H Grazing at Comet as the Hornery Group's product superviser, and is one of six working on the development of Wagyouth, an independent group promoting discussion and education on issues such as sustainability, market access, genetic analysis and technology among Australian Wagyu breeders between the ages of 18 and 30.
The others include Rob Price, Price Cattle Company, Rolleston, Bonnie Chandler and Claudia Morris from ACC, Will Beirne, Nutrien, and Nick Gray, Stanbroke.
While a membership register is among the 24-month goals, Ms Macqueen said their Facebook group had attracted 65 members since it was created on April 2.
"We're raising awareness via social media at the moment, and we're planning to launch properly at Beef," she said. "We'll be at the AWA tent between 2 and 4pm each day, and we'll release a calendar of events after that."
The work to bring Wagyouth into being has been funded by a $10,000 Wagyu Fellowship, which Ms Macqueen and Bonnie Chandler successfully applied for.
"We're using it to run events, to put together pamphlets and sponsorship prospectuses, to pay for an internet domain - a lot of things," Ms Macqueen said. "It's a big jump and a lot of work but long term we feel it will have a lot of benefit."
Her parents Bill and Nikki Macqueen have been operating a Wagyu F1-F2 breeder operation at Millmerran since 2004 and she said it was "100 per cent a passion" of hers to see the breed develop in Australia.
"I have a degree in international business, but I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it," she said.
"I've become more and more involved in the Wagyu breed, and I've seen that the conversations everyone's having at conferences are very high level.
"The breed is at the forefront of cutting edge technology, but young people who've not been in the breed for a long time can be a bit intimidated by some of that.
"We wanted to create a place where they could have a conversation without feeling judged."
She said there were lots of people aged between 30 and 40 visible in the breed, but the 18-30 age group, while there, didn't have a way to have a presence before this.
The official Wagyouth impact statement is to assist youth to "navigate the differences they find within the breed, providing dynamic thought and consideration. Members have the opportunity to learn from the best in the industry through different sorts of mentorship and networking, providing an alternative aspect to the way they currently do things."
Ms Macqueen said mentorships, networking events, and visits to laboratories, farms and feedlots were all on the cards, so that the younger generation could understand the breed from an operational perspective.
While foundation group members are Queensland-based, the aim is for Wagyouth to be a nationwide group.
"Even if you don't own Wagyu cattle, if you're interested in the breeding process in any way, you'd be welcome to be a part - this is about creating conversations so you can utilise everything the breed has to offer," Ms Macqueen said.
She added that Wagyouth wasn't a Wagyu breed youth group but was working in conjunction with the AWA.
A resource page, including links to a questionnaire, subscriptions, Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin has been set up.
Sally Gall
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
