Since 2017, the Australian Wagyu Fellowship has been available to Australian Wagyu Association (AWA) members to undertake short projects for the improvement of the Wagyu Industry.
At the AWA's upcoming 2020 WagyuEdge Conference, 2019 Fellowship recipient and Wagyu breeder, Jeremy Cooper, Circle 8 Bulls, Marulan, New South Wales, will present his project findings.
"A key focus of our business is continual development, so I took the opportunity provided by the Fellowship funding to get a better handle on how a Wagyu production stream could be utilised to the breeds advantage in Australia," Mr Cooper said.
"My ambition with the project is to provide a clearer industry understanding of Japanese Wagyu production systems and how that can be layered over Australian Wagyu production systems to develop a more effective and profitable system domestically for operations both small in scale (500 cows or less) and large," he said.
Mr Cooper said through his research he has found that the main difference between Japanese and Australian systems are the size and scale of the operations, which leads to a big contrast in the way cattle are handled from conception to consumption.
"Japanese farms are usually only a few hectares in size and on average utilise a cow herd of 10 head or less. Nearly all cows are artificially inseminated, and days to calving is close to 480 days.
"The progeny are essentially micromanaged by on-farm staff from three days of age so there is really no maternal factor involved.
"In contrast, domestically, calves are left on their mothers for six to nine months, weaned and potentially backgrounded for a few months then sent to the feedlot were they're fed out for 450 to 500 days."
Mr Cooper believes that viewed from a a sustainability standpoint both systems have issues.
"In Australia we don't have the labour available, or the ability to get remunerated appropriately to develop calves ourselves from three days old. We need a system that'll fill the void in the first 12 months of their lives.
"To reduce days on feed for Australian Wagyu, we need to select cattle with highest marbling content which will involve selecting the correct imported bloodlines, requiring genomics research and genetic measurements."
He said a key element of the project calls for supply chain access to be established to allow Australian Wagyu producers to profit from their efforts.
"That will be the biggest challenge."
He said his Fellowship project has really been about finding a balance between the traditional Japanese breeding production model and a modern sustainable model, which delivers cattle consistently day in day out that will be fertile, well marbled and with yield suitable price-wise for a broad cross section of consumers.
"My intention is to put my research findings into a package that can be easily applied in the field."
Regarding the Fellowship program, Mr Cooper said everybody with an idea and interest in the Wagyu industry should have a crack.
"More people in the 18 to 30 year old demographic, especially from the academic space, are required in the Wagyu industry to carry out and share research from a practical standpoint.
"If more young people can report their research findings back to the wider Wagyu community, it will only enhance what we're all capable of achieving with the breed, domestically and abroad."
Mr Coopers sentiments regarding the need for a breed youth movement have been echoed by the AWA which will this year offer the Wagyu Fellowship - Scholarship program, in addition to the existing program.
AWA CEO Dr Matt McDonagh said the Scholarship is complementary to the Wagyu Fellowship, to allow students to undertake research for the advancement of Wagyu to share with industry, while the Fellowship will remain open to applicants not engaged in tertiary study.
"We're looking forward to fostering the development of our younger members and students studying in areas of core interest to the Wagyu industry," Dr McDonagh said.
Applications for the 2020 Wagyu Fellowship - Scholarship program are now open, and close on March 27, 2020. To apply please visit the AWA link.
