WARM WAGYU WELCOME AT AGRI-EXPO FRI 30 OCTOBER

An invitation is extended to all existing or prospective Wagyu breeders, chefs, hoteliers, wholesalers, retailers, butchers and farm shops to visit the Wagyu Breeders Association (WBA) stand at Borderway Agri-Expo to be held at Rosehill, Carlisle, CA1 2RS on Friday 30th October 2015 from 9am to 5pm. Come and find out 'what all the fuss is about' British Wagyu and learn more about the cattle, the beef and the Association. We are pleased to welcome Fred Turner from TL Biolabs, the designer of the recently-launched Wagyu tag, registration and DNA Interface, to the stand 10am-1pm to talk to breeders about this exciting new development in terms of meat traceability and integrity. We look forward to seeing you there!

INNOVATIVE BEEF BUSINESS WINS 'PITCH TO THE EXPERTS' COMPETITION

The team behind The Yorkshire Wagyu Company is celebrating after winning £10,000 worth of business support in a national competition.

The Driffield, East Yorkshire-based beef enterprise was invited to pitch to a panel of judges at The Food Entrepreneur Show after reaching the final of The Artisan Food Trail's ‘Pitch to the Experts’ competition last month.

Director Jonathan Shepherd (pictured) is delighted with the win: "This is a high-profile award and we were very proud just to be shortlisted - we never dreamed that we would win!

"As a new business, winning £10,000 of mentoring plus sales, marketing, finance and legal advice is invaluable and will help us to take The Yorkshire Wagyu Company to the next level."

The Artisan Food Trail co-founder and creative director of design agency, childsdesign, Graham Childs, said: "We had over 90 entries to the competition and shortlisted six of the most promising food related businesses.

"Jonathan and his team gave a very polished pitch and clearly demonstrated the potential growth opportunities for their business. The judges all agreed that The Yorkshire Wagyu Company was very different to the other entries and quite unique in terms of its product and business model."

The Artisan Food Trail was founded by Graham Childs and his wife, Lisa to provide support to artisan food and drink producers throughout the UK.

Yorkshire Wagyu Opens Farm Gates for first Chefs' Open Day

Around 30 delegates from the world of food and farming enjoyed a 'Wonders of Wagyu' themed event at The Yorkshire Wagyu Company’s first Chefs’ Open Day held on Monday 21st September at Field House Farm, Tibthorpe,  Driffield, East Yorkshire.

Visitors to Jonathan Shepherd’s Yorkshire Wolds farm were able to discover first-hand the rich, intense flavour of British Wagyu beef with its succulent natural marbling, as well as learn about the healthy-eating properties of Wagyu. They were introduced to the UK’s most prolific Full Blood Wagyu bull, Blackgold Mikado, who has sired more than 8,000 calves so far in his lifetime.

Yorkshire Wagyu is run jointly by Jonathan together with another local farmer Jim Bloom and is one of the largest Wagyu operations in Britain. Wagyu Breeders Association (WBA) Company Secretary Richard Saunders was also in attendance and he talked about the unique animal registration and branded 'British Wagyu' tagging system which has been put in place to ensure complete traceability and guaranteed provenance of British Wagyu tagged beef. The scientifically robust yet easy-to-use ear tagging system was then demonstrated by Yorkshire Wagyu's on-farm vet Jono Cooper .

Delegates, who had travelled from as far as Northamptonshire to be at the Chefs' Open Day, then enjoyed a delicious Wagyu burger lunch accompanied by locally-brewed beer from the Wold Top Brewery.

Coinciding with the beginning of 'British Food Fortnight', the event also saw the launch of a 'Friends of WBA' Membership priced at £50+VAT and aimed at chefs, hoteliers, restaurateurs, farm shops, butchers, retailers and wholesalers who wish to be part of a growing and dynamic Wagyu industry in Britain and Ireland.

Further information on, and how to become, a 'Friend of the Wagyu Breeders Association' will be available very soon on www.britishwagyu.co.uk.

27,500 EURO IN-CALF HEIFER TOPS EUROPEAN WAGYU GALA

300 Guests from 15 Countries Attend Gala Dinner Open Day Attracts 1,000+ Visitors
 

The inaugural European Wagyu Gala held in Muenster, Germany from Friday 11th to Saturday 12th September 2015, saw the Fullblood in-calf Wagyu heifer Ms Dai Da La top the sale on the Saturday afternoon at 27,500 euro (£19,643) for breeder Christian Niewoehner, Melle. By the outcross sire Hero 3658, the December 2013-born embryo calf Ms Dai Da La is out of the four-year-old cow WWSG 576 who had earlier sold for the joint second leading price of 21,000 euro. Sold in-calf to Shigeshigetani 542, she was purchased by Mr Zilvinas Zilinskas, Klaipeda, Lithuania, who later also snapped up other females at 18,200 & 13,200 euro respectively.

Hosted jointly by the German Wagyu Association & World Wide Sires Germany, the two-day European Wagyu Gala comprised of a Gala Dinner on the Friday at the nearby Moevenpick Hotel followed by an Open Day on the Saturday at the Wagyu Muensterland farm of Reinhard & Melanie Holtmann with the much-anticipated auction held late in the afternoon.

The Sale comprised 70 lots in all which met a 100% clearance. 27 heifers averaged an excellent 13,426 euro (almost £10,000 per head) with 33 embryos levelling at 1,285 euro – again a very good result. Overall, the auction grossed 449,600 euro equivalent to over £320,000 with purchasers coming from all over Europe.

Attending the Gala was Wagyu Breeders Association Company Secretary Richard Saunders who said: “The Gala was a tremendous success and underlines the huge demand for Wagyu genetics Europe-wide backed up by a massive surge in interest from consumers wishing to try Wagyu beef.”

Two females sold for 21,000 euro apiece. The first lot in the ring was the 2011-born cow, and mother of the top price, WWSG 576 sired by Hirashigetayasu 670 and out of the dam Misako 674, who sold with her April-born heifer calf at foot by Itomoritaka. The pair were consigned by joint sellers Wagyu Munsterland & WWS Germany and sold to Sigrid Keweloh of Haru Wagyu, Mutlangen. Two further daughters of WWSG 576 sold for 17,500 and 12,800 euro respectively.

The other selling at 21,000 euro – also from Wagyu Munsterland & WWS Germany - was Ms Takazakura 529, a July 2014-born heifer and embryo calf by the sire Takazakura, one of the original exports from Japan, and out of a dam by the noted Itozuru Doi. She sold to an undisclosed buyer.

Embryos sold to a top of 2,300 euro (three times) for a mating of the sireItoshigefuji and the dam Misako (by Michifuku) whilst embryo calves sold inside recipient dams made a top of 5,800 euro carrying the breeding of Takazakura and Ms Kitaguni.

Sale Averages

27 Females               13,426 euro

6 Bulls                        4,767 euro

33 Embryos               1,285 euro

4 Embryo Calves      4,025 euro

Please see below some further images from the European Wagyu Gala. 

 

WAGYU ASSOCIATION LAUNCHES INDUSTRY-LEADING INTERFACE

‘Three-in-one’ online facility provides unique registration, tagging and branding package

 

1st September 2015 saw the launch of the Wagyu Breeders Association (WBA) Interface which provides Members with a bespoke online mechanism and a ‘three-in-one package’ of registration, branded tag and DNA verification for both Wagyu pure and crossbred cattle.

An industry-leading facility, it has been developed in partnership with TL Biolabs, the Australian Wagyu Association & Caisley Tags respectively to ensure lifetime traceability of Wagyu beef 'from farm to fork' through a DNA-verified, branded 'British Wagyu' ear tag which is unique to each individual animal.

Easy-to-use as well as being cost-effective, the Interface is fully linked to the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) database which allows farmers to view all cattle on their holding in real time. With a simple ‘click’ of the mouse, breeders select their Wagyu animals and this automatically generates an order for a ‘British Wagyu’ branded DNA tissue-punch ear tag which is despatched to the farmer by Caisley. Once the tag is inserted on-farm, it captures a small amount of ear tissue in a vial which is then sent back to TL Biolabs for DNA parentage verification.

“Both the ear tag and the vial carry the unique Ministry Number of the animal to ensure complete integrity of the beef product. This means the live animal or carcase can be checked at any point to prove it is Wagyu,” says Richard Saunders, WBA Company Secretary.

The system is unique within the industry in two ways: firstly, all crossbred and pedigree Wagyu animals, rather than just a sample batch, will be parentage checked; secondly, sample storage and testing is all handled ‘under one roof’ by TL Biolabs, who also provide the Interface, which means the system is quick and efficient.

For what is widely held as the world’s finest beef, provenance and consumer confidence are key to maintaining brand value and premiums for Wagyu beef. The new Interface captures and records all the required information in a robust and secure manner. “British Wagyu has built an easily-identifiable, high-value brand which is able to stand up to the highest scientific scrutiny,” adds Richard Saunders.

For full release please click here. 

Please click here to download accompanying image. 

WAGYU AT UNIVERSAL COOKERY & FOOD FESTIVAL 23rd SEPTEMBER

'The Story of British Wagyu’ will be one of the highlights at this year’s Universal Cookery and Food Festival (UCFF) to be held at
Vallum Farm, East Wallhouses, Newcastle Upon Tyne on Wednesday 23rd September 2015.

Held annually to celebrate everything good about food, over 300 delegates will be in attendance from across the food industry with a large majority being chefs from the hospitality sector. Wagyu Breeders Association Member Steve Ramshaw will be presenting ‘The Story of British Wagyu’ with a purebred Wagyu cow and calf alongside an Angus cow with a Wagyu-sired calf at foot focusing on improving the eating quality of beef. Steve will be emphasising the benefits of breeding Wagyu cattle to produce tender, fine-grained beef with high IMF to highlight the health benefits of this as a source of ‘good’ fat.

To find out more please follow link to www.cookeryandfoodfestival.com or Steve Ramshaw at www.wagyu-beef-direct.co.uk

 

Wagyu Interface Goes Live

Today (1st September) has seen the launch of the new Wagyu Breeders Association (WBA) Interface which provides Members with a bespoke online mechanism for registrations, tags and DNA verification of both Wagyu pure and crossbred cattle. An industry-leading facility, it has been built in partnership with TL Biolabs, the Australian Wagyu Association & Caisley Tags to ensure full traceability of Wagyu beef 'from farm to fork' through a DNA-verified, branded 'British Wagyu' ear tag which is unique to each individual animal. Members of the WBA will receive an email and temporary password to log in to the Interface which is both easy-to-use and cost-effective for breeders to use.

To access the Interface, please follow the 'HERDBOOK' link on the menu at the top of the website. 

Full press release to follow. 

CHAIRMAN’S NEWS UPDATE

It has now been three months since a very successful Wagyu Spring Conference & Beef Expo where I was pleased to see many existing and new Members in attendance.

I am pleased to announce the imminent launch of the new Wagyu Interface to incorporate a complete package of tag, registration and DNA, and am writing to give you some important information in advance of its launch.

INTERFACE GOES 'LIVE'

We are delighted with the help and support that our three main partners the Australian Wagyu Association, Caisley& TL Biolabs have given us to create this UK-leading facility and ensure the viability of the WBA for the long term.

You will soon receive an email entitled 'Wagyu Breeders Association - Account Activation' from TL Biolabs (TLB). TLB have built the bespoke online interface for us to handle all Wagyu registrations, tags and DNA as well as invoice generation and payment. Please follow the instructions in the email to log in for the first time with a temporary password which you can then subsequently change for your own security.

IMPORTANT: when you first log in, a connection between the WBA Interface and your animals on BCMS will need to be established. To enable this, you will need your CTS Online ID (3 digits-3 digits-3 digits). You should be able to find this on your original BCMS correspondence or by telephoning BCMS who we believe can give you this information over the ‘phone provided you say that it is for use with 'an approved software package' (which TL Biolabs is). Please note that your 3 digit-3 digit-3 digit CTS Online ID is not your government gateway 16-digit ID. This is for your own security as it means that the WBA Interface has access to your BCMS data only.

The WBA is fully aware that, despite Wagyu being a high-value premium product with a potentially excellent return, finances within farming are extremely tight at the moment. We therefore have to take this into account when looking at the future viability of the Wagyu Breeders Association given the relatively small numbers of pure and crossbred Wagyu animals in the UK and Southern Ireland. This means we have to encourage as many farmers as possible to register their animals under the auspices of the WBA to ensure sufficient income for the work of the Association going forward.

We have listened carefully to commercial farmers for whom the payment of the 'whole package' of registration, tag plus DNA up front adds a considerable amount to the cost of a calf as well as in terms of cash-flow. Therefore, the WBA Board has decided to put in place through the new interface a 'two-stage payment' mechanism for commercial, crossbred animals. The tag and registration will be paid at stage one (when 'clicking' the animal in question on the Interface) with the DNA payable at stage two when the animal reaches 365 days of age provided it has not been marked as 'dead' on BCMS or transferred to a non-member. Please note, this two-stage payment option is for commercial animals only. All pedigree animals have to be routinely DNA'd for both sire and dam so it seems sensible that the registration, tag and DNA package is actioned in one go.

WBA BOARD & ELECTIONS

Can I first remind you that Pearce Hughes stood down as a Board Member earlier in the year simply due to the pressure of his job with Asda combined with a recent new addition to his young family.  I would like here to put on record my personal thanks to him for all his enthusiasm and hard work which has been instrumental in getting us to where we are today. I hope one day he might return to the office but fully understood his situation.

We have been extremely fortunate that Rob Cumine has come onto the WBA Board in his place; many of you will know him from being Keynote Speaker at our Official Launch in November 2014. There are few people in the world better qualified as a Director of the WBA, and Rob has already made an impressive impact in the meetings he has been involved in. He brings a wealth of experience with his knowledge of the Wagyu breed, genetics and meat technology. His job with Coles, one of the top supermarkets in Australia, means he is now commuting between Australia and the UK and, as a result, is easily able to communicate with the Australian Wagyu Association on our behalf. He also knows about practical cattle farming with his growing ‘Natural Wagyu’ business in West Wales.

The WBA Board currently numbers five and it is our intention that this increase over time yet still be a manageable number. It would seem sensible that it encompasses the views of its representative areas namely England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland & the Republic of Ireland. I would welcome your thoughts on this in terms of Board make-up, numbers and election procedure so please do not hesitate to pass on your views for consideration.

FRIENDS OF THE WBA/ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP

In September, it our intention to launch a ‘Friends of the WBA’ Membership. This is aimed at those with an interest in the Wagyu breed but without cattle to register, namely farm shops, butchers, wholesalers, hotels, restaurants, retailers and processors. Not only will this help as an extra source of income for the WBA but will, we hope, expand the reach of the Association and increase awareness and education at grass roots level.

SPRING CONFERENCE & AGM

The proposed AGM will unfortunately not happen this year due to the priority of getting the new Interface up-and-running. We hope, however, that we can hold an AGM in the Spring next year perhaps in tandem with another successful Spring Conference?

It remains vital to spread the Wagyu ‘message’ throughout the regions and there are opportunities out there to address NBA meetings, NFU talks or other farmer meetings. If you are able to help with any of these or with an Open Day, Farm Walk or other event, please get in touch with Company Secretary Richard Saunders. It is only by getting the word out there on the ground and in front of farmers that we can promote the breed and develop its potential.

Please do not be shy in publicising all Wagyu news as our website and social media (Facebook & Twitter) are garnering a growing following! Please email any news items to info@britishwagyu.co.uk and we will ‘share’ them as appropriate.

In closing, I am confident that the imminent launch of the new WBA Interface will lead the industry in the provision of 100% integrity to the world’s finest British Wagyu beef.

Mike Tucker
Chairman
Wagyu Breeders Association