|
Wagyu cattle were first introduced into Japan in the 2nd century to provide power for the cultivation of rice. Because of the rugged terrain, migration was slow and restricted. Cattle tended to be isolated in small areas and each area had essentially a closed population.
Closed by Order of the Shogun
From 1635 to 1868, the cowherd in Japan was officially closed by mandate of the Shogun. Except for a short period during the Meiji Restoration in the late 1800's, the national herd has remained closed to this day.
Geographic Isolation Results in the World's Most Sought After Beef
Japan's rugged terrain created isolated pockets in which different breeding and feeding techniques were used. This resulted in distinctly different characteristics, which over the years, led to cattle from the Kobe region, as well as all regions throughout Japan, becoming a standard for the world in terms of flavor and tenderness. Since then, two decades of research and development have resulted in an eating experience unequaled by any domestically produced beef today. Every bite bespeaks a quality that until now, was unavailable in this country at an affordable price.
Wagyu Cattle were eventually moved to new regions outside the tiny country.
Because of its close proximity to Japan and Japan’s very little available geographical areas to raise larger herds of Wagyu cattle, Australia became a country of interest to the Japanese beef companies. However, severe droughts that ravaged the cattle feeding areas of Australia affected the available grains and grasses; eventually, the quality of the Australian Wagyu beef became known to the Japanese traders as the third best in the world. The top was of course the Japanese Wagyu beef. The Wagyu beef from America was considered second in quality. Japan actually listed three different prices from auctions on Wagyu beef:
#1 Japanese, #2 American, and #3 Australian Wagyu beef. Because of these perceived values, Australia eventually became used more as a backgrounder than a finisher of Wagyu beef. Today Australia is back finishing very large herds of Wagyu crossbred cattle that grade somewhere around the 3, 4, and 5 levels on the Japanese Marbling System, as well as smaller full blood herds that grade out much higher. The weather there is still an issue when finishing these cattle.
The first Wagyu cattle to come to America derived from a government exchange of a small group of bulls in the mid 70’s. The real influx of today’s Wagyu genetics came about in the nineties. Amongst the first group of the genetics’ that came in the early nineties was a group of young calves who were brought to Washington State University to test how these cattle would perform in America, being fed American feedstuffs and diets for long periods of time. When the cattle eventually became finished and ready to butcher, WSU came to R L Freeborn to market the first Wagyu beef ever in the United States. They came to R L Freeborn because of his vast knowledge and business dealings with the Japanese on long fed Angus cattle. R L Freeborn has been raising and marketing Wagyu beef here in the United States ever since. He has been instrumental in the American Wagyu beef business longer than anyone else in the U. S. and has been a crusader in tracking American Wagyu genetics’ to find which Wagyu super bulls out there have the ability to produce Wagyu cattle that can grade high at a more economical cost. That will eventually mean better economical prices for Wagyu beef to the public as well.
These groups of Wagyu breeding cattle that came to America in the nineties were actually brought to the United States to create an easier access to sell semen to Australia because of some trade issues and high tariff problems that the two countries were negotiating at the time. It soon became evident that because of the abundance of high energy feedstuffs, grasses rich in protein, and economical prices, Japan was ready to purchase Wagyu beef raised and packed in America, and to put the beef into their vast retail markets. |