WINDHOEK - The rich history book of Namibian cattle breeding will add another inscription on February 15 with the first ever Namibian-bred Wagyu cattle selling at the Platinum Wagyu Auction at the Castle de Wildt, Limpopo, South Africa.
Wagyu semen, embryos and breeding animals - bulls, heifers, cows and pregnant recipes - will be on offer. Four of these Namibian animals will come under the hammer via on-line bidding during a silent auction. The Namibian Wagyu being auctioned consist of two black and two brown bulls and heifers. The two bulls belong to farm Namibgrens while the heifers are owned by Andries Schutte of farm Chadeni in the Okahandja district.
The four Namibian animals will be sold as lots 6, 26, 32 and 40. One of the organisers of the prestigious event, Johan Orffer expects that the bulls will easily reach N$70 000 and the heifers N$100 000 each.The Wagyu is a Japanese beef cattle breed – derived from native Asian cattle. ‘Wagyu’ refers to all Japanese beef cattle, where ‘Wa’ means Japanese and ‘gyu’ means cow.
Wagyu were originally draft animals used in agriculture, and were selected for their physical endurance. This selection favoured animals with more intra-muscular fat cells – ‘marbling’ – which provided a readily available energy source. Wagyu is a horned breed and the cattle are either black or red/brown in colour.
Lake Wagyu from Australia has been breeding in South Africa and their genetics (including Chokyori 1713 and Lake Wagyu C87) will be available. There is male and female sexed semen and embryos available from both of these superior sires. More information is available on the Ken Dungey’s Lake Wagyu homepage. The Wagyu Association of South Africa introduced this immaculate Japanese breed to Namibia with a livestock producers symposium last year. There are four breeds or strains of Wagyu with only the Japanese Black and Japanese Brown (Kumamoto line) available outside Japan. These animals are bred for the superior meat quality traits and calving ease ability and, are also used in terminal meat programmes with breeds like Angus and Holstein to increase the meat quality grade of the first cross progeny. The exotic beef of Wagyu can easily sell for N$400 p/kg!
Orffer says fine strips of fat are found even in its lean meat (known as marbling). The flavour of the fat is exquisite, with a buttery, tender texture that dissolves in one’s mouth. Slaughter age is around 28-30 months. The more dominant Kumamoto line was improved by cross-breeding Simmental with Hanwoo (Korean Red), which was formerly used as a “work horse” during the Meiji Era. Among its characteristics is its low fat content, about 12 percent or less. Slaughter age is around 25. Japanese Polled (Mukaku Washu) was produced through crossbreeding of Aberdeen Angus imported from Scotland with the indigenous Japanese Black in 1920. Its characteristics include its high lean meat content and distinctive Wagyu taste. It contains a high percentage of amino acid and has a rich chewy, meaty flavour.
“This auction will be a piece of history and it might introduce a new era in Namibian livestock breeding, joining the ranks of just a few very priviledged providers of Wagyu outside of Japan. On offer will be superior genetics from rare gene pools,” he concludes.
International experts such as Ken Dungley, Loren Ruth,Grandt Whitmer and PJ Butler will attend the auction where a total of 50 lots will come under the hammer.