The 2022 Australian Wagyu Edge Conference attracted 450 delegates from across the global Wagyu Sector to Melbourne on the 26th-28th April. Rob & Jess from Wyndford Wagyu made the trip down under, toured various farms prior to attending, culminating with Jess presenting at the conference.
Starting with a technical update, the AWA informed of developments within the membership services team, the progeny test program and genetic evaluations. The Welcome Dinner & Charity Auction followed with attendees treated to branded beef competition tasters, showcasing the very best of Australian Wagyu Beef.
The first official conference day consisted of 4 sessions: ‘Australia’s Position in the Global Wagyu Sector’, ‘Technology Application in the Field’, ‘Facing the Challenges of Tomorrow’ and ‘Opportunities for Wagyu in a Carbon Future’. A total of 13 speakers covering a broad range of topics delivered an insightful day of Wagyu presentations.
That evening saw delegates attend an evening cocktail dinner party followed by the Elite Wagyu Sale. The UK was represented by 3 Wyndford entries with the highlight being Wyndford Itoguni 308H selling for AUS$6,500 per straw. It was a sale with huge highs with Lot 1 an Arubial Bond sired heifer making AUS$400,000 to Yulong Investments and lot 17A a bull, Blackmore Kinyasu Q619, selling for AUS$220,000, a joint purchase between Mayura and Hewitt Pastoral.
The second day opened with an ‘International Perspective of the Wagyu Sector’ The sessions consisted of talks from Ken Kurosawatsu (Wagyu Sekai), Sam Harburg (AbacusBio) and Jess Edwards (Wyndford Wagyu). This was a great opportunity for a UK-based Wagyu herd to stand amongst literal Wagyu industry legends such as Ken. Jess gave a great overview of the Wyndford Herd and their journey to date. Their extensive use of embryos and recipients to build the herd shocked many Australian Breeders and their focus on the Top 1% EBV’s really put them on the map. The subsequent sessions covered ‘New Traits & Research Directions’ and ‘Commercial Application of R&D’.
The evening was a true highlight of the conference, the WagyuEdge Gala Dinner and Branded Beef Awards. Onlookers witnessed history being made with Mayura Station winning the branded beef competition with an entry achieving 61% digital marbling, 93.1 digital marbling fineness and an Eye Muscle Area of 145cm2 – a phenomenal entry with 270 days on feed and finished at 28 months.
All Conference talks are available to AWA members on the Website or via this link: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/wagyuedge2022/
