A Wagyu beast and seedstock sale and a plethora of great guest speakers could be some of the reasons registrations are strong to go to the Australian National Wagyu Conference next month.
The conference, to be held at the Gold Coast, Queensland from October 10 to 12 has attracted one of its biggest crowds ever with more than 160 registered delegates (of a maximum 200), representing all States of Australia and several from overseas.
‘Export Horizons Going Global’ is the theme of the 13th annual event aimed at preparing the Australian Wagyu industry to take advantage of having the largest Wagyu population in the world outside the now closed Japanese herd. Exports of Wagyu cattle and genetics have expanded rapidly in recent times with numerous countries looking to Australia to expand their Wagyu industries.
This year’s conference will include the inaugural Wagyu Fullblood International sale and special add-on workshops ‘Skilling up with Wagyu’ and ‘Herd Level Eradication of BVDV (Pestivirus)’.
The Wagyu Fullblood International online sale through AuctionsPlus/Landmark opens on Wednesday October 8 and concludes on the final day of the conference (Sunday October 12).
The sale comprises 33 live Fullblood Wagyu including three unique “herd-starter” heifer lots, nine semen packages, 10 embryo packages and three embryo flushes.
Traditionally, Wagyu cattle and genetics have been traded privately and this is one of the first opportunities to bid at auction which is through the simultaneous ‘Helmsman’ type system.
In another first for the seedstock cattle industry, the sale will be open for bidding for four days and the progress of the auction can be viewed at any time during that period. Registered buyers can lodge bids from anywhere in Australia and from overseas.
“This sale contains some very interesting and exciting genetics and is a forerunner for what we believe will be a much larger offering at the World Wagyu Conference at Yeppoon in central Queensland from May 8 to 10 next year immediately following Beef 2015 at Rockhampton,” Wagyu Australia’s president Scott de Bruin said.
The 2014 conference includes a wide range of speakers and topics including Jason Strong, chief executive officer of AA Co that runs the biggest Wagyu herd in the world with close to 30,000 head of purebred and crossbred Wagyu. In the keynote address, Mr Strong will explain how the company built its Australian supply chain and Wagyu branded beef operation.
Genetics will be the focus of many presentations.
