Wading Wagyu on the long road to Japan

By By Rowena McNaughton
Updated January 5 2016 - 6:15pm, first published June 28 2007 - 11:00pm
Wading Wagyu on the long road to Japan
Wading Wagyu on the long road to Japan

LOOKING out through Keith Hammond’s kitchen window it is hard to imagine that the dot of land 15 kilometres away, barely visible across the water, plays a crucial role in the journey to market of some of Australia’s finest full blood Wagyu beef.But it is on the rugged shore of Robbins Island, off the north-west coast of Tasmania in stormy Bass Strait, where 1600 full-blood Kobe Wagyu beef vealers are fattened by the Hammonds to 430 kilograms each year before being sold to Susuki feedlot in Japan.Beef from the vealers eventually trades for a minimum of $300 a kilogram.The Hammonds use Robbins Island – just shy of 10,000 hectares – to graze their cattle during the winter. Getting stock back across to their mainland property at Smithton has become something of a tradition that involves a team of local stockmen, a five hour walk and a Wagyu fuelled barbecue fit for the harshest food critic.The Hammonds muster cattle up to eight times a year and timing the 27-hour crossing is essential.“We’ve never had any drown, but there have been some fairly deep tides in the past,” Mr Hammond said.Pictured leading the muster is Mr Hammond’s brother John.

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