THE Nave Family are getting paid a premium for their beef, even if their cattle aren’t considered conventionally ‘pretty’.
Peter Nave and son Chris run 900 Angus cows and join them to Wagyu bulls, producing Wagyu-cross meat for export to Japan.
Peter and his wife Julie, along with Chris and his wife Belinda operate on 1110 hectares, with the help of long-term farmhand Jim Lia and his family.
Chris said while their Wagyu cattle aren’t traditionally attractive, they eat the same amount of grass and attract a premium price. “Cost versus profit, they still out-perform other breeds because of the Japanese market,” he said.
“All our Wagyu are sold under contract, providing stability and eliminating the risks of the local market.”
Meat and Livestock Australia regional manager Japan Melanie Brock recently said Japan remains the largest export destination for Australian beef in terms of volume.
Australia shipped 3,342,188 tonnes of beef to Japan in 2011, 36 per cent of Australia’s export volume and 35pc of its export value, providing 39pc of Japan’s beef supplies.
The Naves forward contract the cattle to local exporters up to four years in advance, making it easier to predict income and budget for the future.
They began breeding Wagyus more than 10 years ago for live export, but the cattle are now killed in Australia and boxed overseas.
Not only has this freed Peter and Chris of worries surrounding the live export trade, but it also means they get paid at the farm-gate per kilogram for their beef, cutting out transport costs and weight loss in transit.
Chris said while the income was the main incentive to continue breeding Wagyus, he also liked the genetic juggling with Wagyu crosses and the progress being made with marbling and weight gain.
Originally sourcing bloodlines from Westholme Wagyu, NSW, the Naves also participated in an AI program with Elders about eight years ago, where their Angus herd were inseminated with Wagyu genetics to provide calves for the Elders feedlot.
This allowed them to follow their calves through the feedlot system and track the weight gain and marbling data of their Angus-Wagyu progeny.
They now source bulls through a specialist agent and the sires must have a certain percentage of the Tajama Wagyu genetics – the highly marbled Japanese bloodline famous for producing Kobe beef – to satisfy market demands.
“The higher the percentage of Tajama a beast has the better their marbling is, but the harder they are to fatten,” Chris said.
“The closer you get to Wagyu the higher the premium, but we decided to stay with first-cross as it is an easier process to revert back to Angus if the market falls apart.”
The Wagyu calves take longer to put on weight than their British counterparts but Chris said they receive the same price for their entire line of calves, including both steers and heifers. ‘Wagyu genetics have been selected to specifically focus on marbling, rather than growth, as this is what they are paid a premium for,” he said.
“Improvements in the breed mean they are now integrating both, and the breed is catching up growth wise.”
The Naves have most recently utilised bloodlines from the Kurokin Wagyu operation in Scone, NSW, and said they are finding it easier to get good genetics in Australia.
Peter said while cows and calves are more work than finishing cattle – which was what their area was renowned for – it makes it easier to control their cost base.
They run their main herd at Tanjil East and Willow Grove and the weaned cattle are finished on an irrigation property near Traralgon.
“We have to provide the cattle between 350-450kg, so we weigh the cattle regularly and plan delivery times with the buyer,” Chris said.
“It does take some planning to ensure sufficient numbers of cattle reach the weight class at the same time.”
While they are looking at increasing their cow herd to turn off more Wagyu-cross calves, by no means have the Nave Pastoral Company put all their eggs in one basket.
They recently sent 300 Angus heifers to Russia via boat, contributing to a contract for the establishment of the country’s breeding herd.
They also sold 156 Angus-Charolais calves at the Leongatha store sale in January making to a top of $835.
For the time though, the Naves will continue to plan ahead with their highly marbled Wagyu beef with hybridvigour.