KWA News No. 28 | 24 Apr 2026

We are  back from Wagyu Edge 26, the annual Australian Wagyu Association conference. This year it was in Brisbane and bigger and better than ever.

Key takeaways from 3 days of discussions and presentations and quite a bit of socialising were many. Here are a few of the highlights

1.        We heard from Simon Quilty that although his previous predictions were hopelessly optimistic, “this time is different.” He believes that the rise of weight loss drugs like Ozempic and the reversal of the food pyramid by the Trump administration is having a big impact. In effect, the  search for high protein meals by people on weight loss drugs is leading to a focus on smaller portions of high protein meats like Wagyu. His target price for feeder Wagyu in 12 months is now $6.80 a kilo which is a about $1.50 higher than the current price. It also sees a premium of perhaps $1.50 to the Angus feeder price.

2.        We heard some mixed messages about the demand for Marble Score 12+ carcases. Some people were having trouble placing them and some are having trouble finding them.

3.        We were scared witless by the discussion of the potential impact of Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) on the meat industry in Australia without even getting to the disaster scenario of FMD.

4.        Joe Grose gave an excellent presentation as part of a look at the way IVF was making a big difference. His numbers are exceptional. Joe was extremely pleased with the results of the Elite sale where his heifer made $50,000 and his bull made $120,000.

5.        There was a fascination presentation on bull fertility by Ced Wise. He spoke about the fragility of the testicles in cattle. It was quite terrifying. We learnt that Elephants are one of the few mammals whose testicles are held withing the body rather than being air cooled like most animals. They, the testicles, should ideally be 2-6 degrees cooler than the body temperature of the animal.

6.        The Branded Beef Competition was both fascinating and delicious.  The quality of the entries was universally high and the opportunity to taste them was fabulous.  The Grand Champion was a 32-month-old animal bred by a relatively new entrant to the Wagyu business, Lapins Lament Wagyu.  It was fed for 430 days, the Digital Marbling Percentage and the Unsaturated Fatty Acid Percentage were both 54%.  Eye Muscle Area was 99.5 sq cm.

7.        A brilliant presentation by Tom McLeish from Diamond Cattle Company in North Queensland. The scale and risk in these operations is difficult to comprehend. The use of Wagyu genetics to increase fertility in the northern herds is clearly having a positive impact on their operations.

8.        The drought was a big topic of conversation. It is biting hard in New England and seems to be spreading this week. We still have a little bit of grass but the lack of rain is certainly slowing things down.

9.         There was quite a lot of discussion about the move to Wagyu Breeding Values (WBV), questions were raised about why the changes were made?  Were the new systems really better than the old?  Were the new systems more or less secure than the old processes?

Newsletter No. 28 | 24 April 2026