Beef Brands Challenge Winner – Protea Reserve Wagyu Co

‘Genuine, fresh, juicy and delicious are just a few words to describe our Wagyu beef.

We are proud to announce that Protea Reserve Wagyu Co succeeded to win the grain-fed category and also to become be the overall winner of the Beef Brands Challenge 2021 sponsored by the SA Feedlot Association (SAFA) and the African Livestock Trade Fair (ALFA).

We are grateful to Prof Arno Hugo, the Meat and Dairy Science Unit of the UFS Department of Animal Science and all parties involved, who hosted the Beef Brands Competition on the Bloemfontein Campus.

Our sincere congratulations go to Afribeef, the winner of the grass-fed category.’

www.proteareserve.com

Wagyu producers told Wagyu consumption has increased fourfold over the last year at annual AGM

Mr Johan de Vos, chairman of the Wagyu Society of South Africa and its subsidiary,
Certified Wagyu Beef (CWB), told the Wagyu AGM on the 30th September that
Wagyu in South Africa has experienced a fourfold increase in consumption of meat
over the last year.

Where we used to slaughter 20–30 oxen a week, this has increased to 120–150 per
week and based on international trends the society predicts that this trajectory will
continue for at least the next two decades. He says that this increase can be
objectively proven from CWB data collected at nine abattoirs, spread across the
country.

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Wagyu Social development report released at AGM

Purpose:
Getting developing farmers engaged in farming with a niche product such as Wagyu is one of
the corporate goals of the Wagyu Breed Society. Target commercially orientated emerging
farmers that want to be part of a value chain that produces high value beef. Report will focus
on the activities from the 13th of May to 13th September 2021


WSD Focus:
WSD is currently focusing on three activities i.e. establishing a demonstration site ( Booyskraal
farm), a business model & then access to Wagyu genetics & breeding plan.

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Wagyu SA in good financial shape; AGM Report (WSA AGM Financial report)

Financial Committee:
As the board representative of finances, together with the CEO, we are pleased to present the
financial report for the Wagyu Society of South Africa for the 2020–2021 financial year, ending
June 2021.


Executive summary:
The overall financial position of the WSA is positive with a profit of R395 000 and is supported by
a steady R 908 000 bank balance (growing in the money market account) at 30 June 2021. The
dampened membership growth, sponsorships and semen and royalties, has however meant that
mitigation steps have been put in place. As reported last year, the CEO now has a shared
responsibility with Wagyu and the Livestock Registering Federation (LRF). Due to Covid 19, the
board closed the office and it then reopened this year.

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Wagyu markets open and urgently needs slaughter oxen within the next six months.

The saying “Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty and persistence. This saying, by Colin Powell definitely applies to the Wagyu producer. Every cloud has a silver lining and a recent newsletter from Australia mentions that the last year (2020) was the most difficult in their history but that the market has recovered to such an extent that today there is an 80% premium on F1 weaner calves.

Whilst this is not yet the case in South Africa a small group of dedicated farmers literally broke the market open in extremely difficult circumstances to the Middle East and while Wagyu is appearing on the shelves at an increasing rate of trade, there will also be major announcements in the South African market within the next two months that will significantly increase the market for slaughter oxen.

The South African market has been a commodity market for the past 100 years, i.e. red meat is sold in high volumes at the cheapest price with a minimum carcass quality. Our Wagyu CEO and previous chairman has literally visited three of the four major retailers over the past six months. While the rollout of Wagyu is happening slower than expected, all the traders are looking at how they can focus on the high value meat market, where eating experience plays a big role. A major concern is the value chain’s ability to supply Wagyu slaughter oxen to the market on a constant basis. With some big announcements that will be happening soon, we strongly encourage you to put large numbers of bulls between the cows or to inseminate the cows. Our larger Wagyu farmers are already doing this.

Wagyu Nasionale Veiling, Wagyu Produksieveiling en Nasionale Kongres

Die Wagyu Genootskap van Suid Afrika is ook bly om aan te kondig dat die Nasionale Elite en Produksie Veiling, asook die Wagyu jaarlikse kongres die 1ste Oktober 2021 in Parys sal plaasvind. 15 Bulle asook verse sal by die Elite veiling en 30 bulle sal by die produksie veiling aangebied word. Die twee veilings sal tesame met die “UIT DE FLES” veiling aangebied word.

Voorwaardes:

  • Elite bulle en verse moet ouer as 1 jaar oud wees. Die diere moet verkieslik in die top 30% vir die Suid Afrikaanse of Australiese teelwaarde analise wees (top 30% marmering, top 50% oogspier en top 70% 200/400dae gewigte wees).
  • Produksie bulle moet ouer as 2 jaar oud wees. Die bulle moet verkieslik in die top 50% van die Suid Afrikaanse of Australiese teelwaarde analise wees (top 50% Marmering, top 60% oogspier en top 80% vir 200/400dae op gewigte wees).
  • Daar is 20 lotte vir semen (maksimum 20 strooitjies per lot) en 10 lotte vir embrio’s (maksimum 10 embrio’s per lot) vir die Uit de Fles veiling. Die aanbiedings moet in die top 20% van genetika wees (top 20% IMF, top 40% EMA &en top 70% vir 200/400dae gewigte) vir die Suid Afrikaanse of Australiese teelwaarde analise.
  • Vyf lotte sal uitgehou word vir fondasie-diere.

Daar sal ‘n inspeksiekursus plaasvind op 30 September om 14:00.

Charmaine Alberts is die koördineerder vir die veiling asook kongres. Inskrywings vir die veilings sal aan u gekommunikeer word. U kan direk met haar kommunikeer by palberts@telkomsa.net of 082 922 3747

Wagyu Congress

Covid rules will be very strictly enforced, but we hope to have at least 100 people at the Congress. The congress will be presented both in-person and virtually. No lectures will be presented this year. However, we will rather focus on our fantastic product and have fun together. The theme is “Let’s celebrate Wagyu meat”. We will try and get Prof Dale Woerner to attend, as well as our own South Africans who have fallen in love with the product. They will again use the carcass to demonstrate the different products and the meat cuts will be put straight onto the fire. The congress will be presented in the morning between 09h00 and 13h00 whereafter the auction will take place. We will also have a Wagyu function and dinner that evening and offer several Wagyu prizes. We also trust that you have obtained your first vaccination!

Certified Wagyu Beef: Ervaar egte, sappige en sagte, Suid-Afrikaanse Wagyu Beesvleis

Neem asb. kennis:

  • Soos op die module kursus 1 genoem is het ons, ons samespreking met die staat gefinaliseer. U sal die eerste jaar nadat die kontrak geteken is ‘n volledige oudit kry en daarna ‘n “papier” oudit vir die volgende twee jaar, d.w.s. elektronies om seker te maak die diere is op die databasis en die diere bewegings is gedoen.
  • Die oudit fooi vir die hele waardeketting is substansieel minder as voorheen. In die verlede moes al die groot handelaar’s twee keer per jaar geoudit word. Die nuwe oudit protokol laat toe dat slegs die distribusie sentrums 2 keer per geoudit word en slegs 10% van die winkels. Die per km koste word deur alle handel merke verdeel.
  • Alle CWB waardeketting kliënte mag die eis “Ervaar egte, sappige en sagte, Suid-Afrikaanse Wagyu Beesvleis” gebruik.
  • CPG oudits op plase sal 1 Augustus begin. Dit het langer as verwag geneem a.g.v. die onderhandelings met die staat om die ouditfooie goedkoper te maak.
  • Ons is tans besig om die CWB ooreenkoms op ‘n elektroniese vorm te sit wat u elektronies kan teken.
  • Die CWB komitee het ook met SAMIC en die staat ooreengekom dat die marmering telling op die CWB plakkers, wat op die produk pakkies en bokse geplak moet word, as volg gaan lees:
    • MS 1 & 2 (Slegs gemaalde vleis d.w.s. biltong, droë wors, hamburger patties)
    • MS 3 (Slegs vir lokale gebruik)
    • MS 4 & 5, MS 6 & 7, MS 8 & 9, MS 9+ (Lokale gebruik asook uitvoere)
    • Die plakkers asook handelsmerk spesifikasie is beskikbaar by die CWB kantoor
  • Die nuwe CWB oudit handleiding is op die webblad beskikbaar (Afrikaans en Engels) www.wagyu.org.za

CWB Audits & Morgan beef

After nearly six months of negotiation, we have finalised our agreement with CPG, SAMIC and the Department of Agriculture regarding the CWB audits. The intention is and has always been to provide our CWB members with a Registered Quality Indication Mark (claim and protocol) that is credible yet cost effective. The retail sector and producers are used to these audits for products such as natural beef, grass-fed beef, karoo lamb etc. The Wagyu “claim” is something new to Wagyu breeders however and I believe we have negotiated a system that is fair to everyone, including the retailers. The protocol and audit document needs to include the latest changes and will be distributed to all producers within the next few days.

For Wagyu to work, their needs to be a significant premium that allows producers to afford the audit costs. Developments in our Wagyu industry over the last six months is finally adding the value to the carcass that enables these costs to be absorbed by the producer.

Protokol rondom CWB Abattoirs

CWB Abattoirs:

  • Die abattoir moet aan die CWB protokol voldoen.
  • Die dier word met die genootskap RFID tag gelees en geslag d.w.s. naspeurbaarheid regdeur.
  • ‘n Warm karkas gewig word geneem.
  • Die karkas eienaar kan op 5/6 of op 12/13 rib laat slag vir vet diepte.
  • Alle karkas data, die eienaar asook die koper van die karkas word op die databasis gelaai om aan alle naspeurbaarheid behoeftes te voldoen;
  • Die karkas data word aan die teler en die kantoor verskaf.