Accepting their Grand Championship trophy in Cairns last night were Scott and Kristy de Bruin, and Mark Oliver (Mayura Station), with sponsor Terry Donohue (Ariat) and AWA’s Matt McDonagh.

SOUTH Australian Wagyu producers the de Bruin family have claimed their third AWA Branded Beef Competition, announced during the annual Wagyu Conference held in Cairns last night.

The de Bruin’s Mayura Station has established an enviable reputation for its longfed Fullblood Wagyu program, aiming to produce marbling scores at the extreme end of the scale for the premium international restaurant trade.

This year’s competition attracted a record 72 entries from across Australia, in five competition classes from Fullblood through to commercial Wagyu F1 marbling scores 5-7. With each whole Wagyu striploin entry worth anywhere up to $2000, the stakes were high.

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This year’s grand champion produced a digital marbling score of 60 percent, digital marbling fineness of 8.1, and an unprecedented unsaturated fatty acid level of 62pc (that’s the percentage of overall fat that is in the desirable unsaturated form – see more on this below).

Eye muscle area was 155sq cm, among the largest in the competition, from a 27-month-old animal fed only 300 days, according to the accompanying competition notes.

For the followers of Wagyu genetics, the sire was ADBN0387, out of an ADB female.

This year’s overall reserve champion, carrying the highest digital marbling score ever seen in the competition’s 11 year history (71pc, representing the equivalent of marbling score 21 using a scale projecting beyond the current AusMeat range) was another  Fullblood class entry. It came from Andrews Meat Industries’ Shiro Kin brand program, from a calf produced by 3D genetics, using World K’s SFS0100 as sire.

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Fed only 400 days, the entry was slaughtered at 33 months of age, producing a digital marbling fineness of 8.7, unsaturated fatty acid concentration of 50pc, and eye muscle areas of 106sq cm.

All entries in this year’s competition were assessed using the Meat Industry Japan (MIJ) objective assessment camera, now widely deployed across the Australian and Japanese Wagyu industries, and a suite of other sophisticated measurement tools.

On top of that, a lineup of 36 judges back in February sampled each entry for flavour, juiciness, tenderness, overall liking and visual raw state.

Both this year’s grand champion and runner up were equal to, or higher in marbling than any previous entries seen in the series of competitions held over the past 12 years.

AWA chief executive Dr Matt McDonagh said measurement of the (desirable) unsaturated fat content of each carcase was only implemented for the first time in last year’s Wagyu branded beef contest, and again produced some outstanding results.

“During the judging process back in February, this year’s grand champion, particularly, displayed the extremely soft, low melting-point fat that characterises Wagyu with heavy concentrations of unsaturated fat,” he said.

“Several entries this year were above 60pc unsaturated fat, which was quite unique. Typically for Wagyu beef, the percentage of unsaturated ranges from 45-48pc, so many of these carcases were extremely high.”

Fatty acid profile is now being focussed on much more close in Australian Wagyu, as it is in Japan.

“Its an extremely important trait, and its one that the Japanese industry has been measuring and selecting for, for some time. We know the trait is heritable; we can identify it, and select for it. We just need enough animals tested now to provide an EBV for unsaturated fat percent,” Dr McDonagh said.

“That’s one of the next developments and transitions for Australian Wagyu in the future – selecting cattle for consistently high unsaturated fat content, to further lift the consumer eating experience.”

“We have huge marbling scores, huge eye muscle areas (155sq cm recorded among this year’s Fullblood entries); extreme marbling fineness – now we need that huge unsaturated fat concentration with greater consistency,” he said.

“This was easily the largest Wagyu branded beef competition ever held, and the standard in all traits just continues to rise, year-on-year,” Dr McDonagh said.

Here’s a quick summary of other 2024 AWA branded beef class winners:

Purebred Wagyu (F4 and higher):

– Japanese-owned Starzen Australia topped the class with a sample from the company’s Eight Blossom beef, bred by Fuchang Woodslands. The body produced a digital marbling score of 62pc, marbling fineness of 7.4, unsaturated fat content of 50pc and eye muscle area of 144sq cm after 400 days on feed. In fact the carcase scored the fourth highest in the entire competition, gaining 1092.8 points.

Crossbred Wagyu F1-F3:

Stone Axe Pastoral’s Margaret River Beef brand topped the class with a carcase producing digital marbling of 61pc, unsaturated fat of 55pc and an eye muscle of 111sq cm after 300 days on feed, from a 28 month old animal.

Open F1 class:

The Open F1 class was topped by Tamworth’s Jack’s Creek Wagyu supply chain, exhibiting a Wagyu x Angus entry with digital marbling of 55pc, unsaturated fat of 46pc, an eye muscle measuring 119sq cm, having been fed 409 days from an animal aged 30 months.

Commercial Wagyu mid marbling scores 5-7:

Paradigm Foods Icon Wagyu brand topped the class with a striploin exhibiting digital marbling of 36pc, 49pc unsaturated fat and 111sq cm eye muscle from a 30-month-old animal fed 360 days.

In addition to sensory eating quality analysis of some 560 samples by a team of 36 judges, each entry this year was poked, prodded, scanned, imaged and laboratory-analysed by an unprecedented array of objective testing technologies.

Beef Central’s Jon Condon again took part in the judging process. What was clearly evident this year was the continued progression of Wagyu beef in marbling performance, in both abundance and consistency. Another striking feature was the abundance of marbling being produced in F1 and crossbred entries this year, with lots of F1 competitors in the 9+ range.

Wagyu beef production is a $2 billion annual business in Australia today, this week’s Cairns annual conference heard.