Skip to main content

Breeds of Livestock

Open Main MenuClose Main Menu

The word Wagyu refers to all Japanese beef cattle ('Wa' means Japanese or japanese-style and 'gyu' means cattle).

 

Most of the cattle were influenced by British and Continental breeds for a few generations nearly 100 years ago. Brown Swiss, Shorthorn, Devon, Simmental, Ayrshire, Korean, Holstein and Angus had been imported by 1887 and impacted today's Wagyu.

 

Crossbreeding was prominent for several years, but when the price of crossbreds collapsed in 1910 no further crossbreeding was conducted. The result was selection for specific traits determined by region and extensive linebreeding was used to achieve those traits.

 

The dominant black Wagyu strains are Tottori, Tajima, Shimane, and Okayama. Tajima cattle, bred in the Tajima region, were originally chosen and bred for their heavy forequarters because their primary use was to pull carts. They tend to be smaller and less heavily muscled than the Tottori breed. Tottori cattle, because they were used as pack animals for the grain industry of the Tottori region, were selected for their size and strength of topline.

 

The other main "breed" of Wagyu, was developed on the island of Kyushu and are red in color. As with the blacks, there are two distinct strains-Kochi and Kumamoto. Kochi cattle were strongly influenced by Korean breeding while Kumamoto are believed to have considerable Simmental influence.

 

The original import of these cattle to the U.S. in 1976 consisted of two Tottori Black Wagyu and two Kumamoto Red Wagyu bulls. That was the only importation of Wagyu into the U.S. until 1993 when two male and three female Tajima cattle were imported and 1994 when 35 male and female cattle consisting of both red and black genetics reached the U.S.

 

 

Registries and Breed Associations

 

Australia

Australian Wagyu Association Ltd 
Agricultural Business Research Institute 
University of New England 
Armidale, NSW 2351 
Phone: (02) 67 733138 
Fax: (02) 67 72 5376 
Email: wagyu@abri.une.edu.au

 

Chile

Asociación Chilena de Ganado Wagyu A.G. 
Av. Luis Pasteur #5280. Of 301. 
Vitacura. Santiago, Chile. 
Phone: (562) 218-4277 
Fax: 562-218-4217 
Email: cvergara@wagyu.cl

http://www.wagyu.cl/

 

New Zealand

New Zealand Wagyu Breeders Association Inc.
PO Box 453
Kumeu, New Zealand
Email: ian.barron@barlex.co.nz

 

United States

American Wagyu Association
PO Box 1115
Post Falls, ID 83877
Phone: (208) 262-8100
Fax: 208-292-2670
Email: office@wagyu.org

 

Back To Top
MENUCLOSE