In many respects, the raising of Wagyu cattle is one of the few
remaining generally traditional activities in modern Japan. But this is a
relatively new tradition. Until about 1960, most beef in Japan was produced from
cattle kept primarily for draught purposes. As machines replaced cattle as
beasts of burden, raising cattle for beef became a specialized undertaking. In
this sense, commercial beef production in Japan has little more than a forty
year history.
These four decades have seen enormous changes in the production
methods and in the location of cattle raising. Nevertheless, some aspects of
the traditional beef cattle sector remain relatively undisturbed by modern
technology. In Japan, grazing is relatively rare even with tethering. Grazing
areas are only available on mountain sides and in other remote areas where rice
and other crops cannot be grown. Also, as each Wagyu beast is extremely
valuable and the herds so small, owners do not wish to risk the physical dangers
associated with grazing. Most Japanese cattle live their entire lives in barns
and adjoining pens. On breeding farms calves are raised with their mothers and
both are confined to small pens at all times.
The cows and calves are hand-fed on various grains and
commercial feeds, as well as a wide range of roughages and fodders including
freshly cut green grass, silage, hay, rice straw and in some cases industrial
by-products and wastes from agricultural processing plants (such as canneries).
Almost all Wagyu calves are creep fed with special concentrate rations from
about two to three months of age. Calves are weaned between eight to ten months
old and sold either as feeder calves to fattening farmers or as replacement
heifers to breeding farmers. The majority of these calves are auctioned, one at
a time on a per head basis, at special calf auction centres located in the major
breeding areas.
They
are fed beer in August, September and October when the cows suffer from
the heat and loose their appetite. Temperature in the cow shed is about
27-28 degrees Centigrade, 30 degrees outside. They are given a bottle of
beer a day until their appetite returns. They get no beer at all if they
have a healthy appetite.
Male calves
destined for feed lots are normally castrated at two or three months of age
using the Burdizzo method since surgical procedures would expose the animals to
infection in the damp, congested barns. Given the high value of each calf, this
operation is usually performed by a veterinarian or by a specialist employed by
a livestock cooperative.
It is extremely
difficult to classify the diverse fattening techniques employed in Japan. Young
steer fattening, commonly referred to as the “ordinary” or “popular” fattening
system, is the most important segment of the beef breed fattening industry. On
average, the steers enter the fattening stage at around ten months of age and
they are slaughtered when 27 to 28 months old, but there is a great deal of
variation. In 1979 there were about 50,000 households classified as fattening
beef cattle under the young steer method. While some 1,650 of these farms
fattened 50 or more steers, 53% of the households were keeping only one or two
head.
Traditionally the
fattening of female cattle took one of two forms. There was the “old cow”
system and the “ideal” method for virgin heifers. Under the “old cow” system,
specialist fatteners purchased cows which had finished breeding or work in the
field. These animals were usually six to eight years old, but sometimes much
older. The fattening farmer usually only kept one cow on which he lavished
tender care for five to eight months in order to marble her meat ready for
slaughter. Today the “old cow” method is still practiced except that breeding
cows tend to be slaughter at a younger age than in the past.
Each
massage takes about 20 minutes, and only takes place in May through
October
The “ideal” fattening system has an aura of importance not
matched by its quantitative significance. In 1979 only 9% of households
fattening beef cattle practiced the “ideal” method. Less than 5% of Wagyu
cattle were fattened by these highly specialized producers. Nevertheless their
product, best known to foreigners as Kobe (or Matsuzaka or Omi) is
a mystical folk art. Today, as in the past, these farmers usually fatten only
one or two head at a time. Young virgin heifers of the Tajima strain of
the Japanese Black breed are the preferred animals for this purpose, although
steers are also used. These animals are fed a special ration with the energy
level gradually being raised as the animal is finished for slaughter at around
36 months. Management practices include
regular massage with oil to improve the distribution and softness of the
sub-cutaneous fat, feeding beer and other special foods to stimulate the
appetite when the animal is on the high-energy, low-bulk finishing ration, and
the deliberate restriction of exercise to prevent muscle toughness. The result
is a mature carcass with bright cherry red meat, almost all of which is
extensively and finely marbled with pure white fat. The Japanese regard this as
the top grade of beef.
Massage with oil and a special straw brush
While some Wagyu heifers are fattened for slaughter, some are
retained for breeding. The retention rate needs to be high just to maintain cow
numbers because calving rates are low and breeding cows are normally replaced
before they are more than eight years old. Although the potential breeding life
of most cows is much more than eight years, the value of their carcass drops
sharply after they are about eight years old due to a darkening of the meat with
age. Therefore, farmers prefer to sell their cows for fattening and slaughter
at relatively young ages when the prices offered are more attractive. The
national Wagyu herd could be enlarged rapidly if breeding farmers were given an
economic incentive to retain, and breed from, their cows for another year or
two. Well over 90% of all beef-bred females have been mated by AI since the late
1960’s. Young heifers are inseminated for the first time as early as 13 months,
but 15 to 17 months is more common. Official data on conception rates suggest
that the success rate with AI matings is usually in the 82% to 85% range. The
national average calving rate, when expressed in terms of the number of calves
born divided by the number of available females, appears to be well under 60%.
The
cows are kept in small cow sheds and almost never let outside. Kobu
takes them only out for the massage which is dine right in front of the
shed and is very careful not to tire his cows.
It is
not easy to obtain meaningful detailed production or growth-rate data on beef
cattle in Japan because there are so many differences in the methods of feeding
and the period during which cattle are fattened. The general picture which
emerges is that Wagyu steers enter feedlots at around 10 months when they weigh
about 285 kg. They are then fattened for 18 to 19 months until they reach about
630 kg live weight. The daily gain in live weight during fattening is,
therefore, a little over 0.6 kg a day.
For the first half
of the growing and fattening period, the diet may be relatively low in energy
and high in roughage. In fact, farmers may even restrict concentrate rations in
an attempt to prevent excessive fat being laid down. In the latter stages of
fattening the steers will be on high energy rations. The result is a carcass
with a high degree of fat (subcutaneous, inter muscular, intramuscular, and
internal). Careful dissection has shown that while the average Wagyu steer
carcass contains about 35% fat, in some cases fat can constitute more than 40%
of the carcass. Most Wagyu carcasses require trimming to remove the excess fat
on the outside of the body, and some trimming of internal fat as well.
Kobu's
cows also never bear calves. He keeps them for three years after which
they are sold. Feed costs for the three years come to about 500,000 to
600,000 yen per cow. One cow can fetch up from 1 to 50 million yen,
depending on how judges have judged the cow and sentiment at the
auction.
Although Japanese
Blacks and Herefords appear to be comparable in terms of feed conversion ratios,
the feed utilization pattern favors the Herefords since they achieved a better
weight gain on much less concentrate feed than the Japanese Blacks.
Nevertheless, there continues to be little, if any, interest in breeding
European beef cattle in Japan. Japanese Blacks achieved a
much higher marbling score than the three other breeds. As the marbling score
plays a dominant role in the Japanese carcass grading system, the Japanese Black
carcasses would be judged to be of higher grade. The Japanese Blacks ate the
most concentrate feed and recorded the second lowest daily gain: their higher
grade beef was obtained at a higher cost.
