Our goal is to bring together the best farms and farming practices in Australia and New Zealand to produce some of the world’s finest Wagyu beef.

“Our background is in farming and farm finance in both Australia and New Zealand. We also have investments in genetics and breeding of premium Wagyu beef in Australia.

From this experience and a comprehensive understanding of farming practices and potential on both sides of the Tasman we felt there was enormous potential to bring both the dairy and beef farming industries onside and together create something pretty special.”

Marcus Kight
Director: StockCo Agrifinance
Founder: Southern Stations Wagyu

“Southern Stations Wagyu is ambitious for our farmers and our partners and passionate about the quality of the Wagyu beef we can collectively produce. That quality relies on the world’s best genetics and then world’s best practice – every step along the way. That’s why we’re keen to establish long term relationships and partnerships with likeminded farmers and companies who share our passion for quality, our willingness to try something new and our desire to find a better way to maximise the opportunities when great businesses work together.”

Rob Earl
General Manager
Southern Stations Wagyu

Producing for consistency

1. AI dairy cows to Wagyu

First we select only globally elite purebred Wagyu genetics. This selection is based on previous production performance and carcass data. These genetics are artificially inseminated (AI) into selected dairy cows. The use of AI enables all our calves to be sired by only a handful of high performing bulls with proven indexes for marbling and eating quality ensuring ongoing, long term consistency of quality season by season, year on year.

2. DNA verify Wagyu calves

At birth all calves are DNA tested to ensure we only allow proven Wagyu animals into our supply chain.

3. SSW buys back calves at contracted premium

When our AI genetics are sold to farmers, the farmer is contractually obliged to sell SSW the approved resulting weaned calves at a premium price. SSW only deal with quality farms and farmers to ensure leading animal welfare and sustainable production. Each year, the volume of semen sold is matched to the number of animals we require for our supply chain. This enables SSW to accurately forecast our production 3-4 years in advance.

4. Calves grazed out with proven farmers

Therefore the final quality of Wagyu is determined from the start of the production process. SSW place huge emphasis on the early development of our animals. We graze the cattle on our own farms or with proven graziers to ensure the best quality outcomes. Cattle are grazed free range on grass with access to grain when they are young to provide a balanced diet that starts the process of developing intramuscular fat.

5. Wagyu enter 100 day grain feeding

Between the ages of 21-33 months, animals are moved to specialist SSW feed barns for the high quality grain finishing process. The under-cover environment provides comfort for animals year-round where they are on a specialist grain-based diet for a minimum of 100 days to ensure they fully express their genetic potential and maximise eating quality. The controlled feeding and undercover environment also enables us to produce a consistent number of animals every week of the year at a consistent level of quality.

6. Grain fed cattle processed and marketed around the globe

Cattle are processed weekly at a premium New Zealand beef export processing facility and then marketed around the world by our experienced Australian partners, Endeavour Meats.

7. Animal performance data collected to drive future production decisions

SSW matches the carcass performance of each animal back to its lifetime data allowing us to make future decisions around genetics that enable us to drive constant improvement in the production process. It is four years between the earliest semen sales and the final processing of each age group of cattle.

The Plan