Capital Country Wagyu

26/04/2026

This is why we eat them… they can open feeders, and bend 2cm thick steel pins while they are at it. Luckily this time they did not bend the feeder panel.

23/04/2026

Good morning. I have 3 bull calves that are still young enough to be steered in Strathewen, Victoria. Born as contract calves last year in Spring. Please let me know if you know of anyone interested. One, Apex IV, is the full brother to PPWFR005, sired by Mayura L10 out of a Shigeshigetani female. With his full sister in this same group, this is the last of the R5 full siblings.
The two others are sired by United out of Itozurudoi daughters. PPWF25W124 Ceres, is the grandson of record breaking Elite sale female ADBFN1229.
The other, L’ormarins, has the Hyogo cow hidden in his pedigree. For those that like to bring old blood forward.
You need to know the United calves were 48 (Ceres) and 46kg (L’ormarins) at birth respectively. They are huge and will grow out as very big animals.
😉 It could be a good opportunity for someone to test pedigree vs the “contemporary group” toolbox.

20/04/2026

When your greenhouse revival job needs to be done under supervision… (and the supervisors get in the way).

11/04/2026

Well, happiness is a homegrown steak… paddock raised to the end, grain supported.

22/03/2026

A privilege when this is all you have to deal with at night. ❤️

19/03/2026

When you decide the new resident dairy-cross heifer may make a good pet cow after all…

14/03/2026

Saffa’s prefer their sausages a little differently… so we put in the hard yards afterwards to satisfy our own tastebuds. Happy weekend everyone.

12/03/2026

The aftermath:
Steer 1 - Heavy duty gazebo 0

(Now that he is fully recovered, and exacted his revenge, we can laugh about it! 😂)

10/03/2026

Maybe I need a van…

08/03/2026

Some days start with dread in your heart. You hear a wagyu low… and you know they usually are silent and if you do hear them, you should go and have a closer look. A steer is down. It is not looking good. Three day sickness and the poor thing is severly affected too.

The illness is awful for the poor animals, like flu for humans - high temperature, muscle pain with stiff joints and loss of appetite. It is brought on by insect bites when it is very hot and humid.

The best you can do for them is to provide shade, which can be tricky, and move water and good quality lucerne close to them, so they don’t have to go far to eat or drink. If the animal is down, and not able to eat or drink, anti-inflammatories and a flow-pack usually works to get them moving. But when big animals, like bulls, fat steers or cows go down, their very size counts against them. When large animals are down, there is every chance that it can result in nerve and even muscle damage. So this 600+kg steer either had to be rolled from side to side at least twice a day or be encouraged to move just a little bit, but he is flat on his side down. Head back. Not good.

He also did not respond to treatment initially, and it took a few hours of cajoling to get him to lift his head and drink some water. There is nothing like a nagging woman to result in action. Apparently steers feel the same way about nagging.

And then…. The old story goes that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Apparently that is also true for steers. No thank you for the hay, yes please for a handfull of pellets. Once he had that in, and looked more as if he was back in the land of the living, I rocked him until he tried standing. It was touch and go, he could barely stand, his front legs were too stiff and when he tried walking, he looked as if he was about to topple over. But he stood. And that was the most magical moment… The reason why we do this job!

He lay down again, but he is looking a whole lot better.

05/03/2026

Interesting to read in the light of experience…
https://www.feedlotmagazine.com/news/feedlot_special/dollars-and-sense-considerations-of-extending-days-on-feed-in-the-feedlot/article_f6420af6-fead-11ef-8e4f-ffbcaac59476.html?fbclid=IwZnRzaAQWwutleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEePb--h5TX-0PFEimGmVg_jXZemyxO8txeGWgRZRhbOO6W3n9-EVIA7Gl-R8M_aem__GF3Da_4Qjhz5DIWrHc1xw

Increasing days on feed for feedlot cattle isn’t a new idea. However, several research studies in recent years have shown that as cattle get bigger a large percentage of their

05/03/2026

Update: T-bone photo from the steer slaughtered on Monday, already being cut today. Photo is “warts and all”, courtesy of the butcher.

The steer was what could be classified as grass fed with grain support. He lived “free range” in a small grassy paddock up to the end, and was fed livestock GP pellets. His daily ration of pellets finished at 3.6kg per day, split into two feeds. Slow and steady. Not a feedlot ration, and you can see it in the fat.

The animal was also steered late, at just over 15 months old, just as Jim began feeding him.

A great result for Jim’s first steer.

I love seeing the outcomes of alternative approaches to feeding. Especially because neither such results, nor the environmental circumstances around it, will make it into the AWA database. I think this offers some opportunity for discussion about feeding steered young bulls, grass fed plus supplementation, feeding what you have access to, and genetic merit vs husbandry.
MIKU WAGYU HERD Hendrik Markram