First Wagyu calf born in the UK

The Barony College Farm in south west Scotland delivered a very special calf on Sunday, the first to be born as part of an innovative project run in conjunction with Asda.

The calf is a unique 'Wagyu' breed, born to a Holstein Friesian dairy cow but sired by a Wagyu bull.

Wagyu is a Japanese breed of cattle that produces the most expensive beef in the world, famous because traditional rearing involves the cattle being regularly massaged, enjoying electronic back scratchers, played music and given beer to drink.

In the UK Wagyu beef is available mainly in premium retailers such as Selfridges of London who sell Wagyu beef sandwiches for £85. It is particularly sought after because of the unique structure of the meat. It is densely marbled with extremely fine veins of fat and this marbling means that the beef can be finely sliced, never goes dry and has a unique buttery texture. The fat in the meat has more monounsaturated fats which makes Wagyu beef suitable as part of a lower-cholesterol diet.

The female calf is part of a breeding programme being run jointly by Barony College and Asda with the aim of producing high quality beef from normal dairy herds. It's hoped that the calf will be the first of many, and that this innovative approach could transform dairy farming.

Barony College farm manager Craig Drummond said: "Dairy farmers look for female calves that can join and improve their herd, but using sexed semen which pretty much guarantees a female calf, is very expensive and it's only appropriate for the best animals. The big idea behind this Wagyu breeding programme is that the poorer genetic stock in a dairy herd can be served with Wagyu semen, producing high quality beef animals that will be in great demand.

"This is a very exciting project to be involved in as it offers such potential to the dairy industry, as well as giving our agriculture students the opportunity to be involved in a cutting edge breeding initiative. Barony students will get hands on experience in looking after these Wagyu calves, including monitoring their growth and development."

Words: Clare Riley

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