Tajima F1 Wagyu crossbred brand scoops major award

The Tajima F1 Wagyu crossbred brand from Andrews Meat Industries scooped up yet another major award when it was named grand champion in the 2017 Wagyu Branded Beef Competition.

The results were announced to the capacity crowd of over 400 at the Wagyu Expansion Conference in Albury.

The grand champion scored 773 out of a possible 910 points to top the F1 crossbred class and be the highest score in the competition judged at Brisbane’s Eatons Hill Hotel. It was by a Wagyu sire and from an Angus dam and was slaughtered at 27 months after 375 days on feed. All Andrews’ Wagyu are now fed at JBS’s Prime City feedlot since JBS took out a majority share in the company in 2014.

Jeremy Stuart of Andrews Meat Industries said the winning entry was hand picked by supply chain coordinator Kylie Schuller and was ‘one of the best pieces we have ever produced’.

“In the past we were buying a lot of carcases over the hooks but since JBS has joined with us over the last three years, we are controlling our own supply chain and indicates that what we are doing is working,” he said.

The judges described the grand champion as extremely tender, yet still firm to the palate. Juicy, silky, enduring flavour ‘the works’.

Andrews Meat Industries has close to 9000 Wagyu and Wagyu influenced cattle of feed at JBS Prime City feedlot at Griffith NSW processing 500 a month at JBS Riverina plant at Yanco NSW with plans to increase these volumes.

Of the 21 entries from around Australia, three earned Gold medals, six Silver and seven Bronze while five did not medal due to the high standards required.

Besides the grand champion, the only other Gold medalist was AACo’s Westholme brand that picked up Gold twice, in the Crossbred Wagyu (748 out of 910) and Commercial Wagyu Steak (671 out of 910) classes. Both entries were by Wagyu sires out of AACo composite dams.