BRITISH WAGYU CONFERENCE HAILED A RESOUNDING SUCCESS

Lord Lieutenant of East Riding of Yorkshire presents King’s Award for Innovation
250 UK & International Delegates

The annual Warrendale Wagyu Conference held in partnership with the British Wagyu Association (BWA) went down as the ‘best yet’ according to feedback from the 250+ delegates who attended the two-day event Thursday 19th to Friday 20th September 2024.

Day One was held at the Forest Pines Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort, Broughton, Brigg, North Lincolnshire where two main conference sessions were followed by a South American-themed Wagyu gala dinner, after dinner speaker and charity auction.

Following lunch provided by Warrendale’s main processing partner, Dovecote Park, Session One was introduced by BWA Company Secretary Richard Saunders who highlighted continued strong growth in the UK Wagyu sector - underpinned by ever-increasing awareness of Wagyu beef and Wagyu genetics. “I have to congratulate each and every person here for your part in this phenomenal success story. BCMS figures for the 12 months to the end of July stand at 43,845 births - up another 23% on the year - whilst membership is at over 700.”

L-R Jim Bloom (Warrendale Wagyu) & Jim Dick OBE (Lord Lieutenant of East Yorkshire)

Before formally opening proceedings, Jim Bloom, who founded Warrendale Wagyu’s fully integrated beef scheme back in 2017, was presented with the King’s Award for Innovation by Jim Dick OBE, Lord Lieutenant of East Yorkshire and personal representative of HM The King.

Conference Session One addressed the theme “Warrendale Wagyu – Now and the Future” with the first paper given by MD Tom Richardson. Tom underlined the importance of long-term direct contracts with retailers like Aldi, being fundamental to the integrated nature of the supply chain giving both confidence and price stability from the farmer right through to the customer. Tom also highlighted how they are building markets outside of the UK with some key partnerships developing across Europe and into Asia. Current kill is at 175-225 head of F1 (first generation cross) Wagyu per week with current births already hitting 700 per week, however by growing its existing network of farmers, rearers, growers and finishers, Warrendale are setting their sights on 1,000 head per week and beyond.

“We already have 17,000 slaughter records, and with maternal and terminal data coming in all the time, we are harnessing the power of this information which is key to future efficiencies and return. We are now identifying the next generation of bulls with higher marble scores, fewer days to finish and heavier carcase weights,” said Tom.

Q&A Panel L-R James Thornton, David Hughes, Lean Gentini, Nick Rose (Oxbury Bank) and Chris Dickinson

Next up was Warrendale Farms’ CEO James Thornton on the subject of “Delivering to Farmer Partners.” He explained how, following work by GSC Grays into costings across a representative sample of their farmers, Warrendale was moving to a more formal cost-of-production pricing model. On top of the existing £50 slaughter premium for dairy farmers, he announced price increases for growers and finishers plus a grower bonus of £25/head if animals achieve above a daily liveweight gain of 0.8kg. Warrendale were also exploring ways of reducing input costs through centralised purchasing of straw and milk powder, for example.

Concluding, James said: “As a farmer’s son growing up, it was a very bleak outlook for livestock production at that time. But today we sit in a revolutionary place where we are consistently delivering quality Wagyu beef produced to the highest welfare and environmental standards. And importantly, we have a system which is delivering a fair return.”

Customer Perspectives were the focus of Conference Session Two with presentations by Fred Smith, Head of Beef, Flat Iron followed by Nic Truswell, Commercial Controller, Dovecote Park.

Q&A Panel L-R James Thornton, Nic Truswell, Jamie Brownrigg, Tom Richardson

Flat Iron has enjoyed huge commercial success since opening their first restaurant in 2012 under the motto ‘Great Steak For Everyone’ giving people what they want: a really great steak, simple menu, focus on quality and value for money. The Flat Iron brand has grown to a turnover of £50 Million employing 400+ staff across 16 restaurants – 13 in the capital followed by openings in Cambridge, Leeds and most recently Manchester. Great branding, promotions such as their Carcase Club, targeted offers through social media plus their famed ‘Wagyu Daily Special’ means Flat Iron has bucked the trend when it comes to the dining-out sector – despite reportedly ‘losing’ 16,000 of their signature cleavers that ‘go home’ with clients!

Established in 1997, Dovecote Park is an independently-owned British Food Processor with two sites in West Yorkshire and Lincolnshire producing some of the UK’s leading British Beef, Veal and Venison products, and supplying customers such as Waitrose, ALDI, Burger King, Hawksmoor and Hello Fresh. Meat is sourced from working closely with a supply base of 700 industry-leading producers, from calf production to finishing animals. Dovecote Park are dedicated processing partners for the Wagyu supply chain with Warrendale Wagyu.

Aldi started with 18 British Wagyu products four years ago via its Specially Selected range but, thanks to a steady increase in production volumes, plans to extend the range over its entire estate over the next two years. In addition to the ongoing success with product into Aldi, five British Wagyu products had launched this week into the Waitrose No.1 Range.

Each main conference session was followed by a Panel Q&A comprising that session’s speakers and chaired by BWA Director Chris Dickinson. Questions were tabled on sustainability, growth, financing, branding and future domestic and export opportunities.

Following a break, delegates reconvened for Conference Session Two on the theme “Wagyu Global Outlook” with speakers Lean Gentini, Meat Sommelier and World Steak Challenge judge, and Professor David Hughes.

Lean spoke about his Wagyu journey from studies in his native Argentina to now living in Japan, the spiritual home of Wagyu, and his roles as ambassador to World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants and panel chair on World Steak Challenge through to writing a definitive book on the World of Wagyu. Given that marbling is Wagyu’s USP, the perceived goal had all been about increasing marble score. However, with 55% of all Wagyu in Japan now achieving the highest marbling score grade of A5 (48-60% IMF intra-muscular fat) he thought maybe that race was over. “I love marbling but not when it is too excessive. At some point, less is more,” he said, explaining that the consumer ‘sweet spot’ was in the range MS4-8 (on the Japanese scale of 1-12) where marbling and flavour combined perfectly.

Q&A Panel L-R James Thornton, David Hughes, Lean Gentini, Nick Rose

Senor Gentini also talked about the art of value creation in Japan where different producers create a brand focusing on different attributes of Wagyu such as nature, origins, uniqueness, the artisan, aesthetics and health – all through the power of storytelling.

Addressing the topic ‘Changing Narratives around the British Meat Industry’, Professor David Hughes, as ever an inspiring and entertaining speaker, gave his view on where beef consumption is going, backed up by statistics not just opinion. The outlook remains positive despite some bumps in the road.

The theme of the evening entertainment was South America with an Argentinian-style Asado showcasing thick-cut Wagyu sirloin, Wagyu picanha and Wagyu bavette steaks, to the backdrop of Samba dancing. Guests then enjoyed a relaxed and humorous yet thought provoking after-dinner talk by the legendary Welsh rugby referee Nigel Owens. A charity balloon raffle and auction raised more than £5,000 for My Name’5 Doddie Foundation for Motor Neurone Disease.

Day Two started with an optional visit to Dovecote Park’s Skellingthorpe processing facility including a demonstration of the MIJ (Meat Image Japan) carcase camera. There followed the Thompson Family’s Scurf Dyke Farm near Driffield, East Yorkshire for an impressive tour of the 1,500-head unit and its facilities. The Thompsons have been working with Warrendale for 8 years and were one of the original farmers to join their integrated Wagyu scheme. A progressive family farm, having changed their farming system in 2016 from dairy to beef, they have continually expanded their production system, embracing advice and collaborative working. The visit included specific workshops on dairy production, calf rearing, growing cattle, nutrition and meat quality.

The conference was delighted to welcome guests from Argentina, Germany, Hong Kong and the Republic of Ireland, a number of whom also attended the pre-conference tour of Wyndford Wagyu’s 400-head Fullblood in Shropshire on Wednesday 18th September.

· Grateful thanks are extended to the fantastic turnout and support of industry partners who made the two-day conference so informative and rewarding: AHDB, Aldi, BATA Group, British Wagyu Association, Caisley, Cultura Connect, Dovecote Park, Duynie Feed, Flat Iron, Freedown Food, Fusion for Business, Genus ABS, GSC Grays, I’Anson Brothers, Kelvin Cave, Neogen, Oxbury Bank, Warrendale Wagyu & Wyndford Wagyu