The story of our Wagyu
The history of our Wagyu: three generations towards purity
Tonight, in our stable, a beautiful all-black calf was born. Every birth at the Cascina is special, but some make us a little more emotional: they are those of the Wagyu bred since 2017 in our family business. The story of this little calf begins in a very distant place and time: Japan, 1868.
Japan because Wagyu are cattle of Japanese origin: their name is composed of the syllables "wa", which means "Japan" and "gyū" which means "ox". They are not a breed, but a set of strong and muscular cattle breeds, an indispensable support in field work for Japanese farmers of two centuries ago. The most common Wagyu in Japan are the Matsusaka Kuroge Washu breed also known as Japanese Black or the Mukaku Washu or Japanese Polled, which derives from the crossing of a Kuroge with an Aberdeen Angus.
Japanese Wagyu cattle: an ancient breed
Year 1868 because at a certain point Japanese Wagyu cattle began to be bred in specific territories of Japan also for the quality of their meat; some places become famous precisely for their farms, especially those in the town of Kobe in the isolated Hyogo prefecture in the Tajimaed region. It is right here, in 1868, that the goodness of Wagyu was discovered by an Englishman and, spanning hundreds of miles of travel and several decades of history, the notoriety of this product has grown, making the meat that comes from that area famous as " the best and most expensive meat in the world”, thanks to its extreme marbling and delicacy.
Japanese Black Wagyu cattle can be raised anywhere (just like the Piedmontese, Angus, Chianina and any other cattle breed) and can also be born and raised in the Bergamo countryside, in a family-run business like ours. !
Let's go back to our stable now, to the story of our little black calf!
Piccola Wagyu's mother was born on March 20, 2018 from the crossing of one of our 100% Italian Friesian with a 100% pure Japanese Black Wagyu; it is a 50% Wagyu, the first to be born here in Cascina, starting the first generation of Wagyu bred by Simone Assanelli. Little Wagyu, being born from a 50% Wagyu and a 100% pure Wagyu bull, is a 75% Wagyu cross and represents our second generation of Wagyu. The breeder's work is an ancient and patient job: year after year, birth after birth, you have the opportunity to see your herd grow and, in the case of Wagyu, the opportunity to observe, one generation at a time, the increase in purity.
On a daily basis, how is Wagyu cattle raised?
First of all, little Wagyu will have to grow healthy and strong. For this reason we have recently installed a new stable, dedicated exclusively to the cow-calf line: here the cow and calf live together and the puppy is breastfed by its mother for a long time in a natural way. Only the best for little Wagyu!
When she is ready for weaning, we will begin to introduce the forage that we offer to the larger Wagyu: at the basis of the diet, the highly scented stable polyphytic meadow hay, coming from uncultivated meadows, rich in nutritious spontaneous essences, with the addition of cereals for ensure calorie intake. The stables are regularly kept clean and provided with fresh straw. No beer and massages for Little Wagyu: this is just an urban legend! Even in Japan they are not massaged or fed beer: Japanese breeders often brush them and add barley bran to their ration, that's all!
Little Wagyu's story begins far away and she still has a long way to go! In over a year, when she herself becomes a mother, she will give life to the third generation of Wagyu, with a purity of 87.5%: If we are lucky, the puppy will be a calf which, in turn, will allow us to continue towards the fourth generation, 93.7% purity.
It will be with the fifth generation that we will reach 98.5% purity, obtaining a Wagyu calf born in Italy, almost 100% pure. It is really necessary to treasure the art of patience from Grandfather Carlo and the farmers: that attitude that allows you to sow and wait to see the fruits of your labor grow, one season and one generation at a time.
