Beyond the Marbling

Ep 4. The Wagyu Wizard of Manhattan

Lifelong entrepreneur Dave Dreiling of Booth Creek Wagyu, Manhattan (KA) entered the Wagyu beef industry four years ago. Initially starting out in apparel, gyms, and restaurants, self-taught Dreiling's business acumen – and the sale of a family herd – led to the creation of his vertically integrated Wagyu operation. He has now expanded to eight hundred Fullblood Wagyu cows and Booth Creek Wagyu spans breeding, feeding, and processing, emphasising high-end genetics and specialised feeding techniques. The operation includes the Wagyu Feeders feedlot and state inspected slaughterhouse Meatworks of Kansas, ensuring control over every production stage from genetics to retail, including a meat grading grid of their own design.

Ep 3. Wagyu at very top end of eating quality

Dr Alex Ball has significantly contributed to the Australian red meat industry for over 25 years, working with various organizations like Meat and Livestock Australia, Sheep CRC, and more. Dr Ball shares his valuable insights on the key breed characteristics of Wagyu including what makes it tastes so good, meat grading systems around the world and what they mean for consumers and producers alike, as well as his time and efforts spent as Chief Steward of the AWA Wagyu Branded Beef Competition – a competition renowned for its scientific rigour in judging the world’s best Wagyu. 

Ep 2. Green shoots appear in tightening global markets

Renowned agri-forecaster Simon Quilty has produced market intelligence for the meat and livestock sector for over 35 years, racking up experience with several major Australian companies before joining Global AgriTrends. After receiving the Churchill Fellowship in 2022, Quilty took a break from travelling the world to synthesise vast amounts of data into a language farmers can act upon.

In this second episode of Beyond the Marbling, Quilty divulges why he sees the next two years as critical for Australian Wagyu production and the importance of global economic factors and competition in shaping market dynamics.

Ep 1. Wagyu is here to stay across the globe

This first episode of Beyond the Marbling, a new podcast from the Australian Wagyu Association, explores the history, evolution, and future of Wagyu cattle in Australia with insights from AWA President Laird Morgan and its CEO Dr. Matt McDonagh.

Beyond the Marbling Introduction

 For hundreds of years, Wagyu cattle were bred exclusively in Japan.  Then, in the early 90s, genetics were made available to the rest of the world.  In Beyond the Marbling, we explore the future of the breed through the innovators and the thought leaders shaping its future.