What is Fed to Japanese Wagyu?

Wagyu beef is tender and contains various nutrients such as essential fatty acids, essential amino acids, iron and B vitamins. When raising Wagyu cattle, the work is usually divided between breeding and fattening farmers. The breeding farmer raises the mother cows and raise calves for about 9 months to get them ready for market.

Calve stage

The average calf raised at the fattening farm weighs about 300 kilograms (approx. 660lb), so they require a lot of food. The feed at the first stage is called roughage, which is mainly rice straw and hay, and the amount is from 2 kg to 5 kg per day. The feed is set at 2.5 kg and the stomach is gradually enlarged. At 12 months of age, that is, in the third month of fattening, the feed mix is gradually increased to 5.5 kg/day. The weight range is from 5kg to 8kg. At this time of the year, the rice straw is mixed with the compound feed.

Fattening stage

At 15 months of age and six months of fattening, the cattle should be fed a large amount of formula feed. This is very important period for Wagyu cattle, as cattle that are well fed on formula feed at 6 months of age will become a finely marbled cow. At 19 months of fattening, calves change from a round belly to a square, boxy belly, a sign that the quality is getting better. At 21 months of fattening, the cattle weigh 800kg. The Japanese Wagyu cattle are shipped at 30 months of age.