Sunnyside Wagyu is family owned business spanning three generations. Peter and Sandra Krause work alongside their daughter Robyn, her partner Jono, and their kids in the business. Their farm is located outside Inverell in northern New South Wales, Australia. Having been involved in the cattle industry for over 50 years, in 2000, they purchased their first fullblood Wagyu. Sunnyside runs approximately 800 cows, with one-third being Fullbloods, with a commercial market focus.
Speaking with Peter recently, he said Wagyu in the early days was a frustrating breed to be involved in for the lack of information, with prefectural information being the only real guide to performance. However, things changed as soon as slaughter information became available and then BREEDPLAN data took this to a new level.
“The introduction of genomics and single-step BREEDPLAN was a huge milestone as a Breeding guide to the improvement of the breed; we adopted genomics as soon as it was available,” said Mr Krause.
Sunnyside S0014 breed by Sunnyside Wagyu was the first lot to be sold in the 2022 Elite Wagyu Sale. The heifer drew bidding interest from all over the globe achieving an Australian record price at the fall of the hammer selling for $400,000. At the time of the sale, S0014 was a 13-month-old unjoined heifer. Her stats are impressive, with four $Indexes in the top 1% of the breed and an impressive +3 marble score EBV.
“It was an awesome thrill and honour to achieve the Australian record price for a female of any breed. The family are very proud of this. The Elite Sale has brought to the forefront some outstanding cattle that have outperformed their parents, and this is the only way the Wagyu Breed can make Genetic improvement,” said Peter.
Ten years ago, Robyn and her husband Jono became involved in the family business, and they never looked back. “Jono and I feel incredibly fortunate to have become a part of my parent’s business ten years ago. We are incredibly excited about the current position and future of the industry,” says Robyn.
Robyn believes that the Elite Wagyu Sale has become a showcase for the progression in genetic improvement in the industry. It is an excellent opportunity for breeders to offer their cattle to the domestic and international market in a sale where many leading industry producers also participate. In addition, it’s a great opportunity as a breeder to access genetics to continue improving within your herd.
Nominations for the 2023 Elite Wagyu Sale are now open – nominate a lot