Wagyu beef producers will be able to eliminate the guesswork from producing ideal feedlot stock, with a new app by the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI).
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The Wagyu Feed Calculator app will allow producers to "input their current pasture parameters to estimate feed quantity and quality, which is converted into an expected daily weight gain".
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Jack's Creek producer Patrick Warmoll said the app would benefit those wanting to get their wagyu business off the ground during the drought.
"[Producers are] so busy dealing with operations and monthly accounts - and then the drought itself and the emotional strain it puts on the family, so things like measuring and tracking cattle isn't something that's a priority," Mr Warmoll said.
"But if you want to get serious about cattle performance, nutrition and health, you need to put something in place to track it."
NSW DPI livestock systems group director Dougal Gordon said the new app would allow producers to "get the most out of available feed to take their wagyu herds through varying seasonal conditions".
"The user has the option of choosing from a list of available supplements to achieve the minimum weight gain required to optimise carcase marbling, which is a major profit driver in wagyu production," Mr Gordon said.
The app was presented at the Wagyu Association Annual Conference in Adelaide, alongside the BreedObject Indexes, which can help achieve faster rates of genetic gain in wagyu production.
The free wagyu feed calculator app is available from Apple's iTunes Store or Google Play.