Namibia Wagyu Society

The Wagyu is the newest addition to the list of cattle breeds in Namibia. Even though the Wagyu breed is a very old breed, it has only spread to the rest of the world since 1975.

The first Wagyu cattle were imported into Namibia during 2017 by Mr. Sarel du Toit, Mr. Johan Orffer (in partnership with Mr. John Rabie) and Mr. Andries Schutte.  Currently seven breeders are registered with the Namibian Wagyu Society. The Namibian Wagyu Society was established on the 1 November 2017, with Mr. Johan Orffer as the President of the Namibian Wagyu Society. The first Board Meeting was held on the 17 July 2018.

Currently there are about 210 full-blood breeding animals and 250 F1-crossbreeds in Namibia.

The fact that the Wagyu is genetically predisposed to better marbling, health benefits and tenderness, positions the breed well for use within the Namibian beef industry.

As Namibia is a nett beef export country, the crossbred progeny with Namibian established breeds will enable Namibia to place a better product into the market. The Wagyu crossbreds will do excellent in a true free-range environment, provided that the correct bulls are used in crossbred programmes that can utilise the traits of the Wagyu to the fullest.