Grazing to Grow, Grazing for Flavour

Westholme Wagyu spend at least two years roaming wild and free, foraging as they please from a large variety of grasses, flowering plants and legumes that grow naturally on the northern Australian rangelands. This untouched, naturally organic feed comes through in the eating experience. “You can close your eyes and feel that thoroughfare to where it came from,” says executive chef Daniel Ye from Nicco’s steakhouse in Las Vegas. “You think of a very peaceful, very rural, bucolic land. These cattle lived a good life, and in the most natural way.” The growing season follows the wet season from November to April. “As the grass starts to grow, you get this rich green tapestry and then the cattle just naturally graze over it,” says Sam Graham from Westholme. “It's all natural. There are absolutely no inputs from any person whatsoever.” As wet turns to dry, the green ebbs away. “You've then got this haystack of feed available for the cattle,” says Graham. Among dozens of species that thrive in the region, these are the seven types that are most prevalent and preferred.

Mitchell grasses

Astrebla pectinata (Barley) Astrebla sqarrosa (Bull) Astrebla lappacea (Curly) Astrebla elymoides (Hoop)

These are the number one grasses for our cattle. They’re so ubiquitous that much of the savanna and grassland we farm is called Mitchell Grass Downs. We even named our own bespoke cattle breed ‘The Mitchell’. The Mitchell is a unique composite that we cross with Wagyu sires to produce our Cross program.

We call Mitchell grass a ‘3P species’. The grasses are:

Perennial (there all year-round and persisting beyond one season)
Palatable (tasty) and
have high Production capabilities (they help increase cattle weight and health).

Mitchells are deep-rooted and resilient. Because their roots push down to depths of up to 2m (6 ft 6), they can access moisture at different depths and in different soils. This makes them extraordinarily long-lived, with some tussocks lasting 30 years or more. We love to see a rolling plain of Mitchell tussocks, not just because they are excellent forage for our cattle but also because they indicate land health. There are four types of Mitchell grasses: Barley, Bull, Curly and Hoop. Though a family in scientific terms, the grasses do look different. Barley stands up straight and tall, for example, while the seed heads of the Hoop Mitchell can grow up to a metre (3 ft) long. They’re often seen drooping over and touching the ground, which is why some people call this grass Weeping Mitchell.

Curly Bluegrass

Dichanthium fecundum

We’re fans of this hairy-leafed perennial grass too. It has good nutritional value, it’s very palatable, and its abundance indicates healthy soils. It’s also a very pretty grass and luscious to touch with silky soft leaves and seed heads consisting of up to six delicate ‘fingers’.

This abundant grass is found across northern Australia from coast to coast, particularly in stream banks and riverflats. In West Australia, they call it Bundle-Bundle.

Queensland Bluegrass

Dichanthium sericeum

We know our cattle love to eat this grass but we’re pretty sure it’s not because its seed head can look like a ballerina’s tutu. A shimmering blue colour when young, this grass is highly palatable and stands proudly in the flatlands on robust stems. It’s one of our most highly valued forages.

Even though it’s called Queensland Bluegrass, you can find this grass anywhere in eastern Australia. Sometimes called Silky Bluegrass, it’s also used as an ornamental species in native gardens, nature strips and city plantings.

Flinders grass

Iseilema sp.

Cattle love to eat this annual grass species so much, we think of it as their version of ice-cream: a wonderful and delicious treat!

Flinders tussocks are generally found interspersed with Mitchell grasses on the black-soil plains.

We keep an eye on this one because if it starts to dominate in Mitchell Grass Downs, it can be an indicator of deteriorating land condition. In that case, we would monitor, assess and perhaps reduce stocking rates, allowing the land to come back into balance.

Neptunia

Neptunia sp.

You could think of Neptunia as a salad garnish, lacking in bulk but a valuable part of a mixed grazing diet. A somewhat shy, leafy plant, its leaflets slowly close together when touched.

Neptunia is a forb (flowering plant), growing close to the ground, and existing as an annual plant, or short-lived perennial. It’s excellent for soil health, helping to restore the land via nitrogen-fixing.

Rhynchosia

Rhynchosia minima

Highly palatable and producing small yellow jewel-like flowers, this perennial forb (flowering plant) is often found intertwined with perennial grasses, such as Mitchell Grass. Each flower produces one or two kidney-shaped seeds.

The plant matter isn’t just a popular forage for cattle, it also restores nitrogen to soil, making it an important self-sustaining environmental tool.

Verbine

Like so many of the plants in northern Australia, Verbine relies on heavy rainfall to prosper. When the wet season sends waters rushing through river and channel systems, grasses and forbs (flowering plant) spring up in its wake. Verbine, an annual plant, is often found on riverbanks and in ashy soils. It’s easily spotted thanks to a fluorescence of purplish pink flowers.

Cattle are expert at picking it out from their salad mix, somehow knowing that it is highly digestible and nutritious fodder.

Young ringers will often refer to Verbine as Georgina Lucerne as it forms part of the Georgina River flora. This dominant freshwater system extends from north to south at Headingly, one of our oldest grazing properties.