Frank McCormack has been farming over 400ac of grassland in the Burren in Co. Clare for the last 46 years, having bought his first parcel of land there at 24 years-of-age.

After becoming inspired while on a trip to Australia to visit his daughter, McCormack decided to look at a more alternative breed of cattle, and for the last six years has been rearing Wagyu beef in the Burren.

Agriland spoke to McCormack to find out why he wanted to get into Wagyu cattle and what it is like rearing these type of animals on pastures so different from their native homeland of Japan.

He said: "We bought pedigree, full-blood bulls, and we bought some embryos, as artificial insemination (AI) wouldn't be what would suit us, and another reason we did it was because we bred Angus for a while, we've a purebred Angus herd, and we still have that.

"With the Angus herd you could retire your calving jack, but definitely so when you cross the Wagyu with the Angus.

"We calve in the spring and in the autumn, to get a supply, and it's been either five or six years since we've seen a cow calving, they manage themselves."

The Burren

McCormack outlined that this is the second year the Wagyu cows have gone out to the Burren winterage, but the first time this breed has been used for the Burren Winter Cattle Drive, an event which takes place every October Bank Holiday.

He explained: "When we put our half-bred and our three-quarter bred cattle up the mountain [winterage], we don't feed them when they're on the mountain [winterage].

"They go up in October, and they come down the first week in February, and they'll have taken care of themselves.

"When they come down they're very fit, and if there's one or two that need to come down in between, we will bring them down."

When asked why he thought the Wagyu breed thrived so well in the Burren, McCormack explained that there are "dry-lies everywhere".

He said: "Our land is not wet, they don't go to their ankles.

McCormack's son, Frank junior has also bought into the idea, and is now also farming Wagyu cattle in partnership alongside his mother Mary.

McCormack senior said: "We'll try and do something different, and he came on board, and he's as passionate about it as I am."