The National Wagyu Competitive Exhibition, “Zenkyo,” also called the “Wagyu Olympics,” is now one week away. In Zenkyo, which competes for the results of improving wagyu beef, the leading role is naturally wagyu beef, but there are also competitions that compete for “human” skills. That is the competition of “connoisseur” to determine the goodness and badness of female cows that give birth to calves. We interviewed a male high school student who represented Kagoshima Prefecture in this competition, and asked him what he thought about the big game. Isa Norin High School in Isa City, Kagoshima Prefecture. Young people who will be responsible for Kagoshima’s future agriculture, forestry and livestock industries are learning. One of them is Seishin Oguchi, a second-year student in the Department of Agriculture and Forestry Technology. Mr. Oguchi, who has his future career in wagyu beef production, won the highest award in the high school student division of the judging competition that competes for the skills of judging wagyu beef in July, and will participate in the whole team as a representative of Kagoshima Prefecture. rice field. Mr. Oguchi when he won the grand prize “I will do my best not to disappoint everyone’s expectations. My goal is to be number one. Every day at the school farm, I sharpen my eye for judging wagyu beef. Mr. Oguchi: “This cow has a high buttock. That’s something that worries me.” Isa Norin High School Teacher Takeshi Nobuo “The ability to see if the mother cow has a strong body even if she gives birth to many calves.” A female cow that can give birth to many healthy calves. The main points to determine it are that the “upper body line” corresponding to the back and the “lower body line” corresponding to the abdomen are parallel, the length from the shoulder to the buttocks called “body length” and the back called “depth” Whether the length from the torso to the belly is sufficient. In addition, there are a wide variety of items to check, such as directly touching the cow to check its fatness, skin softness, and bone structure. Isa Norin High School Teacher Jino “The space between the ribs is called the rokkan. This is where the important loin and marbling fillets gather. If the ribs are wide, it is easy to get a lot of good meat. The softness of the fur and the looseness of the skin also affect the quality of the meat.” The judging competition in which Mr. Oguchi participates is a competition in which the characteristics of each cow are discovered and evaluated within a limited amount of time. What points does Mr. Oguchi emphasize when fighting rivals from all over the country? Mr. Oguchi, Isa Norin High School: “Is it about balance? Seeing the length of the body and the length of the legs against the cow’s head.” Mr. Oguchi’s family has been a wagyu beef farmer since his grandfather’s generation. His father, Masahiro, who is also a livestock instructor at JA, talks about his son’s participation in the All-Japan Championships. Mr. Masahiro Oguchi, father, “There are many students who are not farmers now. Although Mr. Seikei easily pushes his son away like this, Mr. Seikei himself won second place at the prefectural judging council when he was a high school student. Mr. Masahiro quietly sends an ale to his proud son who surpassed himself. Father, Masahiro Oguchi: “My son looks at the textbook and asks questions about what he doesn’t understand, so I want him to show what he has learned so far and do his best, no matter what the result. I’d love to have one.” Currently, I have about 40 mother cows and calves on my family’s farm. Mr. Oguchi, who has decided to work at this wagyu farm in the future, wants to further expand the scale of the farm and raise cattle that can aim for Zenkyo. With that goal in front, this time we will face the big stage in the “Connoisseur’s Division”. Zenkyo Kagoshima Prefecture Representative, Isa Norin High School Agriculture and Forestry Technology Department 2nd year Seishin Oguchi “I was thinking that I should be in the top 5 at the prefectural tournament, but I got a good result. I want to leave a good result for those who are in the middle of the day.” KTS
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