Industry icon awarded life membership

MAYURA Station’s Scott de Bruin has described his Honorary Life Membership of the Australian Wagyu Association (AWA) as one of the proudest moments of his career.

The honour was bestowed on the Millicent based industry leader by fellow industry icon Laird Morgan earlier this month.

“The title of Honorary Life Member is the highest honour the Australian Wagyu Association can bestow,” Laird said. “It recognises not just years of service, but a legacy of impact—by a member whose contributions have shaped the very foundation of who we are and where we’re heading.”

Scott acknowledged he had spent considerable time with the AWA board but had based his career to date on some simple principles.

“The production of luxury, quality beef,” he said. “To provide the ultimate dining experience for the customer.”

When reflecting on changes he has driven , the creating of specific Wagyu EBVs and accurate descriptors of the product headed the list.

“Accurate descriptors are very, very important moving forward and helped advance the industry,” Scott said, also singling out the cr3eation of the first AWA auction for livestock.

“At the time, many of our producers didn’t have a platform to be able to sell their cattle,” he said.

Always pushing the Wagyu industry, the newly inducted Honorary Life Member, had some words of advice for those thinking of entering that market.

“There’s a lot of information out there now to assist people in making the right decisions,” he said. “You actually have to have a strong business case, got to have a platform to market and provide something unique in a highly competitive environment.”