Every cattle breed in this country is exactly one generation from having to start over. That’s not doom talk — it’s just arithmetic. Somebody has to want the job after we’re done with it.
That’s why TWA put its support behind the National Junior Wagyu Association this year, and why we’ll keep doing it.
At the end of June we heard back from Gracie Smith at the American Wagyu Association, thanking TWA for sponsoring the 2026 Junior Wagyu Camp. We appreciate the note, but the thanks really belongs to our members. Sponsorships like this one don’t come from an association — they come from producers who decided a piece of their dues ought to go toward kids they’ll probably never meet.
The NJWA gives young people something most of us didn’t have starting out: a place to stand inside the breed before they own a single head. Juniors get real education, hands-on work, and time around people who’ve spent careers doing this. This year’s camp put them at Colorado State University for three days, from Wagyu genetics all the way through a 100,000-head feedyard. They handled the product, tasted the difference, and asked questions of folks who actually know the answers.
You can teach a kid to halter a calf in an afternoon. Teaching them why marbling happens, what a carcass is worth, and how a breeding decision plays out four years later — that takes an outfit like the NJWA.
Next year’s camp moves to Oklahoma State University, which puts it within reasonable driving distance for a lot of Texas families. If you’ve got a junior in the house who’s already asking questions at the working pens, start planning now.
To our members who made this possible — thank you. You didn’t just fund a camp. You bought this breed some time.