About us
Marathon Wagyu is a family-run business striving to provide industry-leading genetics to Wagyu producers worldwide.
Building on the cornerstone of family, Marathon Wagyu recognises environmental stewardship as a core value of a sustainable business. Best management practices underpin both cropping and cattle operations.
Using the latest in reproductive technologies, Marathon Wagyu has a full complement of elite genetics supported by a wealth of data and full traceability for every animal.
Marathon Wagyu advocates for data transparency and integrity.
Our family
At the heart of Marathon Wagyu are the McCosker family, who have been producing food and fibre in central Queensland for generations.
Michael and Susan McCosker and their family are the 3rd and 4th generations of the McCosker family to be producing food and fibre in the Central Highlands.
Our story
'Codenwarra' is located just outside the town of Emerald, Queensland, and was first purchased by the McCosker family in 1929. For almost seven decades, the family raised sheep, bred Hereford cattle, and grew crops on the land.
In 1997 John and Robin McCosker became pioneers of the Australian Wagyu industry when they bought fullblood bulls and began the Codenwarra Wagyu herd. In 2000 John and Robin purchased fullblood embryos and Codenwarra Stud was established.
Michael and Susan purchased their original property 'Marathon' in 1996 and have grown award winning cotton crops there ever since. In 2016 they bought neighbouring property 'Lake Nash' and turned the existing abattoir infrastructure into a backgrounding and artificial insemination facility for the growing Marathon Wagyu herd.
In 2022 Michael and Susan, together with Michael's sister Debra Postle, purchased Codenwarra. Michael and Susan purchased the Codenwarra Wagyu herd, which has amalgamated with their existing stud, Marathon Wagyu.
Our stud
The Marathon Wagyu and Codenwarra Wagyu amalgamation brings together some of Australia's leading genetics for maternal growth and carcase traits for balanced progeny.
The Marathon Wagyu team works hard to achieve lifelong traceability for all animals, from gestation through to kill and meat quality data.
Over the past five years Marathon Wagyu has been undertaking intensive embryo and artificial insemination programs to stay at the forefront of the industry.
This can be seen in the EBVs of key bulls and the extensive kill data collected from successive cohorts that have been finished at feedlots in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales.
