A Casual Conversation Led to the Establishment of Estonia’s Largest Wagyu Herd
The Sepa farm, awarded the title of Best Farm this year, has not achieved success overnight; rather, it has been a gradual process of growing the business while learning from both their own mistakes and the experiences of others. Currently, the farm boasts the largest Wagyu cattle herd in Estonia, with nearly 40 animals, whose lineage can be traced back to their country of origin, Japan.
However, the Wagyu cattle at Sepa farm were not brought from Japan but from Germany, which has the largest population of Wagyu in Europe. “Japan, as is well known, does not sell live animals; one can only purchase sperm and embryos,” explains the farm’s owner, Marko Hiiemäe.
Marko and his wife Lisanna’s journey into cattle farming began seven years ago by pure coincidence. Marko, who currently serves as the CEO of Linnamäe Meat Industry, recalls that they had just moved with their family from Tallinn to Elbu village in Parnu County, where Marko’s father’s godmother’s abandoned farm awaited a revival.
An Evening That Changed Everything
“One evening after work, my friend mentioned in passing that he has pastures and that it would be great to raise beef cattle. I became immediately interested—oh, beef cattle, tell me more! And he did. When I got home, I couldn’t shake off the idea, so I started Googling—what breeds of beef cattle exist and how to raise them,” Marko recounts, reflecting on the evening that changed everything.
To start, they purchased Limousin cattle from Germany. “We were told that it’s important to consider the so-called ‘exit weight’ of the animal. Limousin is an intensive breed, grows quickly, is strong and beautiful, but their meat’s marbling is not highly valued. Since I work in the meat industry and have also been involved in the restaurant business, I understood that we should raise animals with the greatest potential. Thus, a couple of years later, we added Aberdeen-Angus, with whom we achieved good results in breeding,” Marko explains. Three years ago, they experimented by inseminating some of the Aberdeen-Angus with Wagyu sperm, and when Airi Külvet, Estonia’s first Wagyu breeder, began promoting the breed, they made the decision last year to focus on Wagyu.
“We are still in the early stages of beef farming, which gave us the opportunity to make a change. If we had started changing breeds later, it would have been more complicated,” Marko reflects, adding that it also gave them confidence to be among the first in the market, as there are currently around 150 Wagyu in Estonia.
Now, Sepa farm’s cattle herd consists of almost a hundred animals: Limousin, Aberdeen-Angus, and Wagyu. Revenue is generated through the sale of breeding animals to herds in Estonia as well as Latvia and Lithuania. They do not plan to discontinue raising Limousin in the coming years but will cross them with Wagyu to produce the next generation of hybrids. “Their meat’s marbling is better,” says Marko. Their goal in five years is to reach a hundred Wagyu. “We want to be the largest Wagyu farm in Estonia—that is a dream we are working towards.”
The Hiiemäes began their farming journey with 20 hectares of land and currently have 240 hectares, nearly half of which is owned by the family—each year they have rented or purchased more land. Of course, it’s not cheap. Marko gives the example that when he was able to acquire seven hectares of land for a couple of thousand euros per hectare in 2016, he thought it was incredibly expensive—but he bought it anyway. “Now, the same size plot costs 6000–8000 euros per hectare,” he notes.
A Challenging but Hopeful Time
Marko, a member of the management board of the Estonian Beef Cattle Breeders’ Association, acknowledges that the sector is in a complicated situation. “This year, subsidies were reduced, and cattle farming is not the most profitable business in terms of profit margins. Investments are long-term—the equipment is expensive, and if you want to grow, you need land, but it’s also expensive to buy,” he points out.
However, he doesn’t believe the situation should be viewed in bleak terms, as despite some older beef cattle farmers ceasing operations, there are many young people who are getting involved in the sector. The fact that consumers increasingly value domestically produced food is also a boon for livestock breeders. “Restaurants have approached us wanting to reserve some beef cattle. It will take a couple of years of patience before we can fulfill that,” Marko says with a smile, adding that they do not see any opportunities for marketing Wagyu or their hybrids in the next two to three years.
According to him, three conditions must be met for successful beef cattle farming: a good owner, good food, and good genetics. “If these three are present, it doesn’t matter what breed you raise—the results will be good. The animals’ temperament is also important—they need to be calm, as stress affects the taste of the meat,” Marko emphasizes.
Innovative Farmers
In this year’s Best Farm competition organized by the Farmers’ Union, Sepa Farm stood out among a dozen competitors due to its innovativeness, environmentally conscious management, and contribution to the development of the entire beef cattle sector.
This last aspect highlights that the farm has been engaging in breeding with expertise. “Typically, herds will have many offspring from the same parents. However, we don’t have many repeated lineages among our Wagyu—recently, seven calves were born, and they all have different fathers. It’s very beneficial for breeding to have a diverse genetic base,” Marko explains. Their breeding work has also been recognized: two years ago, a young Limousin bull from Sepa Farm was awarded the best in Estonia in the performance test for beef bulls born in the country.
Their innovativeness and environmental awareness are further demonstrated by the gradual transition from continuous grazing to portion grazing, allowing the plants to recover between short grazing cycles, which improves the productivity of the pastures.
How does portion grazing work? The farm’s nearly hundred-head herd is divided into two groups. Each group has access to a nearly two-hectare pasture for a couple of days, after which they move to the next one, leaving the previous pasture to rest for 30 days. In total, there are fifteen two-hectare pastures for each group, and the family plans when and where to move the herd using grazing software called PastureMap. Primarily, Lisanna acts as the herdsman, while Marko is responsible for creating the grazing plan.
We walk with Marko and Lisanna on a warm afternoon in September through the pasture—the lush clover reaches well above the ankle and serves as a good hiding place for a calf that was born less than a day ago, which has settled into the tall grass to sleep and remains unnoticed by passersby despite their searching.
The Thick Clover’s Flourishing Growth
The reason the clover is thriving so abundantly is that this year is the first year they have implemented portion grazing with such small pastures. “This helped us avoid overgrazing the pastures during the drought. However, portion grazing is not widely used because it requires building many pasture fences, setting up watering points, moving the animals every other day, and monitoring the growth of the grass in the pastures—this is both a financial and time investment. In each farm, portion grazing operates differently—while the principles are the same, their application depends on local conditions,” Marko describes.
Learning from Mistakes and Others’ Experiences
Both Marko and Lisanna studied to become beef cattle specialists at the Järvamaa Vocational Education Center, but Lisanna, who is trained as a psychologist and has worked in the personnel field, believes that practical experience and interactions with other livestock breeders have taught them the most.
“We visit other herds and observe how others do things—we’re not typical Estonians who are afraid to call and ask for advice. This is characteristic of the younger generation; they are willing to ask and talk about bad experiences as well,” Marko describes the attitude of the youth.
He admits that when they started with beef cattle, he and Lisanna thought there would be less work with the animals. “We had no idea how much time it would take! Especially when you want to be thorough with breeding. You need to know all the animals, be somewhat like an animal psychologist; there’s always something happening in the herd that requires your intervention—but eventually, you get used to it, and it becomes a natural part of daily life.”
Who’s Mooing? A Bear?
Lisanna gives an example of the initial fears they had regarding calving. She recalls that when the first animals were preparing to give birth, she and Marko alternated checking on the animals every two hours for a month, including at night, to ensure everything was alright. One calving stands out clearly to both of them. “It was a March evening when the first heifer gave birth under the shelter opposite the farmhouse. She was mooing very loudly—and since hunters had recently been talking about bears, we were convinced that a bear was outside because cattle can’t possibly make such a noise. We went to check with the flashlight and saw that the animals had gathered together—clearly, they were protecting themselves from a bear! But no—they had actually gathered around the newborn calf,” Lisanna laughs. The heifer, Jaanika, and her mother, Jalinka, who had made the bear’s sound, are still in the herd, and the family has learned to remain calm during calving.
Marko adds another nuance while reminiscing about the early days. “We took all the heifers at first—we had 13 heifers that had never seen a calf before. It would have been beneficial to have an older cow in the herd; it’s a shame nobody told us that,” he chuckles in hindsight.
Comment: A Positive, Results-Oriented Family
Airi Külvet, a board member of the Estonian Beef Cattle Breeders’ Association
I met Marko Hiiemäe in 2019 while we were searching for a new CEO for the association through a competition. Marko presented his ideas to us—and I immediately noticed that he was very enthusiastic and also a strong people leader. I suggested that he become the brand manager for our Liivimaa Beef brand at Linnamäe Meat Industry. And so he did.
I got to know Lisanna more when Marko became the leader of Linnamäe Meat Industry—then Lisanna took care of managing Sepa Farm. Lisanna is the balancing force in the family—Marko generates ideas, while Lisanna maintains equilibrium. Their whole family is incredibly lovely, very positive, and results-oriented. They are reliable—you can go into the field with them!
In general, agricultural producers are a very conservative group—if something has always been done a certain way, they are reluctant to change it. However, Marko and Lisanna are always open to new ideas.