01

Results at a Glance

• Contaminated runoff all but eliminated through the covered pen system

• Rainfall captured from the roof is reused on site, reducing fresh water drawn from the environment

• Improvement in marbling scores

• Airflow increased by at least 20% per hour compared to traditional barn designs
  

02

Client Overview

The Shaw family has run Canning Downs South since 1998, a pastoral property in the Warwick region of Queensland with more than 180 years of history. What began as a 999-head feedlot licence in 2005 has evolved into one of Australia's most distinctive Wagyu operations. By 2019, the feedlot had expanded to 9,400 head capacity, with Fullblood, Purebred and F4 Wagyu lines feeding Elbow Valley Beef's two brands: Sir Harry for purebred and Chauvel for fullblood.

Long-fed Wagyu in southern Queensland demands precision across every variable. Summer temperatures push past 35 degrees, adding pressure to water temperature, intake, and the energy available for growth. Winters bring the opposite challenge, with the full daily ration needed just to maintain weight. For a business positioning Wagyu as a luxury, export-grade product for customers in China and across Asia, the Shaws required infrastructure that reflected the calibre of the cattle and the brand they had built.

03

Key Outcomes

Entegra partnered with the Shaw family from feasibility to delivery on Australia's first fully covered feedlot, a system that now underpins 9,400 head of long-fed Fullblood and Purebred F4 Wagyu.

The site features a network of Ridgeback® structures, including one 440 metres long, covering more than 94,000m². The concave curved roof lines draw warm, moist air upward through a chimney effect, increasing air exchanges by at least 20% per hour compared to traditional barn designs. On a 35-degree day with no wind in the surrounding trees, a measurable cool breeze still passes through the pens.

Each pen is built around the animal's daily routine. Feed bunks and water troughs sit on either side of the pen, so no animal walks more than 15 metres to feed or water. Bedding is deep litter compost over a probiotic base of sawdust, shavings and bark chip. The pad stays dry, produces near-zero odour, and generates a stabilised compost that returns to the property's soils.

The covered system has all but eliminated contaminated runoff, and the Shaw family uses less of its water allocation per unit of production than before.

Marbling scores have improved under cover, and in 2025 the operation was Queensland's grainfed winner at the MSA Excellence in Eating Quality Awards, grading 99% compliance at an average MSA Index of 65.97. MLA named the fully covered design first among the drivers of the result. For export customers in China and across Asia, the Ridgeback® structures are not background infrastructure; they are part of the product.