In the Elena Balkan, they raise the most expensive breed of cows – Wagyu, Nova TV reported.
Marin Marinov is a doctor of cognitive sciences, a lecturer at universities in Canada and in Bulgaria, more than 30 years ago.
“My doctorate is from 1991. I was involved in artificial intelligence 35 years ago”, says Marin Marinov. Now he lives in the village of Palitsi, in the Elena Balkan and is engaged in something radically different.
“In my old age, I am involved in animal husbandry. Back to nature. To return to the land and the basics. Other things are interesting, but more important is the contact with nature and the eternal things of this world”, says Marin.
For three years, he and his team have been raising the most expensive breed of cattle in the world, Wagyu.
“For the first time in my life, I tried such meat and said to myself that I should do this. We bought 19 animals from Germany, but there has never been Wagyu in Germany. There is a complete ban on the export of animals, embryos and semen. They told me that I would not have Wagyu outside of Japan”, says Marin.
However, there have been Wagyu around the world since 1967. And this is thanks to a program for storing global genetic material in the United States, which would serve to restore the world in the event of a nuclear attack. And so this material somehow comes out of the place where it was stored.
„And 30 animals were exported. There was another export. And based on these two exports and modern gene technologies - embryo transfers, artificial insemination, we have them”, says Marin.
Raising Wagyu cows is a whole science. The animals are cared for 24/7 by a personal veterinarian, who dispels the myths that these cows drink beer, but also go for massages.
„Our Wagyus are massaged with an automatic massager - a comb. We still don't give them beer to drink. We feed them only with pure produce from the Elena Balkan, which we produce. Here, someone is dissatisfied and wants milk from their mother”, says veterinarian Dr. Anton Vassilev.
“One such cow is 15,000 dollars in Japan. Here it is 10,000 leva”, explains Marin.
The farm in the village of Palitsi looks at Wagyu to breed and trade them, and not for meat, which is considered the most expensive and delicious in the world.
”1000 leva is the kilogram. About 500 dollars for the best part – ribeye steak. When people understand that marbling beef adds flavor, the big chefs around the world start working only with Wagyu,” explains Marin.
Thus, the village of Palitsi finds itself on the world map for Wagyu cows.
„We are the only Wagyu farm on the Balkan Peninsula. A member of the Australian Breeding Association – the largest in the world. We participate in the global brief plan for the breed’s population in the world. Our farm also has its own breeding program, which is controlled by the Australian Association,” said zoo engineer Denitsa Gencheva.
Despite the image created by Marin Marinov’s team, the state does not consider them to exist.
„We do not even receive a subsidy for these animals. "I told us in Bulgaria that we had no right to have an Association because we didn't have animals," says Marin.
It's only at the beginning of this business and despite the difficulties, the doctor in cognitive sciences and artificial intelligence intends to further develop this livestock farm as the most modern in the Balkans.