The Kemp and Rich families joined their knowledge, experience and deep love for the land to create King River and produce Australia’s most sought-after Wagyu.
THE JOURNEY BEGINS
A farming life that grew into legendary Wagyu.
What began as a life on the land in northern Australia has become a fully integrated Wagyu business exporting to markets around the world. The country hasn’t changed and neither has the family working it. Every season adds to a body of knowledge that started long before Wagyu ever arrived on the property.
We think in decades, not seasons. Cattle are raised with patience and a standard that has been refined generation after generation. It is an approach that cannot be rushed, and it cannot be copied by anyone who hasn’t lived it. That is the difference you taste, and the difference our buyers trade on.
Settling the country
Our families’ story starts with selectors who took up virgin country, cleared the scrub, built the fences and turned a bare block into productive land for raising cattle. They put everything they had into the land, raised their families on it and helped to grow the new communities around them. The next generation diversified into cropping and began finishing cattle on grain grown right on the property.
BUILDING WAGYU BLOODLINES
Over the years, both families moved their herds towards Wagyu, learning the breed through feeding and mustering before building bloodlines of our own from full blood genetics. Our genetics program continues to improve the herd, with carcass results and feedback from chefs and distributors shaping breeding decisions for each new generation of cattle.
KING RIVER WAGYU REACHES AROUND THE WORLD
Our families had known each other through mustering and the cattle trade. In 2021 the Kemp and Rich families joined forces to create a fully Australian-owned business, King River Ag Pty Ltd, and the first independent King River exports left for Singapore in January 2022.
King River Wagyu was founded on a simple belief: that world-class Wagyu could come from Queensland. We deliver volume without sacrificing quality, relationships, or integrity. From selling cattle as a commodity, we shifted to building a premium brand, going from price-takers to price-makers.
MEET OUR FAMILY.
The Kemp and Rich families are the founders of the King River brand and are hands-on throughout the business, supported by a team of hard-working, energetic experts in their fields, from nutrition to processing, logistics, marketing and sales.
Our multi-generational families value honour, respect and only the best. It means that our valued clients enjoy an exquisite Australian beef product, every time. We want you to feel like a part of our family. Our focus with all our partners is that together, we grow.
THE KING RIVER WAY
CONTROL
A hands-on approach built from the ground up. From the breeding program to the end-user King River consistently delivers premium Wagyu, through our vertically integrated supply chain, achieving award-winning results.
QUALITY
Our premium Wagyu in all three programs, is globally renowned for exceptional marbling, flavour, and consistency, with reliable supply.
NURTURE
We integrate closely with clients’ operations, adapting to challenges, optimising carcass utilisation and fostering long-term trust that ensures mutual success and a sense of being part of the King River family.
"If you're eating our King River beef, you know the country it came from and the family that stands behind it. To us, that counts for something."
"I always wanted to be part of the family business, and now we're building it for the next generation. Like iron sharpens iron - we push each other, hold each other to account, and we're all the better for it."
"Feeding people is what our business comes down to. We grow the crops, we take the best possible care of the cattle, and we manage the beef all the way through. We know we have a great product to share with the world."
"Our cattle get the very best treatment from day one. From breeding, through the paddocks, to the feedlot and processing, we've built something over the last few decades that's pretty special."
"What makes me proud is the team. People look out for each other here, and that matters more than anything else we do."
"Every animal tells us something. We take what the grading data and our customers tell us and put it straight back into our breeding decisions. The cattle we breed today are the ones a chef will cook in three to four years."
Start a conversation.
With King River, you’ll always get a straight answer. Our business is built on relationships, and we’re ready to engage with you, no matter where you live and what part of our supply chain you’re interested in.