Wagyu World - July/August 2016 by EDJE

July/August 2016

Wagyu World | July/August 2016

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this issue July/August 2016

COVER>>

Volume 2, Number 5

Title: Sale Action Courtesy of Annette Edwards Rowe Location: 2016 Passion for Prime Springfield, MO

12 18

12 Market Matters

Drury Cattle Ranch & The F-1 Roundup

A time to meet the Drury family and learn about their continued efforts to promote the Wagyu breed including hosting the first ever Wagyu F-1 Roundup. >> By Jeri Tulley

Ranch reach Wagyu in California

Based in the beautiful foothills of Central California is a working Wagyu cattle ranch that is owned and operated by Glenn & Keiko Nakagawa. We visit with them and learn about the history of their Wagyu program and Glenn’s feelings about the breed. >> By Heather Smith-Thomas

18 28 MARKET MATTERS Export In’s & Out’s

8 9 10 49

EDITOR’S LETTER Publisher’s Post Contributors INDEX

Wagyu World | July/August 2016

When it comes to exporting your product there is a lot to keep in mind and think about before this goal can become a reality. Here we take a look at those items to better assist you when you get this opportunity. >> By Kindra Gordon

32 health & Husbandry Using DNA

An inside look at how HeartBrand Beef is using the power of DNA for parent verification and how is is excelling their program. >> By Heather Smith-Thomas

32 36 OUT & ABOUT

The 2016 Passion for Prime sale report and highlights including many hot shots and lets not forget the important upcoming events calendar and latest Wagyu news.

36 40 Ranch reach Triangle B Ranch

A look into a very progressive Wagyu program that has beeen in the business for a long time; learn about the folks behind it and what they’re doing to keep themselves ahead. >> By Heather Smith-Thomas

44 Health & husbandry Minerals 101

A discussion about minerals; the importance, the need, types and when to make sure they are available to your animals. >> By Dr. Jimmy Horner

46 LIVING PRIME The Experience

A zip-line trip that you will never forget! This experience is located in the same town as this year’s A.W.A. convention; Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho. When you’re in town for the convention, take advantage of this thrill ride.

Wagyu World | July/August 2016

Editor’s Letter | WW

July/August 2016

A time to Unite

ere we are, about to brace ourselves for yet another exciting American Wagyu Association convention. It is amazing how fast a year goes by. It seems like we were all just in Florida in the beautiful Ocala setting with wonderful hosts from Clear Creek Cattle Company. This year our host is the American Wagyu Association themselves in the town that headquarters it all, Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho. After the heat I have been in this summer, I truly am looking forward to the cooler Northwest temperatures and mountainous scenery. Most importantly however, I look forward to the time with all of the convention goers and the wonderful talks and information that the convention itself has to give us. The convention is a wonderful time to come together as a whole, face differences, and work as a stronghold to move forward successfully for all those involved. When one person is successful in a group, this success transfers to the entire group over time as long as unity is maintained. This has been seen in many different breeds of cattle and throughout industries overtime. The convention, as mentioned, is a perfect venue for this and all should take advantage of this opportunity to come together as a whole for the better of its entirety. Everyone I have met over the years that is passionate about this breed has so much to add to this success and on so many different levels. If this passion comes together as an integrated force, there’s no telling what the Wagyu breed can do to the entire cattle industry in ten years! As I mentioned, each and every Wagyu breeder and enthusiast has something to contribute and this issue highlights this. We visit Drury Cattle Ranch, learn more about who they are and discuss their passion for the breed as they are hosting the first ever Midwest Wagyu F-1 Roundup that was put together by an industry go-getter, Mike Kerby. From the Midwest to the West coast, our travels take us to California to meet Glen Nakagawa. He ranches in the foothills just east of the California Central Valley. His family story and passion for the breed is immeasurable; another very zealous member of the Wagyu family working hard to promote the breed and its product. Back to the Midwest we go to visit with Triangle B Ranch. This long time breeder has seen it all and is very educated about the breed and its history. On the market side of the spectrum, there is an informative piece regarding exporting cattle internationally. This process takes a lot of effort but can be worth it in the end. Also, with facing the summer heat, irrigated pasture, and in some cases, not the best feed, Dr. Jimmy Horner discusses supplementing with much need minerals; what minerals, why and when. When it comes to this breed we all know DNA is very important for parent verification. We visit with HeartBrand Beef to learn more about how they are taking advantage of this very important tool to excel their program forward as they trace some of their lineage back to the originals. Since we saw you last, we had the first annual Passion for Prime sale in Springfield, Missouri. This was truly a success; read about the sale highlights in the Out & About. Also, don’t forget to take a look at the upcoming events as there is a lot to come in the next 12 months and you don’t want to miss out. The next event is the convention in September and don’t forget about the Grandeur sale which will be held that first evening, September 14th. This event will include first of its kind and rare opportunities that any breeder will be excited about. I look forward to seeing you all in Idaho. Travel safe and see you soon!

Wagyu World | July/August 2016

Publisher’s Post | WW I thought the spring was busy, until we started trying to move two ranches, equipment and livestock; the JDA office that can spare no “down time” and two households to our new ranch that is an hour north of here. It’s just amazing when you live somewhere for twenty years the amount of “stuff” you collect. To top it off my place went on the market and sold within two weeks, something I didn’t expect, so that cushion of time I thought I had has vanished. That’s really alright; because working under a deadline is something I’m accustomed to. I want to thank all of the consignors at the Passion for Prime sale in June; it was a pleasure to have the opportunity to work with all of you and get to know you. So many of you jumped right into do anything you could to help and those actions certainly contributed to the success of the sale. We had a really good week in Missouri with all of you. It’s hard to believe that the Wagyu Convention is just around the corner, I’m looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting more breeders. Convention time is a great way to come together to strengthen the breed and assure that it continues to grow. Hopefully by that time we’re settled in at our new ranch and I’ve broke ground on the home I’m going to build. Once again I look forward to seeing old and new friends in Idaho at the convention.

Sherry Danekas - Publisher

Publisher: Sherry Danekas sherry@jdaonline.com Editor: Mercedes Danekas-Lohse wagyuworld@yahoo.com Advertising: mercedes@jdaonline.com • (916) 837-1432 Circulation/Subscriptions: Morgan Fryer P: (530) 668-1224 OR (530) 668-1226 W: www.buywagyu.net M: P.O. Box 8629 Woodland, CA 95776

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Wagyu World | July/August 2016

Contributors | WW

Discovery This Issue’s Four Contributors Share Themselves With Us. Dr. jimmy horner

Kindra Gordon

Jeri Tulley

Heather Smith-Thomas

Rancher / Writer

Writer

Rancher / Writer

Nutritionist / CEO Protocol Technologies

In today’s atmosphere, my biggest fear for my child/ children is... the threats to democracy and the loss of a mostly peaceful world. With the Presidential election drawing near, when politics are brought up I... have several strong opinions, but I believe the best place to express them is by marking your ballot in the voting booth. The biggest problem facing America in three words is... Christian values missing.

In today’s atmosphere, my biggest fear for my child/ children is... that they will start believing that what society says is right. With the Presidential election drawing near, when politics are brought up I... grimace. I am afraid that no matter which candidate wins, we, as Americans, have lost. The biggest problem facing America in three words is... loss of faith in God. Okay, I know that is five words, but that’s my answer, and I couldn’t figure out how to wordsmith that down to just three. Maybe we can just agree that words that have two letters or less don’t count. ;)

In today’s atmosphere, my biggest fear for my child/ children is... the continual erosion of our freedoms in this country. With the Presidential election drawing near, when politics are brought up I... cringe. The biggest problem facing America is three words is... too much government.

In today’s atmosphere, my biggest fear for my child/ children is... that they lose hope by forgetting where our true hope lies and that its not in government, politicians or material possessions. With the Presidential election drawing near, when politics are brought up I... try to be a good listener and remember that people are more important than my opinion. The biggest problem facing America in three words is... losing our saltiness. (salt has grit and flavor, and it preserves and sustains)

Wagyu World | July/August 2016

& the F-1 Roundup

Wagyu World | July/August 2016

Market Matters | WW

he Drury family has roots that run deep in Missouri soil. These began in the early 1900’s with Lambert Drury working as a plasterer in St. Louis and struggling to save $4,000 to purchase a farm in the small town of Kelso, down near the southeastern corner of Missouri. Lambert’s son, Jerry, grew up on that farm and learned his way around cattle. Jerry married his high school sweetheart, Kathleen, and started a family. Kathleen stayed at home to raise their seven children, and fiftyfour years of marriage later, their friends and family view them as the iconic couple that is still in love after all those years. They now have eleven grandkids and one great-grandchild with another Drury baby on the way. Their core values are their faith in God, their love of family, and their dual beliefs in hard work and in the golden rule – treat others right, and they’ll treat you right. After World War II ended, Jerry began working in the construction company his father started which is now based in Cape Girardeau, just a few miles north of the farm, to support his growing family. He stayed in the construction business for a large portion of his life, but he always had a love for cattle. As patriarch of the family, Jerry has always infused his family with vision and a go-get’em spirit. Combining that spirit with his son, Bryan’s, business expertise and research skills and with his grandson, Brent’s, hard work and common sense, they make a dynamic business team. In 1994, the Drurys bought another family farm in Strafford, Missouri, just northeast of Springfield. It was on this 260 acres with expansive views of the rolling hills to both the north and south that Brent grew up and learned a few things about farming and animals. They raised feeder Wagyu World | July/August 2016

“We didn’t know anything about it… or even honestly how to say it, but it immediately tripped my grandpa’s trigger,” says Brent.

cattle at this location for sixteen years. Besides feeder cattle, they also grew and sold hay nearby. After the recession of 2008, the family was looking for ways to diversify their construction company and hay farm income. With Jerry’s passion for cattle and the family’s agricultural knowledge, they looked at other opportunities in the cattle business. Three years ago, they started into meat production with forty head of Angus cattle. One day, during the process of looking at a farm for sale in Ava, Missouri, the owner told the Drurys about Wagyu. “We didn’t know anything about it… or even honestly how to say it, but it immediately tripped my grandpa’s trigger,” says Brent. Still talking about his grandpa, Brent chuckles and says, “He flies at 30,000 feet and is always thinking ten moves ahead.” From that point on, the idea of raising Wagyu germinated in the back of all of their minds. “Opportunity knocked and Dad answered the door” is how Bryan Drury describes his family’s beginning in the Wagyu business. Bryan scheduled a research trip to the Denver show to find out more about the Wagyu breed and the potential business prospects that existed. He met people, learned about F-1s, and saw the many different ap14

Wagyu World | July/August 2016

proaches that Wagyu ranchers take to this business. When he returned home with information, he ordered a Wagyu steak online. He also got the best looking Angus steak he could find, put salt and pepper on both of them and grilled them side-by-side to test the differences. “Those steaks were night and day….the texture and the taste and how the Wagyu just shredded. That got me hooked. We put the Angus aside and concentrated on the Wagyu.” After the steak was gone, Jerry jumpstarted them into action saying, “Let’s talk turkey!” With one Google search and a three hour phone call, the Drurys were headed to Texas to buy some Wagyu. Brent recalls that on that trip they were so excited about the possibilities ahead that they brainstormed and talked the entire way – what is known in their family as windshield time. “We never even turned the radio on once, and that is insane for me, as I am a radio guy.” When the Drurys arrived, they were so pleased with what they found that they ended up bringing home more animals than they originally planned, and they also bought some embryos. Drury Cattle Ranch’s goal is to raise the best genetics around. They are currently focused more on reds, with their original Wagyu purchase contain-

ing both a Rueshaw son and a Rueshaw daughter, but are not discounting the value of black genetics either. Their ultimate goal is to develop complete total outcross genetics. About that Bryan says, “Focusing on the elite Wagyu genetics just helps us to uphold and further develop the Wagyu cattle breed, and that just helps to expand the nation’s total herd numbers. If we are able to do a low inbreeding coefficient with these outcrosses, that just expands the possibilities for everybody.” Bettering the breed and doing what makes sense to help everyone is the basis for the Drury’s other focus in Wagyu. They volunteered to use their Rogersville hay farm just east of Springfield as the pick-up point for the Midwest Wagyu F-1 Round-up Mike Kerby has envisioned. At the previous Passion for Prime events, Kerby identified the need for a market for the small rancher who has a few F-1s to sell. These ranchers are struggling to attract buyers with their less-than-truckloadsized lots. The Drury family and Mike Kerby have worked to provide a solution – a way to make it possible for all of the area ranchers to bring their animals to a central meeting place on a certain date and, with larger numbers, command a premium from the buyers. The pick-up point at the Drury family’s hay farm is centrally located at a crossroads of several major interstates and highways - Interstate-44, Highway 66, Highway 65, and Highway 125 – and is just east of the major city of Springfield, Missouri. The prop-

“Our family is like a coloring book, Grandpa draws the pictures and we color them in.”

erty has wide, easy access for semis along with ample parking and room to

maneuver. On-site scales and a large, open barn with pipe corrals that swing and latch into each other allowing for efficient sorting of cattle, make this an ideal location for an event of this kind. When the Drurys originally offered the use of this location, Jerry told his family, “I always thought that one day those barns would not hold hay.” The Drury family has plunged head-first into the Wagyu world. Excited about the many possibilities that the breed provides, Bryan explains how he views the future of Wagyu this

way, “How the overall characteristics are of this breed…how they act, how they deal with different temperatures and climates, and their temperament, and also how the taste and texture and health benefits are just superior in the beef, the opportunites are just endless.” Brent adds that, “Every single day we have an expansion of our strategy. We know it is going to be good, we know it is going to be great. We just don’t know yet what all of the opportunities are going to be. I’m comfortable saying that. I’m excited to say that.” With passionate, motivated people like the Drurys joining our Wagyu world, the days ahead truly do promise to be bright and full of new and exciting opportunities.

Wagyu World | July/August 2016

Thank you to all of the 2016 buyers and sponsors!

Aschermann Ranch Sam Frazer Patrick Montgomery Flying Eagle Ranch Ryan Hunt William Neel Paul Blanchard Imperial Wagyu Beef Terry Neunet Brett Burns Roger Keesee David Patten Clear Creek Cattle Co. Gary Kliesin Mike Schweighardt Cloverby Farm Lage Farms Derek Snow Tom Crowson Kenny Landgraf Spring Rock Farm D & H Wagyu Ron Lee Ranger Cattle Co. Dove Creek Wagyu Lone Mountain Cattle Co. Rocking 711 Ranch Drury Cattle Co. Ranch Lougami Earl Rowe Barry Elliott Lucky 7 Cattle Co. V Bar V Wagyu Empire State Farms John Meyers Jean Westendorf

See You Next Year!

June 10

th,

2017 Wagyu World | July/August 2016

Ranch Reach | WW

Glenn and Keiko Nakagawa By Heather Smith-Thomas

lenn Nakagawa grew up on a farm near Lodi California (30 miles south of Sacramento and 12 miles north of Stockton), in the center of the state. “My family still has that ranch. Then in 2007 we purchased Valley Springs Ranch, 30 miles east of Lodi in the Sierra foothills. This was a grazing cattle ranch but there were no cattle on it when we bought it. I went to Washington and purchased a herd of F1 Wagyu heifers from Jerry Reeves, to put on that ranch, and also purchased two fullblood bulls from him,” says Glenn. “I have been involved in agriculture all my life. We had cattle on the farm when I was growing up, but they weren’t the prima18

Wagyu World | July/August 2016

ry crop. We had cattle to have them eat the residue from our field crops and marketed everything off the farm,” he says. “I was in Future Farmers of America and showed cattle at the Junior Grand National at the Cow Palace for 5 years. When I went to college, the cattle industry didn’t look that promising so I went into tree crops (horticulture). In 1973, after I graduated from California State University Fresno, I was able to purchase a ranch in Fresno and planted peaches, plums and nectarines. I grew tree fruit for more than 25 years,” he says. While in college he met a lovely girl from Tokyo. Keiko was born and raised in

Japan but came to the U.S. to get her master’s degree at CSU Fresno. Glenn and Keiko have now been married 34 years and have four children. “The tree fruit business has its ups and downs, just like the cattle markets. It took a real downturn so I got out of that and went into produce sourcing and brokerage for export crops—broccoli, citrus, etc.” he says. “In the meantime, while we were farming in the Fresno area, Keiko became quite involved in agricultural research work on crops like nuts, cherries, apples, citrus, broccoli, asparagus, lettuce, onions, rice, sugar and so on, mainly for clients in Japan. Most of them are semi-government affili-

ates and co-ops. She is very experienced in those commodities. She also worked as a technical interpreter at various US-Japan ag-related meetings” says Glenn. AGRICULTURAL TRANSLATOR “Keiko is not from a farming family; she’s a city girl who grew up in Tokyo. But I always tell her she had the good fortune of marrying an American farmer! Over the years she learned to take English agricultural terminology and match it with correct Japanese terminology for agricultural practices. Agriculture has a separate language, in itself. Someone outside it doesn’t understand what we are talking about. This has been Keiko’s unique advantage, in being an interpreter.” More than 20 years ago, following the opening of the Japanese rice market, the U.S. Rice Federation and the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture’s rice division, had the first bilateral technical meeting here in Sacramento. Keiko got a phone call from the Japanese Consulate in San Francisco and was asked to attend this meeting as their of-

ficial interpretor. “One of the reasons they asked Keiko to do this was because she has written a research report on rice production in California while she was studying at CSU Fresno. The paper had been passed around quite a bit within the agricultural and academic communities in Japan. Japan now ranks as the number one export market for California rice, and Keiko continues to work as the interpreter for this bilateral meeting every other year when it is held in California,” says Glenn. WAGYU OPPORTUNITY “In the interim, while we were doing all of this, I always had a desire to raise Wagyu cattle. In 2007 an opportunity came along that enabled us to purchase grazing ground in Valley Springs, so that’s when we made a trip north to Washington and purchased a herd from Jerry Reeves.” Then in 2008 there was a California Wagyu Growers meeting in Sonoma. “This was an attempt by California producers to kick-start the Wagyu breed in this state, but it didn’t really happen. That’s when we

were introduced to the American Wagyu Association (AWA). When we purchased the herd, we joined the AWA,” says Glenn. “We started with 60 heifers and the 2 herd sires. Over the years our herd has expanded to 70 cows and we added two more full-blood bulls. Our Valley Springs Ranch is approximately 400 acres. Not really understanding the stocking rate (ratio of grazing acres to number of cattle) for that ranch, we were overstocked. I had hoped it would support those cattle but it did not.” He converted the Lodi farm into producing alfalfa hay rather than vegetables and installed a center pivot irrigation system. On that farm we have riparian water rights with adequate water availability, so we planted 200 acres of alfalfa. Thinking that I now had the feed and grazing ground, I thought I could easily manage 70 head, but I didn’t plan on an extended drought! At the end of 2014 we were forced to downsize our herd to 30. There are always a few bumps in the road, but we managed to persevere,” he says. “One problem we ran into is the perception of Wagyu cattle by other cattlemen Wagyu World | July/August 2016

in the area. There are a lot of cattle ranchers in the Valley Springs area, but all my neighbors at the beginning would look at my Wagyu and were not very enthusiastic about this breed.” Wagyu do not look like the traditional beef animal. “By now, however, there are a few producers in the neighborhood who do appreciate the breed, and one fulltime cattle rancher has leased two of our bulls to use on his heifers. He runs about 200 head of commercial Angus and told me that during calving season it used to be a 24/7 job, pulling calves, and he still had some death loss. All of his calving problems were very tiring, and then after he started using our Wagyu bulls, those problems almost disappeared. On top of that, he got a good buyer for his F1 cross calves, so now he is sold on that program,” Glenn says. “Another really big local stocker operation utilizes Wagyu bulls. He calves out about 1,000 heifers a year, for F1 production. But other ranchers look at him and say he can do anything he wants to just because he has such volume--and they shrug off anything he’s doing.” WAGYU CHARACTERISTICS “As far as the breed is concerned, we’ve had nothing but enjoyment and pleasure in raising Wagyu cattle. All of our bulls are approachable and you can put your hands on them,” says Glenn. They have a very mellow disposition, compared with many other breeds. “Our cows, which are all F1s, and F2s 20

Wagyu World | July/August 2016

(75% Wagyu-25% Angus) are very docile. It’s almost unbelievable how easy it is to handle them. I drive an ATV out to check the cattle or occasionally to feed them and they come running to me. By contrast, my neighbor’s cattle are just the opposite. If I drive by them in a motorized vehicle, their tails go up and they are running away! The Wagyu are a pleasure to raise,” he says. “The Wagyu have been an exciting adventure and experience for us. We love these cattle. They bond so readily with humans. If you have Wagyu bottle babies, they identify with the human and consider that person their mother. This characteristic was selected and bred into these cattle by the Japanese.” These cattle had such close association with people that they are very user-friendly. “The calves in Japan are pulled away from the cows the first or second day after birth, I’ve heard, so the human becomes the mother and can readily handle these animals.” Before they were raised for beef production, the Wagyu were beasts of burden, pulling carts.” Many Japanese producers have only one to five cows because of space limitations. When a farmer has only a few, he wants animals he can handle without being kicked, stepped on or run over. The Japanese select for good temperament. “Because of the docile nature along with their relatively small size, Wagyu cattle fit perfectly to the hobby rancher’s needs. We’ve sold a few to hobby farmers in our area and they are extremely happy,” says Glenn.

FAMILY HISTORY Glenn is a third generation farmer in California. His grandfather Yokichi Nakagawa came from Japan to San Francisco in 1904 and hoped to have a farm in the fertile Central Valley. The U.S. land policies at that time forbid Asian immigrants from owning land, but Yokichi hung onto those dreams for 37 years. “My father, Percy, was born in Acampo, which is just two miles north of Lodi, in 1914. Our present ranch in Lodi was purchased by my father, who was a U.S. citizen, and it is still in the family,” says Glenn. On December 5, 1941, the deed to the 425-acre farm near Acampo was signed, but two days later the events at Pearl Harbor quickly took away everything that the family had worked toward. FBI agents came to the ranch hoping to find something to implicate Yokichi as a Japanese spy. Even though they found no such evidence, he was arrested and sent to a detention facility in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A few months later the rest of his family was uprooted. Executive Order 9066 forced everyone with Japanese ancestry on the Pacific Coast to relocate to internment camps throughout the U.S. Most families lost everything and had to quickly sell their land, but Yokichi entrusted his family farm to a friend during their internment. Finally in 1946 the Nakagawa family was able to return to Acampo and start their lives over again on their farm. Most of the ranch had been unfarmed during that time and it took a lot of work to restore the land. The family then grew grapes and vegetables. A tragic boat accident in 1953 took the lives of Yokichi, his son Percy, and Percy’s father-in-law during a fishing trip. Yokichi’s daughter Miyoko kept the farm going and in 2006 Glenn and his wife Keiko took over management of the family farm operation, converted it into hay production, and added Wagyu cattle in Valley Springs. “Right now there’s no one else in the family interested in going on with the ranch. My siblings’ and cousins’ kids—the fourth generation—are not very interested in agriculture. All four of our children have college degrees and two of them have master’s degrees. They are doing very well in their careers and have been very helpful promoting our beef to their friends and neighbors, but don’t really want to come back to ranch or farm. The future of agriculture is a bit uncertain, even though I’ve always enjoyed being in it,” Glenn says. “We have worked hard on our Valley Springs Ranch, and made lots of improvements. It’s a beautiful cattle ranch in the middle of the historic gold country. At this point in time there is no one else in our family in line to carry on our ranching. It’s sad to think we might have to let this ranch go sometime, but Keiko and I are just going for broke, continuing our own fun journey.”

FEEDING AND FINISHING “The calves I produce are F2s and F3s (87% Wagyu and 12.5% Angus) and we sell them to a feedlot in northern California that specializes in feeding Wagyu cattle. With them we have an agreement in which we can buy back some of our own finished cattle for our own marketing program. They are very good at finishing Wagyu; it’s really an art to finish them properly,” he says. “I tried finishing a few myself and was able to get the high prime grade, but it was too expensive—and also too much work! The feedyard has the advantage of buying feed in bulk quantities. They also have a feed mill, scale and all the equipment for efficiently feeding cattle. If I am trying to do this, it’s just me and the wheelbarrow and the feed shovel,” Glenn explains. “We have a nice arrangement with the feed yard. They have their own USDA inspected slaughtering facility and our calves are identified all the way through the system. When they are harvested we get a harvest report and a grade-out on every animal that we sold to them. We have a good record of the performance of every one of our cows, plus the performance on our bulls. We have a pretty good idea what combination of bulls and cows will produce the best calves, just in our own herd. We’ve found there is a difference in bull performance, and in the various combinations of bull and cows,” he says. MARKETING THE MEAT “Six years ago we started selling our beef locally. Our beef program is very small, and seasonal, and our website www.makagawranches.com is our only major marketing tool. We are getting good responses from our customers; most of them don’t know about Wagyu beef, but once they taste it, they are hooked,” Glenn says. “So far, all the cattle we’ve bought back from the feedlot have finished as prime and the meat is excellent. We believe the beefy flavor of the Angus magically blends into the Wagyu’s buttery sweetness—and creates the products that are so well suited to the American palate,” he says. “The Sierra Foothills and the San Francisco Bay area are our two main marketing areas. The clientele here in the Sierra Foothills includes many retired or semi-retired folks from the Bay area. This

is a retirement area for a lot of people. We also sell to a couple of local restaurants that feature locally-produced products,” he says. “We do not ship our beef. Orders can be placed online, but customers must come to our ranch, our house, or our daughter’s house in San Francisco to pick up the beef and pay for it. This inconvenience deters very few people, however. Some of our customers drive 3 hours from the Bay area to our ranch to pick up the beef they ordered. A lot of people want to buy local and want to know where their food comes from. Lately, ‘locally grown’ is one of the most wanted commodities in the U.S. food market,” explains Glenn. “The major problem we have in marketing our meat is limited access to USDA-inspected slaughtering and cutand-wrap facilities. In northern California I only know of 5 slaughtering facilities that would meet our needs. At this present time we travel to Corning to pick up

the finished live cattle, deliver them to a slaughtering facility in Orland, and then make three separate trips to the cut-andwrap facility in Esparto. The first is right after the carcass is delivered from the slaughtering facility when we check the quality of the meat. Second is to work with the butcher when he starts cutting the carcass after two to three weeks of dry aging, and then finally to pick up the finished packages to take back to our freezer where we store the meat to sell it. The total trips amount to nearly 1000 miles. This is a lot of driving, expense and work,” Glenn says. “But I love the breed. I like the meat and I like selling it. Our customers are very pleased and happy that we have the meat available. It’s such a pleasure to see customers who are willing to wait, drive a long distance, pay the price we can live with, and appreciate the results of our love and hard labor. We are just having a very good time with this.” Wagyu World | July/August 2016

September 14th ~ Coeur dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Alene, Idaho

6PM Cocktails & Bites 6:30PM Auction 7:15PM Cocktails, Bites & Socializing

LiveAuctions. TV Live on the Internet, Live Audio, Video Bidding

Wagyu World | July/August 2016

Only the Finest! An array of elite Wagyu genetic packages

During the A.W.A. Convention Sale Highlights Include: Pick of a Heifer Calf from the Bar R Cattle Company 2016 Fall Calf Crop Semen from the First Ever Black Full Blood Polled Bull Pick of Flushmates from Lucky 7 Cattle Ranch’s Famed “L7 504A” Dam Rare Black and Red Genetic Packages and Much More! Consignments From Crescent Harbor, Delta Wagyu, Bar R Cattle Co., Lucky 7 Cattle Ranch, Legendary Akaushi Genetics, Buck Mountain Cattle Co., Kay Ranch, Rocky Mountain Wagyu, Ultimate Kobe Beef, Muddy Flats Cattle Co., Tennessee Wagyu & Many More! For Details & The Catalog www.jdaonline.com Wagyu World | July/August 2016

Glenn Nakagawa G

By Heather Smith-Thomas

lenn Nakagawa and his wife Keiko produce Wagyu cattle in northern California and passionately promote this breed. Glenn feels that this exceptional meat has a great future with American consumers. “There are a growing number of Wagyu breeders in this country but many of them don’t seem to be very interested in producing very many animals for the actual meat marketing channels. A lot of breeders are only interested in these cattle as a hobby or to produce fullbloods. I see a lot of room for improvement in the Wagyu breed itself, but that’s not happening very fast,” he says. “I feel that one person who has really strived to improve the Wagyu breed here in the United States is Jerry Reeves. He has tried to improve it in ways that it can become appealing to the American cattle rancher/producer. Right now it is difficult to get a commercial cattleman in this country to even look at a Wagyu, or seriously consider using this breed,” Glenn says. Many cattlemen are not knowledgeable enough about the breed to understand why these cattle look the way

Wagyu World | July/August 2016

they do, and are simply turned off by their structure and the lack of “beefiness” in their conformation. Most ranchers also have a certain mind set about cattle and cattle production, focusing on the animals themselves without giving enough thought to the market, and what the consumer wants. “I’ve gone through this process with producers in the fruit and vegetable industries. Over a 35-year period of time I have seen that industry completely overhauled because farmers kept their eyes on the product and forgot about the consumer. In the beef industry in the U.S. right now, I feel that everyone is looking at the animal instead of the consumer. Bottom line is that the consumer is the one you’d better watch—as these other industries found out. The consumer determines whether you will be here today or gone tomorrow,” he says. If the consumer is not aware of your product or doesn’t know how good it is, then no matter how good it is you won’t be able to sell it. Agriculture has not always been given good financial advice or production advice. “As an example, some

people think that if you are not making a profit with 5 acres, you’d better increase to 10 acres. If you are not making money at 10 acres, you’d better go to 20 acres. We are being advised to produce, produce, produce, but this doesn’t make any sense. You just have a bigger debt!” There are many factors in the Wagyu genetics that need to be addressed. “You are not going to be able to straighten out those genetic problems or eliminate genetic defects by going back and breeding to the original Wagyu genetics only. The genetics in this breed are old, and limited. The Japanese have sifted through these so much that there is nothing to glean out anymore. You have to crossbreed, add something new to the gene pool, to get any improvement,” he explains. “Many of the major Wagyu breeders in the U.S. are not very concerned about improving the breed. They are mainly interested in increasing the dollar value of the old genes that they have on hand.” That’s a hindrance to improvement. “I know from my personal experience that by crossbreeding and getting the hybrid vigor and new genetics, there are many benefits. My F1 breeding stock is a good example. They are not perfect, but they are extremely healthy, prolific, and physically fit. I don’t have enough time and I’m not sophisticated enough to try to make enough improvements within the breed itself, but it can be done if the right person >> pg 24

Wagyu World | July/August 2016

THE NEED FOR MORE GENETIC DIVERSITY IN THE WAGYU In Japan there is a limited gene pool and genetics are very carefully selected. “Almost all Wagyu producers in Japan belong to a Co-op. When a person has only 3 to 5 cows, they don’t have the money to own a bull. The farmers turn their entire breeding program into the hands of the Co-op.” The Co-op makes the mating decisions and determines which cows will be bred to certain bulls. These records and all the paperwork involved used to be done in longhand. Now the Co-ops have computers. “The Co-op now has computerized records and each member’s cow is registered in that computer. The Co-op probably has between 5 and 10 AI bulls and they mix and match the cows with those bulls and make all the breeding selections. This is why the genetics are so fine-tuned and limited,” Glenn explains. “When Japan passed the regulation that there would be no more genetics coming in or going out of Japan this put a cap on their ability to improve the breed and genetics,” he says. Breeders in the U.S. have much more ability here in this country to work with the Wagyu breed and make some real improvements. << pg 24 gets in there and starts picking it out,” says Glenn. There is a lot of room for improvement and it is most easily gained by crossbreeding. “I honestly believe that breeders can really work with the cattle of all the breeds that are currently available in this country and come up with a topnotch American Wagyu bull.” The crossbred animal is always a little hardier and has some strengths and plusses that you just can’t get with the old inbred genetics. “As far as the American Wagyu Association (AWA), and marketing of Wagyu breed, we can learn a lot from the American Angus Association. They have done a fabulous job in advertising and marketing Angus Beef, not only in supermarket chains but also in fast food restaurants. It’s amazing to see how many customers identify Angus beef as a superior product, and believe it 26

Wagyu World | July/August 2016

tastes better than other beef products,” he says. “Wagyu beef tastes excellent, and is the best eating experience. Scientific evidence shows Wagyu cattle deposit higher concentrations of ‘good fat’ than any other major breed. We Wagyu producers know this, but most consumers do not. The consumer doesn’t care about or understand EPDs or marbling genes or tenderness genes, but they do want good-tasting, nutritious, healthy food. We have to get away from talking about terminology that consumers don’t identify with. We must educate the consumer and the trade with language they can understand, and in ways that catch their attention,” Glenn explains. “I find the hardest thing to sell in our farm’s little meat marketing program is hamburger. Everyone who has tried my hamburger loves it and says it’s the best hamburger they’ve ever had. Yet most people don’t want to pay $9 per pound for ground Wagyu.” People can buy $3 or $4 a pound ground burger from the supermarket, but they don’t know where it comes from and it isn’t always very good. Most of the ground beef in the store is from cull dairy cows or from meat on the carcass that you can’t do anything else with. We have to do something different in order to have the consumer’s mind identify with something other than the same old thing,” says Glenn. “I think the AWA board is going to appoint a committee to search for a new executive director. It might be wise to find someone who has been deeply involved in Angus beef marketing. There’s a great track record there, and some successes we could learn from. Such an individual could certainly bring a lot to the table. Name recogni-

tion is very important in marketing any products, and this is one area the AWA can help all of us, and help the entire industry immensely. There is a huge market out there that we are missing out on,” says Glenn. A HUGE AMERICAN MARKET “Originally the Wagyu industry was started in the U.S. thinking we could sell beef back into the Japanese marketplace. But I believe the best market for Wagyu meat is American consumers, if they can be introduced to the quality of this product”, says Glenn. “After being in the produce exporting business for years, I learned one thing about the Japanese marketplace, and that’s to never try to produce something as good or better than what the Japanese can produce. In the Japanese consumer’s mind, the Japanese product is always better than the imported product. Japanese consumers are very discriminating. Find out what you can produce in good quality and quantity—something that is not available in reliable quantities for the Japanese consumer. That’s the best way you can be successful in selling something to the Japanese,” he says. “I found out, working with other agricultural commodities, that we have the world’s biggest and best market right here in the U.S. Why do we want to try to sell something to someone in a foreign country? It doesn’t make sense. The reason I know this is because I had to deal with that marketplace and it cost me money. You don’t have to send your product 5000 miles away on a boat when you have a huge market right here at home,” he explains.

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By Kindra Gordon

xports of U.S. agricultural products during the last 10 years have seen phenomenal increases — and have been a boon to the U.S. economy. Total agricultural products had an export value of $60 billion in the U.S. economy in 2004. By fiscal year (FY) 2013, U.S. ag exports grew to a value of $140.9 billion. Additionally, for every billion dollars of agricultural goods that are exported from the United States, approximately 8,400 jobs are created. Tony Clayton likes to share these statistics so that others recognize the importance and value that exports offer. Clayton is former president of the Livestock Exporters Association of the USA, and he is involved in exporting all species of livestock to many coun-

Wagyu World | July/August 2016

tries around the world through his Jefferson City, Mo.-based company, Clayton Agri-Marketing Inc. Clayton recognizes that when most people think of America’s beef exports, boxed beef comes to mind. However, during the past 10-15 years, Clayton reports that interest in America’s livestock genetics — from beef and dairy cattle to swine, horses, sheep and goats — has reached an unprecedented level. His company is shipping livestock exports several times a month, which is helping add value to the U.S. livestock sector. What’s prompting this export growth? Clayton says foreign governments are realizing that the ability to produce at least some of their own food is integral to their national security —

and this is becoming ever more important as the global population expands. FOOD SECURITY Clayton says, “Many of the elderly leaders in countries know and recognize that hungry people are dangerous people,” Clayton says. “They want to produce a certain amount of their own food regardless of the cost of production — and knowing that they could import food at a lesser cost.” He adds that some foreign governments are offering subsidies to help encourage producers to import livestock genetics. As examples, the Russian government has offered $1,000-$1,400 per head to producers who import cattle that are three-quarter-blood or higher-percentage breeding; Kazakhstan

Market Matters | WW

has offered a similar subsidy, but cattle must be registered purebreds. Clayton notes that there is demand for all breeds of beef cattle, and there is growing interest in expected progeny differences (EPDs) and efficient genetics, for which the United States is recognized as a leader. “International producers want to adopt our genetic systems,” he says. “When feed got expensive, they realized they’ve got to make animals efficient. When our corn was high, theirs was higher.” He continues, “They are trying to develop breeding systems and breed associations. They want to raise fastgrowing, efficient animals that make them money and feed their people.” In the years ahead, there are go-

ing to be ample people to feed. Clayton points out that the world’s population continues to grow by nearly 100 million people per year. Additionally, nearly half (48%) of the world’s population will live in cities, a trend that is expected to continue to grow. Foreign economies are also growing, which means as people around the globe make more money, they will spend more money. Clayton says this means they will be able to afford a diet higher in protein, which helps drive the demand for beef and other proteins. BIGGEST POTENTIAL During the past few years, Clayton reports the three countries with the most potential for exports were Russia and Turkey for beef and dairy

cattle, and Kazakhstan for beef cattle. Kazakhstan imported nearly 20,000 head of cattle as of 2013. However, he notes that Kazakhstan has become increasingly difficult to work with due to stringent health regulations. During the last two years with U.S. prices at record levels, Clayton says that slowed exports to most countries down some. Clayton says with transportation costs and live cattle prices coming down again, that is helping prompt export interest again. However, the U.S. dollar is still strong which also keeps exports moderate. Looking ahead with these conditions, he says export interest from Russia is “waking up again.” In December 2015, he just coordinated the very first shipment of nearly 1,500 dairy cattle to Wagyu World | July/August 2016

Vietnam, and anticipates beef cattle exports to that country will follow. Clayton says Sudan and Algeria also have interest in U.S. cattle. After extensive drought the last several years in Mexico, Clayton says opportunities also exist to export to Mexico for both U.S. beef and dairy cattle. Iraq and Jordan are also emerging markets for livestock, particularly dairy. And, Clayton sees potential in the Ukraine. It opened its borders in the fall of 2013 after seven years of negotiating. With their rich topsoil, he says the Ukraine has the potential to be the bread basket for Eastern Europe. Regarding exports eventually opening to China, Clayton says “Interest from China is strong and progress is being made.” He notes that market

will first open to boxed beef, but live cattle will follow. Clayton hopes that within the next three years that access may occur. FACTORS TO CONSIDER While the export opportunities look optimistic, several factors will influence just how much the United States is able to capitalize on them. Clayton notes that disease outbreaks are a major concern. “The U.S. knows firsthand how quickly export doors close and how long they take to reopen from their experience with BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) detection in 2003,” he explains. Clayton says for many countries, dealing with FMD has become a common

Speaking from Experience Export Challenges to Consider

Livestock export specialist Tony Clayton notes that, in spite of the term free trade, exporting is “not an easy process.” Longtime Wagyu breeder R.L. Freeborn of Dow Ranches at Redmond, OR, agrees. In the past year, he has exported live cattle to Eastern Europe and the Pacific Rim, but emphasizes there are many caveats to getting exports to work. Freeborn says, “I wouldn’t mess with it for 1 or 2 head, unless it was for an extremely high price. And to get 40 head to qualify you need to start with about 80 head to go through the health screenings.” Freeborn also notes that in some regions of the U.S. cattle won’t qualify at all due to health concerns like blue tongue. Of this he says, “Anywhere in the western U.S. it’s a hit and miss situation when qualifying for exports. The blue tongue titer will knock an animal out of qualifying.” Along with this Freeborn emphasizes the need to consider costs. “Don’t overlook the cost for blood drawn, health papers, time and labor. It can be $60/head for the testing needed and you pay that on all the cattle you are trying to get qualified. In my experience, not every animal you test will qualify.” Freeborn says he has participated in exporting because the buyers that have come to him are focused on performance – not just pedigrees alone. And for the future development of the Wagyu breed, he believes that is critically important, an emphasis on reproduction, weaning weights, and feedlot performance data, as well as the final meat product.

More to consider

Regarding export specifics, Clayton says an increasing challenge is simply a lack of knowledge about livestock, as well as blood-testing and quarantine-process protocols, by negotiators. “We are now depending on negotiators on both sides of the process that are two, maybe three, generations removed from the farm,” Clayton says. Additionally, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)–Veterinary Services (VS) reorganized in 2013 into six regions, which has reduced the number of staff and access to that staff. He cites the paperwork requirements by importing governments for pedigree information as another cumbersome challenge, and says costs for health papers and other fees on the U.S. side have skyrocketed, increasing from an average of $40 for the first animal to $144 for the first animal and additional charges for every animal on the certificate. Transportation and animal welfare are other emerging concerns with regard to exporting live animals. “Airlines are pulling in the requirements on the number of animals we can put on a 747, and shipping animals on a boat takes about 17 to 25 days, so we’ve got to be careful of animal well-being,” Clayton concludes.

Wagyu World | July/August 2016

occurrence, with thousands of animals depopulated to control the disease. Egypt is a recent example, and Clayton says Korea deals with FMD about every three years. FMD has not been detected in the United States since 1929, and Clayton says, “We have to keep it out. We’ve got to do our due diligence. If it happens, it will shut down the opportunities for U.S. livestock exports.” Clayton says incidences of tuberculosis, and the Schmallenberg virus that was discovered in Europe in 2011, result in many countries banning cattle from countries [or states] where those concerns exist. For example, because of tuberculosis in California, they are not allowed to export live cattle to Russia. The Schmallenberg virus is preventing cattle from Europe from going to Russia, Egypt, Lebanon and other countries. Clayton underscores how important it is to try to keep disease issues out of the United States so that export opportunities can continue. Additional livestock diseases that he monitors include bluetongue, BSE, tuberculosis, avian influenza, West Nile virus, H1N1 (swine flu) and the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) in swine. Because of these disease concerns, Clayton is a proponent of a national animal identification (ID) system in the United States. “Animal ID is needed to get — and keep — the U.S. trading with some of these countries,” he concludes. “The U.S. needs to get their arms around it to take this cattle market to the next level.” During the past three years, Clayton says the U.S. beef industry has been “interesting” as it has dealt with the lowest cattle inventory in America since 1952. However, he believes the United States still has many opportunities for livestock exports ahead and says, “The outlook is still favorable. The global population is growing, there are only a certain number of countries that can export live cattle, and people will have to eat.”

THANK YOU TO THE BUYERS! We would like to thank RANCH LOUGAMI from Quebec, Canada and JEAN WESTERNDORF from Marble Rock, Iowa for the Purchase of Lots 68 and 69 which sold in the Passion for Prime Sale

Lot 68

Lot 69

GAF KATATANI C10

GAF HARUKATANI C7

i i

Wagyu Experience

2017

Wagyu World | July/August 2016

enetic tests are proving to be very useful in the beef industry today, aiding breeders in the selection process when choosing seedstock or sires. HeartBrand Beef, headquartered in Harwood, Texas, utilizes DNA testing on all the Akaushi cattle that go through their program. HeartBbrand started a branded meat program through USDA several years ago and now sells seedstock to other breeders who utilize these programs to create premiums for the offspring and harvested carcasses. Jordan Beeman, President of HeartBrand says that every animal in HeartBrand’s meat program must be DNAverified to have at least one Akaushi

Wagyu World | July/August 2016

parent, generally an Akaushi sire. “We run the largest and maybe the only branded beef program that I know of that is 100% verified by DNA,” says Beeman. “We only accept cattle into our program that are verified to be of Akaushi lineage and buy those calves back for our branded beef. We purchase anything from small calves through weaning age, and even finish-fed cattle that are ready for harvest.” Their beef is then marketed across the country to several restaurants and retailers, while a portion of the premium beef is exported. “We are trying to help push the market for these cattle and Akaushi beef,” Beeman says.

The DNA verification helps ensure that HeartBrand is not just creating a demand for Wagyu-type beef, but the Akaushi breed specifically. DNA verification is also vital to their mission of maintaining a consistent product. HeartBrand’s own Akaushi herd contained the original Akaushi cattle that were imported from Japan in 1994 but the HeartBrand team hopes this DNA verification beef program provides an opportunity for other Akaushi breeders. “We’ve been doing the DNA testing since 2006 and were fortunate to have the DNA profiles or hair samples of these cattle to go back to the original cattle that were brought from Japan,” says Beeman. “We have a DNA vault

Health & Husbandry | WW

By Heather Smith-Thomas

on the ranch that has hair from all the cattle, clear back to the originals that were imported,” DNA verification like the HeartBrand program continues to gain momentum today, as people want to know what they are actually breeding, and for the consumers who become more curious as to the source of the food they are eating.

“We knew from the beginning that we wanted to have a breed and a meat program backed by DNA,” Beeman says. “We know that the genetics of our cattle are backed up by DNA and not just by hide color or other phenotype traits. This allows us to provide the most consistent beef-eating experience out there.” Every animal that goes through the

beef program has been DNA tested to verify parentage, and it can be tested any time between birth and being sent for harvest —whenever it is convenient for the producer. Some breeders collect samples at branding or at another time when they have hands on the cattle, while others like to do it at weaning or when vaccinating the cattle. Timing is not important, just as long as a sample is collected. It takes about a month to get the results after the sample is sent in. Testing can be done with hair, nasal swabs, blood, or tissue samples, because any of these would contain the animal’s DNA. Hair is usually the easiest for the producer to obtain. “If there is someone else (with cattle that are not registered with the AAA) who claims to have Akaushi, we are very willing to take DNA on those cattle too to see if they match up with what we have,” Beeman says. “This would be a way to verify the lineage of any unregistered animals in this country.” The way cattle are tested in the HeartBrand program, the producers send their samples to the American Akaushi Association, with each sample marked for individual identification. The Association groups these and sends them to GeneSeek to test and report back conformation by e-mail on the results. “We just do a simple parentage verification for the meat program,” says Beeman. “For example, the producer will list calf #1 is by bull #123, and the DNA test will verify whether that is true.” For the meat program, many of the animals are fed at Bovina Feeders, a custom cattle feeding operation in the Texas Panhandle, and some are fed at various feedlots in Kansas and Nebraska. All the product is then sent to Caviness Beef Packers in Hereford, Texas for slaughter and fabrication. Currently HeartBrand processes about 160 head per week with cattle sourced from cooperating producers all over the country. In the beginning, HeartBrand didn’t have enough numbers to sell breeding stock to anyone outside the program; it Wagyu World | July/August 2016

took several years to build their herd “Our hope is to have Akaushi eventually be one of the top 5 breeds in the U.S.,” says Beeman. “We feel that providing seedstock to other producers is the next step we need to take, to really grow in numbers and popularity.” HeartBrand is now selling genetics to anyone who wants Akaushi breeding stock, even if they are outside the HeartBrand program. “For the first time, we are looking to move forward in this direction, selling bulls and females and/or semen or embryos to producers who might be interested in incorporating Akaushi genetics into their own herds and breeding programs,” says Beeman Anyone can get a bull or semen from HeartBrand now to create F1 cattle in their existing herd, regardless of breed. “People can buy a bull to put with their commercial cattle, whatever breed or type of cattle suits their natural environment,” Beeman says. “Then the halfblood offspring can go into our program or their own program, whether it’s from an Angus cow or a Hereford or crossbred. We are not particular about what the other half is; the calf just needs to be DNA verified 50% Akaushi or greater. And if someone wants to use the Akaushi bloodlines to create their own meat program, they can now do that.” F1 production is what enabled HeartBrand to grow their numbers for beef production. “When we first started our meat program we were only processing 20 head a week, and now it’s grown to 160 per week,” Beeman says. 34

Wagyu World | July/August 2016

About 75% of those cattle are generated from the F1 program. A few of HeartBrand’s larger producers generate around 1000 calves a year for the program. “Some of the producers we are selling bulls to are now keeping calves from them for their own grassfed program or their own branded beef program,” says Beeman. “A lot of these cattle are now being used for their own niche market.” Some Wagyu breeders are now taking advantage of adding some Akaushi bloodlines to expand their own gene pool. More people are learning about these breeds and their excellent meat quality. Breeders are raising these cattle in various parts of the country, in various environments with success. “Previously, HeartBrand only sold cattle to people who were part of our program, signing our agreements to send all the offspring back to us. Now the ranch sells cows, bulls, semen and embryos to anyone who wants to use the genetics. This includes Wagyu breeders who want to extend their genetic options,” he says. “All of our bulls are DNA verified regarding their lineage, going back to 1994 when we had the privilege of working with these cattle exclusively,” Beeman says. “We’ve come a long way, working with these cattle, and we have some that are pretty far removed from the traditional foundation cattle, and some that are still straight foundation bloodlines.” This gives breeders genetic options, especially if they’ve gotten into a position (with a lot of linebreeding) where they need an outcross.

Using Akaushi bloodlines that are DNA verified enables breeders to stay within this type of cattle but select bloodlines that are genetically diverse enough to avoid inbreeding problems. HeartBrand has bulls available that go back to every foundation sire, including Rueshaw, Judo and the other 5 bulls HeartBrand considers the foundation sires. All HeartBrand ranch cattle are fullbloods that go directly back to the Japanese cattle, except for the percentage cattle that go into the meat program. “The benefits we’ve seen working with the Akaushi breed since 1994, is being able to grow our herd to where we now have about 13,000 head of cattle that are either Akaushi or percent Akaushi, including cattle in the feedlot for our meat program,” Beeman says. “We have about 3000 breeding-age females so we are now looking to get other breeders involved.” After people get some experience with this breed, starting with F1s, many cattlemen may want to work into purebreds or go to fullbloods. This is a way to get people interested and familiar with the breed. While HeartBrand has led the charge in growing the American Akaushi breed, in the future they hope to see the breed grazing many pastures beyond their ranch. “This isn’t just about our business or the HeartBrand name,” says Beeman. “We strive to create the best quality, most consistent beef supply possible for the American consumer and we look forward to uniting with other breeders who want to pursue that through Akaushi genetics.”

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OUT & ABOUT Wagyu Sales, Shows, and Other Happenings Sales

Passion for Prime Sale

Springfield, missouri

Friday Evening Speakers & Social

Wagyu World | July/August 2016

June 11th, 2016 - Springfield, Missouri Top 15 Live Animals Averaged: $8600 Top 2 Pregnancies Averaged: $6250

Top 4 Embryo Lots Averaged: $1020 per embryo Top 6 Semen Lots Averaged: $36 per unit

Top Females

Lot 48: L7 MS SYB 003C, born 2/14/2015 sired by VBV ROA Red Galaxy; consigned by Lucky 7 Cattle Ranch Hamilton, Texas; $13,250 to Dove Creek Wagyu, Mountain Grove, Missouri. Lot 37: KR MS Grid Maker 169, born 2/12/2014 sired by KR Mich-400-351, 37A bull calf alongside sired by KR Itomichi 156; consigned by Kay Ranch Manor, TX; $11,000 to Drury Farms Wagyu, Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Lot 52: Akiko II, born 4/03/2013 sired by Kalanga Red Star; consigned by Rocky Mountain Wagyu Rexburg, Idaho; $10,500 to Dove Creek Wagyu, Mountain Grove, Missouri. Lot 11: CC MS Kitajiro 2, born 9/03/12 sired by World K’s Kitaguni Jr., 11A bull calf alongside sired by CC Yomiuri 2726; consigned by Celina Cattle Company Celina, Texas; $9,250 to Brett Burns, Colfax, Iowa. Top Bulls Lot 69: GAF Harukatani C7, born 2/18/2015 sired by World K’s Haruki 2; consigned by Golden Age Farm Versailles, Kentucky; $17,000 to Jean Westendorf, Marble Rock, Iowa. Lot 68: GAF Katatani C10, born 3/08/15 sired by World K’s Kitaguni Jr.; consigned by Golden Age Farm Versailles, Kentucky; $7,000 to Ranch Lougami Quebec, Canada. Top Pregnancies Lot 51: UKB MR Kurobeni X UKB MS Shigemaru 803 Confirmed Female, due to calve 11/18/16; consigned by Rock of Ages Laguna Niguel, California; $6500 to Kenny Landgraf, Austin Texas. Lot 50: UKB MR Kurobeni X VBV ROA Akabashi Confirmed Female, due to calve 11/21/16; consigned by Rock of Ages Laguna Niguel, California; $6000 to Tom Crowson, Danville, Alabama. Top Embryo Packages Lot 82: Big Al X Heartbrand V7219U, 3 Embryos; consigned by Heartbrand Flatonia, Texas; $3,900 to Roger Keesee, Lynch Station, Virginia. Lot 84: Shigefuku J1822 X Takara-Sachi, 5 Embryos; consigned by Kay Ranch Manor, Texas; $5,500 to Barry Elliott, Carson, Virginia. Lot 81: Tamamaru X Heartbrand Barbara B3518R, 3 Embryos; consigned by Heartbrand Flatonia, Texas; $2,700 to John Meyers San Angelo, Texas. Lot 90: Academy Red Wagyus Tambo H18 X Akahoshi, 4 Embryos; consigned by Rocky Mountain Wagyu Rexbug, ID; $3,200 to Earle Rowe, Lincoln, Arkansas. Top Semen Packages Lot 103: Big Al, 5 Units; consigned by Heartbrand Flatonia, Texas; $3,375 to Mike Schweighardt, Tecumseh, Oklahoma. Lot 101: Tamamaru, 5 Units; consigned by Heartbrand Flatonia, Texas; $3,375 to Dove Creek Wagyu, Mountain Grove, Missouri. Lot 112: JVP Kikuyasu-400, 10 Units; consigned by Ultimate Kobe Beef Winnsboro, Texas; $6250 to Flying Eagles Wagyu, Abilene, Kansas. Lot 100: Hikari, 5 Units; consigned by Heartbrand Flatonia, Texas; $2750 to Mike Schweighardt, Tecumseh, Oklahoma. The 3rd Annual Passion for Prime was kicked off on Friday June 10th with an evening event that featured three speakers; Mark Hoegh, Dr. Haley Dingfelder and Mike Kerby. In discussion that evening was the development of a Wagyu beef company, general herd health and a Wagyu F-1 buyback program/Wagyu beef promotion. The room was packed and enjoyed a delicious fajita dinner featuring beef from Heartbrand of Flatonia, Texas. The next day brought out an even larger crowd to help support and participate in the first annual Passion for Prime Wagyu sale. Folks from all over braved the hot temperatures and enjoyed complementary Wagyu burgers featuring beef from both Buck Mountain and Reserve Cattle Company Wagyu programs. The auction got started with much excitement and the energy continued though the over 100 lots of Wagyu genetics that were sold. With over 100 people filling the seats and over 150 viewers online, many shared in the true enthusiasm of the weekend’s events. Animals and frozen genetics were purchased from 14 different states and Canada. This event was a huge success and it wouldn’t of happened if it wasn’t for the sponsors involved; Heartbrand, Buck Mountain Cattle Company, Reserve Cattle Company, Protocol Naturals and Sexing Technologies.

Auctioneer: Butch Booker Sale Managed by: James Danekas and Associates Wagyu World | July/August 2016

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Upcoming Events 2016 14-16

American Wagyu Association Annual Conference & Convention Sale Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Grandeur Frozen Genetics Sale Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Midwest F-1 Roundup Drury Cattle Ranch Strafford, Missouri

2017 JANUARY

19-20 National Western Stock Show Wagyu Events Denver. Colorado 18

Lone Mountain Cattle Company Female Production Sale Albuquerque, New Mexico

Passion for Prime Sale Springfield, Missouri

JUNE

SEPTEMBER

MAY

Mile High Wagyu Experience Sale Denver, Colorado

JULY 22

Lone Mountain Cattle Company Female Production Sale Albuquerque, New Mexico

In the News

Buck Mountain Ranch is excited to announce the Mid-West F-1 Waygu Round-Up… Saturday, September 17, 2016 Over the years, I have had numerous phone calls from ranchers asking where they can sell their F-1 cattle, and this has always been a struggle for the smaller ranches. Everyone knows there is a premium in raising F-1 cattle, but unless you have a full truck load it is hard to get a Waygu buyer to send a truck to your ranch to do a pick-up on a partial load. This is where the Waygu Round-Up comes in. We have a central drop-off point near Springfield, Missouri, home of the Passion for Prime auction. Once a year ranchers can come together and we will combine to fulfill truckload lots. Everyone will get paid for their cattle, but coming together will allow us to negotiate higher premiums for Waygu producers. This will be an annual event and we will be holding a meeting on the Waygu Round-Up the night before the Passion for Prime event. If you would like to know more about participating, or if you are interested in starting a drop-off in your state, please contact Mike Kerby at mkerby@aol.com or 660-221-9225.

AUTHENTIC

AMERICAN

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This logo has been created for the use of all Wagyu breeders. If you would like to utilize this artwork to market your Wagyu beef, please contact mkerby@aol.com

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Let us assist you to make your next sale or promotion be the best it can be. With over 40 years in the business, our team has both the knowledge and experience.

Join us for these upcoming events: September 13 • Bullfest • Oakdale, California September 14 • Grandeur Frozen Genetics Sale • Coeur d’Alene, Idaho October 8 • California Breeders’ Bull Sale • Turlock, California October 8 • Fall Festival Hereford Sale • Madras, Oregon October 8 • Evergreen Exclusive Angus Sale • Moses Lake, Washington November 12 • California Female Expo • Turlock, California January 18, 2017 • Mile High Wagyu Experience Sale • Denver, Colorado

www.jdaonline.com • 916/837/1432 Wagyu World | July/August 2016

By Heather Smith-Thomas

“Since my youth, I have always had a passion for cattle. I was a club calf producer for many years, raising Maine-Anjou cattle near Valley View, Texas, before I knew much about the Wagyu breed,” says Don Brown. “I’ve always been a connoisseur of good steak. I went to a restaurant in eastern Tennessee that had Wagyu beef on the menu. I’d never eaten it before but I tried it. I was there with a friend of mine, attending a business meeting. We ate the Wagyu beef that night, and liked it so much that we went back to that restaurant the next night and ordered the exact same thing, even though it was quite expensive. This was many years ago, but at that point in time it probably cost us $80 apiece for those steaks!” The meat was so good that he spent the next weeks researching the cattle. “I was also trying to figure out how I could start raising Wagyu rather than what I was already doing. Our club calf business was just a break-even operation at best,” says Brown. 40

Wagyu World | July/August 2016

“I was an executive at a software company in Dallas and the club calf operation was my second job. After I became interested in the Wagyu I bought some semen and bought a bull, and started crossbreeding to Wagyu. For many years I had been working with Trans-Ova genetics and utilizing their reproductive technologies with helpful techniques like ET and IVF so I decided to jump in full speed ahead. I bought some embryos back then from Lone Mountain and put those into some of my show cattle as recips. At that time it was kind of a shared project with Bob Estrin in which I would raise the calves and then he would get half of them. That was the first way I got into Wagyu.” Then Brown met Dr. Heyde Kojima and Ted Narukio and partnered with them to buy a lot of genetics from Mr. Takeda. “This was mostly embryos but we also bought some semen. This became the basis of our herd. From there we had several unique opportunities to obtain more cattle and genetics.

Ranch Reach | WW

There were a few businesses going through some downsizing through tough times, so at every opportunity we bought more genetics,” says Brown. “At that time there were really no production sales, per se. Lone Mountain had probably the first one ever that was countrywide. We bought some of our early genetics at their early sales, and then we focused more on the Takeda genetic lines and today those are the basis of our herd,” he says. Now he has 425 females on his Triangle B Ranch—150 Kessler Angus and the rest are Wagyu. “We are continuing to grow. We have our own private label beef program. Our operation grew really fast and really well. We’ve been in the Wagyu business for 12 years now and the program has grown so well that we outgrew our ranch in Texas. We had also experienced severe drought for too many years, so we decided to look elsewhere and try to find a ranch where it rains more often. We targeted an area in eastern Oklahoma where the grass

was really good—native and improved grasses—and ended up buying a 5-section ranch here. We moved our operation to Oklahoma and are feeding our own cattle here now. We are about 30 miles due west from Fort Smith, Arkansas, on the Canadian River,” he says. “We were looking for an area that had more rain, and our first year in Oklahoma we received 88 inches of rain! That was little above the norm, even for here!” “We will be reintroducing our online beef sales early next year. We have some cattle we are feeding out now, on the ranch. We work with Dr. Jim Horner as our nutritionist and he formulates all our rations. We specialize in females and now sell about 120 Fullblood and percentage heifers every year through private treaty. We sell custom-bred bulls, mostly for F1 production. We’ve got a really nice bull stud, and collect and sell semen from a lot of the bulls. Some of our bulls carry very rare lines, and we are excited to be able to offer Triangle Wagyu World | July/August 2016

Left to Right: Jeremy Brown, Seth Brown, Chandler Brown, Don Brown, and Cody Brown.

B Ranch genetics to our customers and friends. We have a lot of people who are utilizing our bull semen now,” says Brown. This is a family operation with a lot of transition. “My grandson Chandler Brown is working fulltime for the ranch right now and doing a great job. Son Jeremy Brown is part owner, and he and grandson Seth Brown also spend time helping with the operation. We also have some contractors from time to time, but Chandler and I pretty much manage the dayto-day operation,” he says. Most of the calves are born in the spring, and a few through the summer, and another group in the fall. “We just don’t calve in the winter. When you have a beef program, trying to sell meat year round, you need to have some coming along all the time. We just don’t calve from the first of November through mid-March, because in this country we get a lot of ice during winter. This past winter was really mild and we could have calved all winter. The winter before that, however, we lost 25 calves in one night—from the cold, ice, wind and wet. The days leading up to that were pretty tough and then the temperature dropped so fast that the calves froze to death,” he says. Mother Nature can sometimes hit pretty hard, and sometimes when you least expect it. “Our program here is a good one. We are known for our high quality females. We use rotational or what’s sometimes called sandwich breeding on our females and feeder cattle, in which we alternate growth and marbling bulls every other generation. We mostly line breed our bulls. As a result, we get a little more hybrid vigor out of each generation, and more 42

Wagyu World | July/August 2016

balanced cattle,” he explains. “Looking back at our experience in the Wagyu breed it seems like a really short journey, but it’s been a long time. It’s just moved so fast, from where we started out. We had about 150 Maine-Anjou and Angus cows at the time we launched into Wagyu, and we just converted those cows into recipients. We probably had the nicest set of recip cows in the country! They made really good ones,” says Brown. “We had some really good breaks, getting started. I think that’s what helped us the most; we met the right people at the right time—who could really help us. We were very lucky. Another thing that helped us is that we were able to purchase genetics from people who had decided to sell cattle during some tough years. It helped us, but also helped the people who had to sell them. A person would never have had these opportunities otherwise, and I’ve had very few since. It helped them out, and helped us out, so it was a win-win situation,” he says. “We collect all of our bulls at Hawkeye breeders and have a great relationship and partnership with them. The staff at Hawkeye are just great people! We store all of our semen there, and Trans-Ova is still our reproductive partner. We’ve been working with them for nearly 25 years now. They have always done a good job for us,” says Brown. “The key to success of Triangle B Ranch we attribute to our great customers, partners and friends. We work hard every day to help make them all successful,” he says.

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By Dr. Jimmy Horner

s I have the pleasure of visiting various Wagyu operations throughout the U.S. and around the globe as part of my business, I’m always curious about an operation’s mineral program and their approach to managing the mineral nutrition of the herd. The majority of producers understand that minerals are indeed required nutrients and are not optional, and most operations provide supplements during winter and spring, yet it is not unusual to run across a few individuals each summer that do not deem it important to provide mineral supplementation once pastures are green and growing. Though cattle will frequently consume less freechoice mineral while grazing lush, green pasture the truth is just because the pasture is green does not mean it suddenly meets all of the animal’s requirements. It doesn’t. Though this management practice can certainly cut production costs in the short run, it can prove very costly in the long run. Minerals and vitamins occupy a very small and yet vitally important role in the proper nutrition of cattle. Minerals and vitamins play critical roles in reproduction, immunity, growth and overall health of the animal. Minerals are classified as either macro-minerals or micro-minerals (trace minerals). Macro-minerals include calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sulfur, and salt which are present in relatively large concentrations in the body and required in larger amounts in the diet. Micro-minerals include copper, zinc, manganese, selenium, 44

Wagyu World | July/August 2016

cobalt, manganese and iodine which are present in low levels in the body and required in smaller or trace amounts in the diet. Each of these minerals has a specific physiological function(s) and their deficiencies can have grave consequences. Vitamins A, D and E are often required in supplements as well with some B vitamins growing in popularity especially for stressed cattle and cattle with undeveloped or improper rumen function. A producer should take several

factors into consideration when selecting a specific mineral supplement for their individual operation. These include: • Forage quality-regular testing of each hay shipment or cutting, pasture clippings • Water quality-test well water annually and surface water bi-annually • Age and class of cattle-open vs. bred, nursing vs. dry, young vs. mature • Known deficiencies or antagonists in soil or water • Herd history and any known breed x mineral predispositions • Expected consumption level and cost Producers should try to select

mineral supplements that meet requirements yet avoid excesses that not only reduce profits but may also lead to imbalances with other minerals. Most mineral ingredients interact with each other so a continuous, proper balance is critical (see Figure 1). In other words, a high level of one mineral can have a negative impact on the utilization of another mineral such as that of elevated potassium in lush wheat pasture leading to potential magnesium deficiency and grass tetany.

The best mineral supplement in the world is of no use if the cattle fail to consume it consistently. Thought there are several different forms of mineral supplements including loose, blocks, tubs, etc., the best form is the one that your cattle eat with the most consistency and that contributes to your individual operation attaining its goals and objectives for reproduction, growth, herd health and efficiency year after year. I recommend covered mineral feeders if loose mineral is used and loose minerals should have minimal small particles to avoid caking and losses to wind. Factors affecting mineral consumption include: • Proximity to water source and gathering area-mineral feeder per 30-40 cows placed near water, near shaded loafing areas or near best grazing area • Freshness-loose minerals may need to be changed out weekly to ensure consistent intake • Salt content of supplement-cattle eat to taste just like us

• Palatability of carrier or filler in supplement-ingredient for carrier should be high quality, consistent and highly palatable • Lush vs. sparse pasture-good pasture = less consumption, poor pasture = more consumption • Weather-drastic changes in weather may temporarily increase mineral consumption

The bioavailability of the mineral source is important and not all mineral ingredients are created equal. Though chelated and/or organic trace minerals are certainly not required in every mineral supplement, they can be highly beneficial especially in breeding herds with fullblood Wagyu females and sulfate forms of trace minerals are much preferred over cheaper oxide forms as well. After working with the Wagyu breed for over 22 years now and sharing personal experiences with other nutritionists, veterinarians and embryologists involved with the breed for many years, several of my colleagues and I have become somewhat convinced that Wagyu may indeed possess an inherent inefficiency in metabolizing certain trace minerals and vitamins. As a result, I typically either formulate supplements which contain more biologically available forms of these particular nutrients or I will increase minimum allowances by 10-15% and I often incorporate both approaches. Copper, zinc and vitamin E seem to be the most trou-

Health & Husbandry | WW blesome in my own experience and as a result, I often utilize the sulfate and/or chelated forms of copper and zinc, and natural source vitamin E. There are confirmed breed x nutrient interactions with other cattle breeds and maybe someday our concerns with Wagyu regarding this area of mineral nutrition will either be confirmed or dispelled. The bottom line is minerals are required nutrients and should not be considered optional. A proper balance of essential minerals is critical. Forage and water supplies should be tested regularly to help determine the specific mineral profile needed. Mineral supplements should be placed near watering sources and cattle gathering areas, and kept fresh. Sources of mineral supplements may vary widely in bioavailability and if raising Wagyu cattle, particular attention should be paid to sources of ingredients. A good mineral program for a typical Wagyu cow should cost no more than $20-30 per year and serves as a rather inexpensive insurance policy once you factor in the costs of lost profits and reduced productivity associated with inadequate mineral nutrition. Please feel free to contact me at jhorner@protocoltech. net with any questions regarding this article or if you would simply like to discuss this subject further.

Wagyu Experience Adds Value “2008 International Auctioneer Champion”

C.D. “Butch” Booker Auctioneer 809 N. Main Colfax, WA 99111 (509) 397-4434 Cell: (509) 989-2855 Email: cartha@colfax.com

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Midwest F-1 Wagyu Round Up Premium Buy-Back Program Saturday, September 17, 2016 8A.M. 12P.M. No Bulls F-1 Wagyu Animals Accepted No steroids or hormones allowed Calves must be a minimum of 45 days weaned All calves must be vaccinated and in good shape All eligible calves will be purchased at above market prices

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