How Is Wagyu Beef Raised?
The Hall Farmstead Approach to Raising Wagyu Beef
True Japanese wagyu beef carries a premium price tag, and it is among the most desirable meals anywhere in the world, and part of the appeal is the mystery. American wagyu has only been commercially available since the 1990s, and since American diners aren’t as familiar with wagyu, there are all sorts of rumors about what goes into raising wagyu. One of the most persistent is that farmers play classical music for their cattle at all hours.
This is, of course, a myth, but ranching wagyu cattle the right way will produce superior meat with extreme marbling and a melt-in-your-mouth, buttery texture that must be experienced to be believed. Hall Farmstead has perfected the art of raising beef cattle by combining the rich natural resources of our farm in Monroe County, Kentucky, with unparalleled attention to detail and scientific research on cattle breeds. The result is a consistently juicy steak bursting with umami flavor that exceeds expectations every time you take a bite of our premium Japanese-
American wagyu products. When you source your wagyu from us, you know you’re getting the best of the best.
You might think our methods would be a highly classified trade secret since they are essential to producing our premium Japanese-American beef, but we’re going to share them with you in this article. Why? When you understand the level of care we put into raising our cattle, you’ll see why our wagyu is second to none. Turn to us for your next luxury beef steak and all of your subsequent wagyu needs. Continue reading to learn more about how our cattle are raised with extraordinary care!
Grass-fed, grain-finished cattle makes wagyu beef juicier and tastier
All Hall Farmstead cattle graze freely on our lush properties before being fed a proprietary blend of grains to put on weight for the last few months of their lives. This is called “grass-fed, grain-finished” and gives our meat a consistently unforgettable flavor.
Let’s start with the benefits of grass-fed wagyu. Cows naturally eat grasses and other ground-based plants, so grazing on the farm’s lush fields ensures they get all of the nutrients they need. Beef from cattle raised this way has fewer calories than steak from cattle fed solely grains, making grass-fed wagyu leaner and healthier.
Furthermore, grass-fed beef is rich in nutrients such as oleic acid (the good type of fat found in olive oil), conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), and beneficial HDL cholesterol. Grass-fed beef is also one of the best sources of high-biological proteins and other essential nutrients. Wagyu beef offers several other health benefits too, so don’t believe everything you hear about beef being bad for you.
The location of our farmstead also helps us produce premium wagyu beef. Monroe County, Kentucky, shares a similar latitude plane as Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. Kumamoto is the birthplace of the Akaushi cattle our Japanese-American wagyu is bred from, and our farmland is rich in the nutrient-rich grasses and mineral soil deposits they thrive in. We’re raising wagyu cows in the United States, but their environment is similar to the one enjoyed by Japanese
wagyu. That makes our wagyu more authentic while enabling you to shop for meat with an American company.
The downside of grass-fed beef is that it tends to have a gamey flavor comparable to elk or buffalo instead of the steak flavor the average American expects. The reason is diet: most cattle consumed in the U.S. have a grain-based diet resulting in a different flavor profile than a grass-based diet would. Grass-fed wagyu also lacks the extreme marbling associated with succulent wagyu beef, making it more difficult to cook and less rewarding to eat. Naturally, we didn’t think these limitations should apply to our premium Japanese-American wagyu.
Our animals are fed a carefully controlled diet to produce luxurious wagyu
At Hall Farmstead, we finish raising our cattle by switching their diet to a proprietary blend of grains. The grain-finishing process allows our cattle to put on some fat, giving the meat the premium marbling luxury beef is known for. It also gives our steak the intensity of Prime Angus and the richness of wagyu beef, making it a great fit for the American market.
We aren’t the only company that sells grass-fed, grain-finished beef, but we are the most committed to ensuring that our grain is the very best. All the grain we use is harvested and stored on our farm, including steam-flaked corn and soybeans portion-measured to ensure maximum consistency in taste, tenderness, and marbling. We also partnered with top cattle nutritionists in the United States and Japan to ensure that our feed mix is better than anything you could shop for. We want every steak to be as mouth-wateringly delicious as the next, and what our wagyu cattle are fed helps us ensure we always deliver on that promise.
Grains such as corn and soybeans are commonly fed to cattle, but our farm offers them another option: sorghum. Sorghum is a grain frequently compared to corn that grows naturally on our land, giving our cows grain to eat during the grass-feeding stage. This promotes marbling and gives us more control over how our cows gain weight throughout their lives.
Sorghum is also more filling than a comparable amount of corn, reducing what we pay to feed our cows and enabling us to offer you a high-quality steak at a more affordable price point. Sorghum isn’t as starchy as most other grains either, making it easier for our cattle to digest. Sorghum isn’t the only grain that should be used to raise wagyu, but it delivers a superior cut of meat when combined with the rest of the crops on our land. We think it’s a huge advantage of our wagyu beef.
Cows raised on natural stream water produce higher quality wagyu
Nutrition is important, and many wagyu experts say that water is the most important nutrient for cows. Not only is water involved in every physiological process, but drinking water encourages cattle to eat more, gain weight, and be ready for the market more quickly. Our herd is hydrated through natural limestone-filtered streams and springs throughout our property, and we think that makes a difference you can taste in the meat we produce.
Animals prefer running water to still because it tends to be cooler and cleaner, so our cows drink more than cattle raised without access to running water. The downside is typically water quality, but our land’s natural springs are suitable to drink year-round. Our property also offers numerous “watering holes,” allowing our animals to go to another one if they prefer. We believe this makes our cattle happier, allowing us to produce superior wagyu beef.
Relying on natural water sources also means that our wagyu is unaffected by any contaminants from commercial water sources. Indeed, we believe all cows deserve unrestricted access to fresh, running water for their hydration needs.
Free-range cattle yield superior wagyu beef
We’ve previously mentioned how we let our cattle graze and find their own water, but we couldn’t do that if our cattle weren’t free-range. Free-range beef means that the cows are allowed to explore a natural environment instead of being cooped up in a cage or enclosure. This leads to happier animals and a more delectable taste when the steak hits the plate.
Free-range wagyu offers other benefits as well. For instance, massive beef farms frequently have as many cows in each enclosure as they can fit. That leads to overcrowding that stresses cattle out, causing the release of adrenaline that tenses the muscles and leads to tough meat. Overcrowding also contributes to the spread of disease, especially since many farming organizations aren’t always diligent about cleaning their enclosures. Some wagyu farmers counteract this with harmful antibiotics and pesticides that reduce the quality of meat they produce — not Hall Farmstead.
Like people, cattle can get depressed if they don’t like their living conditions. Cows are social animals, and locking them up isn’t good for their well-being. Since our cattle are free-range, they can socialize with other animals. Free-range cattle also enjoy natural behaviors such as finding food and looking for water, making their overall lifestyle healthier. As a result, they yield healthier meat.
Hall Farmstead cattle have plenty of space to help them live relaxed lives while avoiding disease. Our entire herd is only about 500 animals and our farmstead offers hundreds of acres to roam, so we have little reason to lock them up. Our methods are certainly more humane, and the resulting wagyu beef is exceptional.
Hall Farmstead is proud to offer the best Japanese-American wagyu available
Wagyu beef isn’t cheap, so you’ll want to make sure any wagyu steak you buy will provide the rich, decadent dining experience you’re expecting. We tasted dozens of luxury beef breeds and determined Akaushi cattle produced the best meat, and then we extensively researched how to bring premium wagyu beef to American tables around the country. All Hall Farmstead Artisan wagyu cattle are DNA-tested and tracked for authenticity, repeatability, and consistency, ensuring every cut of beef exceeds expectations.
We believe that how the animals are treated makes wagyu what it is, and we’ve spared no expense in ensuring our wagyu cattle are raised right. The result is a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth steak that we’ll gladly compare against any other meat.
Some people get intimidated by wagyu, and that’s okay. If you don’t want to start with a premium steak, our wagyu ground beef can be used to elevate more humble dishes like burgers and metaballs. We can also help with the basics of preparing wagyu on a gas grill and even what to serve with our Japanese-American beef, making wagyu beef accessible to everyone.We want to share our beef wagyu with as many people as possible, and that means doing
everything we can to make the meat more approachable.
Hall Farmstead offers options to satisfy anybody’s hunger ranging from one-time orders to a convenient subscription service, so why not shop our extensive array of wagyu beef cuts today? We know that once you experience our Japanese-American wagyu, you’ll understand why the beef from your local butcher or grocery store simply doesn’t compare.