A little bit goes a long way when reading information on a website. If you're here, you probably already know a considerable amount about Wagyu cattle. We can't sum up what we have done over the past number of decades in words, it mostly has to be witnessed when you visit Wagyu Cattle NY. However, for those who would like to read up on Wagyu cattle, we did our best to keep the text short and sweet.
A brief history and a quick read
Wagyu just means Japanese cow. For hundreds of years they weren't beef animals at all, they were draft animals for rice fields. Japan was closed off for a long time, so the cattle stayed isolated and pretty pure.
In the early 1900s Japan sorted them into four breeds: Japanese Black, Japanese Brown, Japanese Shorthorn, and Japanese Polled. Black is the one we all know, it's like 90% of the Wagyu in Japan and where all that marbling comes from.
First Wagyu genetics left Japan in 1975-76. A guy named Morris Whitney brought over four bulls for a research project at Colorado State, two Black bulls and two Red bulls. There were no females here then, so they bred those bulls to Angus cows. That's how American Wagyu started, as F1 crosses.
America didn't get any fullblood females until 1993. Only about 200 head total ever made it over here before Japan shut the door in 1997 and banned live exports to protect their own industry.
American Wagyu Association was formed in 1990 to keep track of it all. Nowadays what we have in the States is either Fullblood, Purebred, or American Wagyu which is usually Wagyu/Angus crosses. Kobe beef you hear about is just Japanese Black Wagyu raised a certain way in Hyogo Prefecture in Japan, same genetics, different program.
Well, there are lots of different breeds of cattle, and it depends on the goal and purpose. However, Wagyu is like none other when it comes to beef so tender, rich and flavorful, it's the premier offering by the most prestigious and acclaimed chefs in the world. You don’t have to dress it up with a lot of fancy words — the quality, taste and experience speaks for itself.
The genetics of Wagyu, the natural ability to produce the perfect amount of exceptional fine marbling, is the key ingredient. The purpose here at Wagyu Cattle NY is to maintain the high standards and consistency required to produce some of the best quality Wagyu cattle.
