We began our wagyu herd in 2021 by selecting quality fullblood animals from proven seed stock herds throughout the United States. Our focus has been on creating a diverse herd that showcase old school genetics as well as new age animals within the breed. At La Roca, we believe in data driven evidence and focus to collect as much information on each animal we possibly can to turn an educated guess using WBVs into real life information. Each calf is weighed a birth, weaning, and yearling age as well as getting an ultrasound to achieve real pictures to back up predictions. We are also fortunate enough to be able to use the MIJ camera to scan carcasses at slaughter. This information is distributed to the Australian Wagyu Association as well as the American Association. Along with doing fullblood wagyu, we also use our elite angus and braunvieh herd to produce F1 animals. These animals are weighed throughout their lifetime and this data is used to help prove our very own herdsires. Bar R G6 - a bull that we purchased at the start of our wagyu adventure - is currently being used in the progeny test program in Australia where we continue to see more accurate predictions as more and more of his offspring age and data is collected. He is also an exciting prospective bull as he has heterozygous polled genetics (no horns) which can pass on to his offspring. Our focus of using the oldtime genetics and a mix of the latest and greatest cattle has allowed us to create some very exciting animals within our own herd. Currently we have over 300 wagyu that make up our herd with genetics that feature some of the greats like Hikorki 2, Kikutsurudoi TF146, Itomichi J1158 and exciting new sires like Circle8Bulls T338, Arubial T1701, Door Key U087. Whether you are looking for something that carries new, old or a combination of the two, check out a few of our upcoming animals - we are excited about them and hope you will be too!
The Fat Facts of Wagyu:
- Wagyu meaning: Wa (Japanese) + Gyu (Cattle)
- Wagyu has been compared to olive oil in its nutritional value of extremely high levels of omega 3 and omega 6 essential fatty acids
- Wagyu is considered to be the salmon of the pasture
- Studies show Wagyu compared to any other meat including chicken and fish have the lowest levels of cholesterol
- The melting point of Wagyu fat is 75-77 degrees and provides the meat with a rich buttery flavor.
The Wagyu experience:
A Wagyu steak sits raw resting on the butcher's block. While the fire warms the grill surface, butter and garlic melt together to be later basted on the now room temperature steak. The steak is placed on the grill, seared on all sides brushed with butter, garlic and rosemary cooked until your preferred temp (we recommended medium rare!) Then retrieved from the grill to rest for 10 minutes. You be the judge of the amazing taste that awaits you!