A few years ago the Kerby family radically changed their business model on the family ranch (400 acres, with an additional 700 acres of leased pasture and hay ground) in central Missouri. Mike and his son Brandon went from raising Angus cattle to raising Wagyu. This was a big move\u2014a leap of faith. No longer would they have the ease and security of heading to the local sale barn to sell that year\u2019s calf crop, or the resources that the Angus Association offers in genetic mapping, backed by thousands of animals.<\/p>\n
When asked why they changed their operation, Mike says it was a big decision but also a simple one. \u201cIt comes down to dollars and cents. I realized that we can only run so many head of cattle on our farms. So why not raise cattle with the highest profit potential? There is definitely a premium for Wagyu cattle,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
HOW IT ALL BEGAN<\/strong> – \u201cWe live near the small town of Warsaw, Missouri. It\u2019s a resort town with only about 2000 people, but on weekends we might have 20,000 people from all over the country. We are located between Truman Lake and Lake of the Ozarks\u2014two of the biggest lakes in Missouri, and a popular destination for tourists,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of our farms are close to Warsaw, and we have more land farther east, near the town of Edwards. It makes our farm management challenging because we are spread over a 10 mile circle, but it\u2019s difficult to find 1000 acres all together,\u201d says Kerby.<\/p>\n His main farm is located in very rural country. \u201cIf you want to go see a movie, you have to drive 45 miles. I drive 40 miles each way to go to church. But it\u2019s a nice town, small community, and beautiful country. We have water everywhere with the lakes and streams, and lots of wildlife,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n \u201cI am 51 years old and have been a financial advisor my entire adult life. I drive an hour to work, to my Springfield office. It can take a half hour just to drive across town in that city. I\u2019d much rather drive down my driveway and see 5 or 6 deer and some wild turkeys than be in traffic. It\u2019s a much better way to start and end my day,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cI am an outdoorsman and love to hunt and fish. I fished professionally when I was young, until a car wreck retired me from that activity. Prior to my accident, I\u2019d purchased a farm in central Missouri for deer hunting. My bookkeeper told me that if I had cattle on the farm it would save me thousands of dollars in taxes because of all the expenses on the farm that I could write off,\u201d explains Kerby.<\/p>\n Reluctantly, he bought some Angus cattle. \u201cThen, being an outdoor person, I discovered that I actually liked having cattle. I enjoyed working with them, and it grew on me. I had been around cattle all my life, one way or another. After the first year of owning cattle, however, I realized that this was too involved and too much work just to do it for a tax write-off,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cI got into the Wagyu breed by blind luck. I was having lunch with a financial client of mine at a restaurant and there were Wagyu steaks on the menu for more than GETTING INTO WAGYU<\/strong> – \u201cI realized there is money to be made in Wagyu. I predict that this breed\u2019s growth and its own education in genetic testing, etc. will be tremendous. It has been growing much faster the last couple of years than it did in the previous 5 to 10 years, partly because of some of the genetic tests that are now available and the education that most ranchers are getting about this breed and its genetics,\u201d says Kerby.<\/p>\n After months of research he knew the strengths and weaknesses of this breed–and as a family they decided to make the change. They started purchasing cattle and embryos from breeders all over the U.S. and some in Australia. \u201cWe tried to find the best donor cows and semen to build our herd,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is an expensive breed to get into, so most of the ranchers who are trying to grow their herds are doing AI and in-vitro fertilization for embryo flushes. For us, this was a new concept. We did a lot of research, and went to TransOva and Genex. We traveled to meet a specialist, and met embryologists in our local communities. We sent our AI specialist to embryo school to become an embryologist. That way we knew we could have someone here, working with our breeding program, who is up to date on the latest technique. I think this will help our future success,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Mike and his youngest son, Brandon, run the ranch. \u201cAfter we got into Wagyu cattle, Brandon became involved. Without him, I couldn\u2019t do this; it would be too much work for me, with the schedule I carry. I am more of an assistant to him, on the day-to-day ranch chores. We work together on our breeding program,\u201d says Kerby.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have been mainly an AI and embryo breeding program, and only use bulls that are proven\u2014that have a good track record. With AI we can use proven bulls from anywhere in the world. One thing I\u2019ve learned is that no matter how good a bull looks, if he doesn\u2019t have the genetic material for marbling and calving ease you could be setting your operation back many years. So we are very careful on that,\u201d says Kerby.<\/p>\n Most ranchers he talks to are really interested in what the bull is, but overlook or don\u2019t put enough attention on the cow. They tend to forget that the bull is only half of that calf\u2019s genetics. \u201cWe look at our cows as being a huge part of our breeding program. All our cows go through the same genetic tests, marbling tests, fat tests, etc. as the bulls. When we flush cows, we only flush the top 7% of our herd.\u201d<\/p>\n Buck Mountain Ranch also uses sexed semen. With the price of heifers right now, he is trying to produce as many heifers as possible. This year about 90% of the flushes were done with pre-sexed semen, to produce heifers instead of bulls.<\/p>\n \u201cI think a person can have as good a success in conception rates using pre-sexed semen as using conventional semen. Pre-sexed semen has a bad rap, with statistics showing lower success in getting embryos. But we\u2019ve gotten as many as 7 grade one embryos from one flush, using sexed semen. I think it can help get a person to their herd size goal faster,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of our embryo calves are born from Angus recipients. The extra milk from the Angus cows gives our calves a boost; this makes a huge difference in the health and growth of the calf crop,\u201d says Kerby.<\/p>\n BREEDING PROGRAM AND GOALS<\/strong> \u2013 \u201cOur goal at Buck Mountain Ranch is to breed some of the top seedstock in the country. There are a lot of great Wagyu breeders and we like to think we are one of them. Our ranch raises Full Blood Black and Full Blood Red as well as crosses of these. I encourage every Wagyu rancher to use rotational breeding, using both types. I tell people to look at the red genetics because of the vigor you get. If you cross a high-growth red bull on a high-marbling black cow for your rotational breeding, you will be amazed at the size difference in the offspring. The composite half black, half red Wagyu is much bigger than even a very large black Wagyu,\u201d says Kerby.<\/p>\n \u201cMost ranchers don\u2019t consider Wagyu because they tend to be small animals. But the crossbred black\/red Wagyu are bigger and still have plenty of marbling. They just develop faster and grow bigger. Their milking ability is much better than the standard black Wagyu. There is a lot going for the cross, especially with our limited gene pool in this breed,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n One rancher came to look at his heifers, knowing about Wagyu and how small they are compared to animals in most beef breeds. \u201cHe looked at how big our red composites are, and then went to a competitor\u2019s ranch to look at their heifers\u2014and said he would probably come back to buy ours just because of the size difference. Since we are primarily a seedstock operation, our philosophy is to have them a little bigger than the typical Wagyu,\u201d says Kerby.<\/p>\n \u201cOur females are huge. Everyone who visits our farm can\u2019t believe how large our cows are. We recently had bull buyers here who were traveling the country to find bulls for their company and they remarked that ours were the biggest yearling bulls they\u2019d ever seen. This is all because of our deliberate and meticulous breeding program,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first semen from our top bulls will be available in 2015. We want to run our ranch like an open book. We are using everything at our disposal to create our donor program–from the latest genetic tests to ultrasound scan\u2014and sharing this information with our customers so they know exactly what they are buying when they are looking for their next herd bull or donor cow,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have some yearling bulls we are getting ready to ultrasound. I think that the more information we can offer buyers\u2014on the bull or heifer they are buying\u2014the better choices they will be able to make. We grade and price our livestock according to how they do on the ultrasound, tenderness, genetic makeup, etc. If we have something that truly excels in the desired traits, it will be a little more expensive, but the ranch that buys that animal will know exactly what they are getting. It\u2019s not just pedigree,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n \u201cNot all offspring of a good bull are equal. We know that the wrong bull or donor cow can set your program back years. The more information the breeders get, the better choices they will be able to make, to help their own operations. There is no guessing; our customers know what they are buying,\u201d says Kerby.<\/p>\n MARKETING AND NETWORKING<\/strong> \u2013 People often ask him what the drawbacks are to Wagyu. \u201cFirst is the cost to get started. Second is how to sell your calves when you can\u2019t take them to the local sale barn,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n He has met most of the Wagyu ranchers in the Midwest, or talked with them on the phone and has made it a priority to reach out and get to know them and network with them. \u201cMost of these people are the best ranchers I\u2019ve ever met. They know what they are doing when it comes to breeding, feeding, mineral programs, etc. but marketing is the big challenge. Because it\u2019s a niche breed they often wonder where they can sell these animals. Many of them are better breeders than marketers,\u201d says Kerby. With nearly any other breed of cattle, you can take them to the local sale barn and get market price for them, and get a check that day. It\u2019s more difficult with Wagyu.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve made a point to meet or talk with most of the big ranches in the U.S. and also in Canada and Australia. I\u2019ve found that the average ranchers are very good at what they do on the farm but what they often struggle with is being able to market their cattle. To help with this, Brandon and I held the first Mid-West Wagyu event last April. It was different from anything else I\u2019ve seen in this industry. It was a one-day networking event that highlighted guest speakers on topics ranging from feeding to maximizing a breeding operation with ET and AI, with tips to get conception rates higher. Since I am a financial advisor, I talked about how to keep your ranch out of probate and to leave a legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe had mineral companies talking about their products and buyers from one of the major F1 markets. Ranchers from 13 states attended and it was a great success. We put together a book that included everybody\u2019s contact information, what they raise, what they sell, etc. Our goal was to get everyone together and get to know each other. I think we are stronger by working together,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cOur plan is to host the first Mid-West sale in 2016. The breeders in Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, etc. have to travel a long ways to attend a Wagyu auction. There are many great auctions in California and the east coast, Texas and the Northeast. We also need one that\u2019s centrally located, so we are planning to host it in Springfield, Missouri. There will be a dinner, and the day before the auction we\u2019ll have a full day educational event with guest speakers. People can learn more about the genetic tests, different feeding programs, etc. and the next day go to the auction. Since Springfield is centrally located near Branson and 3 major lakes, we tell people to come to our event and stay for a vacation,\u201d says Kerby.<\/p>\n He feels that the more education people have and the more they learn about Wagyu, the more they realize it makes sense to add some of this breed into their herd, no matter what the base breed. With Wagyu\u2019s exceptional marbling and calving ease, this can help any herd. \u201cIf we can keep our bulls at desirable size, I think every rancher would want some of these genetics in their herd,\u201d says Kerby.<\/p>\n For new ranchers who want advice about getting into this breed, he tells them to do their research. \u201cIt takes a lot of money to get started embryo flushing, but this is the fastest way to build a cow herd,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n He recently teamed up with a good friend and like-minded rancher, Chuck Davis, who owns D&H Wagyu in Marshall, Missouri who has 100-plus Angus cows they are using in an ET program. \u201cWe supply the embryos and use his cows for recips, and split the calf crop. It cuts the costs for both of us. We didn\u2019t have to buy more recip cows and he didn\u2019t have to buy donor cows or embryos so it works great for both ranches,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n This is something small ranchers could look at, to get started. When embryos cost as much as $1500 to $2500 apiece, it helps to be able to partner with someone who is doing this. Right now recipient cows are also expensive.<\/p>\n The two ranches are about an hour\u2019s drive apart–but work well together. \u201cChuck is a great partner, with a lot of cattle experience. Within a year and a half we\u2019ll both have about 100 fullbloods, so between us we\u2019ll have 200 Wagyu cows. This will be a good start to help support the sale we\u2019re planning for 2016. Networking has helped us both.\u201d Kerby feels the future is bright for the Wagyu breed and says he and his family are thrilled to be a part of it.<\/p>\n FAMILY<\/strong> \u2013 \u201cWithout my son Brandon, we wouldn\u2019t be as far along in our program as we are now. This is a team effort and the most exciting thing is that it\u2019s a family business that I hope to pass down to future generations,\u201d says Kerby.<\/p>\n \u201cI am a single dad, with 4 kids. I became a single parent when they were babies. It\u2019s been an interesting 20 years, raising my kids. They are grown now; my youngest daughter is 18 and just started college. All my kids have stayed in our local area. My oldest son Nick works in my financial business and eventually may take it over. My oldest daughter is married and has 4 children. We recently celebrated with a birthday party for my youngest son and two of my grandkids. This was a big event,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cThese young grandchildren like to help on the farm. We go out and look at our cattle, or go fishing or look at the deer. It\u2019s a great place to raise kids. We have beautiful streams here in the Ozarks and I enjoy going out for a day with them to wade and swim and catch crawdads. Soon they\u2019ll be hunting the whitetail deer that roam our ranches,\u201d says Kerby.<\/p>\n Family is first, with him. \u201cWe have our family events and these special occasions are high priority in our family. We have to come together for these, or we will lose touch,\u201d says Kerby. He and his family also enjoy sharing their outdoor experience with other people, especially children. \u201cWe have kids from the inner city that come out to our farm, and we have some youth programs. Some kids have never even seen a crawdad,\u201d he says. He likes to give these children the opportunity to get out to the farm and the woods and enjoy nature.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When most people think about the Ozarks, they think about rolling hills, clear streams, and the many lakes scattered through this area. \u201cNow that\u2019s changing,\u201d says Mike Kerby, a financial advisor with an office in Springfield, Missouri. \u201cPeople are now calling the Ozarks the prime beef capital of the Mid-West,\u201d he says. A few years […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\n$60. I was familiar with Kobe beef and had a chance to talk to the chef. We started talking about the price. He was buying carcasses from a ranch that raises these cattle, and this immediately piqued my interest,\u201d says Kerby.<\/p>\n