Frequently Asked Questions

Our farm has been in operations for almost 20 years. As consumers voiced more interest in local food, sustainability, increased home cooking and higher quality products an unlikely pair of farmers decided to join forces. One partner is near retirement and has spent a career in public health, nutritional advice and agriculture policy in the Washington DC area. The second partner is a young farmer with a passion for raising animals. The two decided to bring a unique beef product to discerning consumers. Selling both Royal Red Akaushi Japanese Waygu and traditional American Registered Angus beef, we are excited to know our customers and bring them a high quality product at a fair price.

There are four primary beef breeds of cattle in Japan (Japan Black, Japanese Brown, Japanese Polled and Japanese Shorthorn). Many strains can be found within each breed depending on the prefecture (Island) and region. Within the Japanese Brown breed there are two main strains, the Kochi and Kumamoto Reds. In the late 1800’s to early 1900’s the Japanese imported live cattle of British, European and Korean breeds. The Kumamoto strain of Japanese Browns were crossed with Korean Hanwoo, South Devon and Simmental (Namikawa, 1992). Seven Akaushi females (Namiko, Akiko, Haruko, Fuyuko, Ume, Dai 8 Marunami, Ringo 117) and three Akaushi bulls (Shigemaru, Tamamaru and Hikari) constituted the eventual HeartBrand Cattle Company original purchase. Our first generation cross comes from the HeartBrand breed. Benefits Early marbling 95% or higher of F1 Akaushi terminal crosses will finish BMS 3+ at 18-20 months of age on short fed grain rations even when crossed with Bos indicus influenced females. As the grain finishing period lengthens they have the propensity to achieve higher BMS levels in a linear manner (Sasaki et al., 2006). Fullblood Akaushi steers that are 28 months of age at harvest will weigh ~1,450 pounds (660 kgs) and 75%+ will be BMS 7+ when grain fed for longer periods. Health benefits Additional marbling contributes to more health benefits of the beef. Akaushi specific research data done by Dr. Stephen Smith, TAMU reported per 100 grams of raw meat a MUFA:SFA ratio of 1.26, oleic acid content of 9.56 grams and CLA content of 89 mg. These values were well above the non-Wagyu commodity beef tested.

Our farm is nestled at the base of the tallest peak in the Shenandoah National Park. The original homestead, a log cabin built with virgin heart pine in 1835 has been tastefully restored. We welcome guests who want to view the farm or pick up fresh beef.