About Us.....
Family Owned and Operated
Foley Wagyu Ranch is family owned and operated as well as a member of the Texas Wagyu Association. Our ranch is located in Brownwood, Texas. Foley Wagyu Ranch provides whole Wagyu beef of F1 (50% Wagyu) & F2 (75% Wagyu), meat to the public, in the Central Texas area. We believe that how the animals are handled and cared for, directly impacts the quality of the Wagyu beef.
About Our Beef
Our Wagyu calves receive no antibiotics, growth hormones or animal byproducts. Our calves are raised with care and are given whatever they need, within reason! They are raised by their mothers on milk and grass until they reach weaning age. From there they go to the weaning pasture, where they have a specific ration, set by an animal nutritionist. In addition, they are rotated between two pastures. Both pastures are planted with native grasses, as well as, oats and winter rye grass, for the very cold months. They are free to graze at their choosing!
Why Wagyu?
Foley Ranch decided to introduce Waygu into our cattle's blood line because of its potential to improve the meat. Waygu is a breed of cattle originated in Japan for its superior marbling quality. This in turn results in a more tasty Wagyu beef and the added benefit of a healthy source protein related to the high oleic acid. We breed registered Wagyu bulls to Black Angus cows in order to produce F1 (50% Wagyu) and F2 (75% Wagyu) calves. All Wagyu calves are born on the ranch and remain here until taken to the processor.
More Details
Our target weight for the Wagyu calves is 1400 lbs. Why so large? Because you are buying Wagyu beef. In order to get the best marbling then they need time to develop. A younger Wagyu calf is very good meat however, it does not make financial sense to process them before they reached their full potential. As mentioned earlier we sell F1 and F2 Wagyu. Full blood Wagyu will marble to a greater extent but, a median ground needs to be reached between quality and expense. Our F1 and F2 have produced high quality beef and appear to be at a cost that can be afforded by those other than the wealthy.
Processing
Foley Ranch will take care of transporting the live calf to the processor. After using various processors, we feel the best place to finish out the process is the Butcher Block, in Cross Plains, Texas. The customer will be responsible for the expense of processing, which varies somewhat depending on the cuts of beef selected. Your Wagyu beef will come, from the processor, vacuumed sealed and freezer ready! Foley Ranch will deliver your Wagyu beef, free of charge within 100 miles.
So What Do You Get?
What do you get when all is said and done? The cost of the 1400 lb. F1 Wagyu calf is $3,200. An F2 Wagyu is $3,500. The variation in price is due to Wagyu's percentage of the beef. The higher the percentage of Wagyu, the longer it takes to reach 1400 lbs, which increases the expense. However, you will not receive 1400 lbs of meat. First, the calf is prepared for dry aging, which involves removing the hide, head, internal organs, etc. This is generally referred to as the "hanging weight" or "carcass weight", about 65% of the live weight. After the calf has hung for your requested amount of time, we like 14 days. Then the processing can move forward. Drying, blood drainage, bones removal, etc.. reduce the weight to 60-65%* of the hanging weight. For example, our last calf exceeded 1400 lbs and resulted in 944 pounds of hanging weight. Our overall yield filled a 20.4 cubic feet freezer. A good rule of thumb is 30-35 lbs of meat per cubic foot of freezer size. Processing costs vary depending on what you have done with your calf. From the above example, we paid 72 cents per pound of hanging weight, plus a $40 kill fee, for a total of $719.68. The best information regarding processing prices will come from Ashley at the Butcher Block. In the top right corner, you will find a copy of the Butcher Block's order form under the more drop down menu. Included is the Butcher Block's phone number and the meat selection options.
*Note: The hanging weight to the final yield can vary by up to 12%. If the customer chooses to reduce the fat left on the meat and/or selects boneless cuts, then the percentage to final return drops. We like to cook with the fat left on the steak, for added flavor, then we will decide whether to eat it or cut it off after cooking.
Foley Ranch is not a butcher shop. We only sell whole calves and not individual cuts of Wagyu beef. We understand this might limit potential customers that are not interested in a whole beef. Our suggestion would be, if you are interested in a superior grade of beef, that you might consider sharing a whole beef with a friend.
If you are interested in purchasing a Wagyu calf or have any questions, please contact us below. When we get your information, we will get in touch with you by phone. Afterwards, your name will be added to our waiting list. No deposit is necessary!
We will contact you within a month of your calf's processing date. At this point, payment would be expected. If you change your mind, no problem, we will simple go to the next person on the list!