What Are Wagyu?

WAGYU - a Japanese beef cattle breed – derives from native Asian cattle. 'WAGYU' refers to all Japanese beef cattle, where 'Wa' means Japanese, and 'gyu' means cow.

Wagyu were originally draft animals used in agriculture and were selected for their physical endurance. This selection favored animals with more intra-muscular fat cells – ‘marbling’ – which provided a readily available energy source. Wagyu is a horned breed, and the cattle are either black or red in color.*

Wagyu Breed History in USA

Wagyu cattle were first imported in 1975 when two black and two red bulls were imported by Morris Whitney.  In 1989 the Japanese began to reduce their tariffs on imported beef and that encouraged U.S. producers to produce a high-quality products for Japan.  In the 1990s there were several importations of quality Wagyu.  Most were black, but a few were Red Wagyu.  These cattle have the most significant influence on the U.S. herd and those in many other countries.

Most US production was exported to Japan until 2003 when BSE was discovered, and Japan and other countries stopped the import of beef for the U.S.  However, chefs and others in the U.S. were aware of the superior eating quality of Wagyu and the domestic market then and now utilize much of the U.S. production.*

*All claims sourced from American Wagyu Association