Wagyu Beef from the Leger County Market

Story and photos by Bruce Schultz 

The Leger cattle operation near Port Barre has Japanese genetics by way of Australia and Shreveport.

Brent and his wife, Marcy, raise Wagyu cattle, a breed that originated in Japan. The Leger family sells Wagyu beef products at the Leger Country Market in Washington.

Work is underway to open a store in Lafayette, hopefully by early May. The Leger beef is also sold at the Lafayette Farmer’s Market.

Leger decided to focus more intently on his cattle after he was laid off at a refinery job. He also wanted to produce a healthier, tastier beef and that quest is how he came across Wagyu cattle.

The Legers’ mission statement lays out their approach: “If there’s a theme to the way we operate at Leger’s Country Market, it’s that we care. Care for the herd, care for every part of the process, care about the product, care about the people who work with us and partner with us and care about our customers.”

Brent has raised cattle for 30 years but 2 years ago he sold all his commercial cattle to complete the transition to Wagyu breed.

Leger Country Market offers beef with two levels of Wagyu, depending on the bull-cow combinations. The higher 5/8 Wagyu beef is the result of crossing his Wagyu bull with a cow that’s half Wagyu and half Maine-Anjou, a small French breed. The less expensive 3/8 Wagyu is the result of crossing the bull with cows with a mix of Hereford and Maine-Anjou. But he’s also trying other combinations. For example, he’s crossing Hereford and Red Angus cows with the Wagyu bull.

The mixed calves grow faster than purebred Wagyu so their beef is cheaper than 100% Wagyu but it still offers the advantages in tenderness, taste and health benefits.

The Leger calves are butchered when they reach a weight of 1,500 to 1,700 pounds.

“That’s the sweet spot for the marbling,” he said.

Wagyu beef has found a niche market because of its superior marbling, streaks of fat that makes the meat tender and moist with a  boost in flavor.
 
 “We are 3 to 4 levels above prime,” Leger said.

Leger prefers the natural approach. “I’m not giving them anything to make them grow,” he said.

His refusal to use growth hormones is another reason it takes longer for these calves to reach slaughter weight. He will use probiotics to promote health. He said his calves gain about 1.75 pounds a day, almost half the daily weight gain of most beef cattle.
A 5/8 Wagyu calf needs about 28 months to reach the intended weight, while the 3/8 Wagyu needs half that time, he said. Other cattle breeds, using growth hormones, only require 10 months to reach slaughter weight.

“This is not cheap meat but the higher price is because of the time that we put into them,” he said.

Leger ribeyes sell for $50 a pound. “I can’t keep ribeyes,” he said. “I’m out of ribeyes now.”

Other cuts of meat sold by Leger Country Market cost 20-30 percent more than regular beef, he said, but the Leger ground meat is $7.50 to $8 a pound.

​The Legers’ mixed calves grow faster  than purebred Wagyu calves so their beef is cheaper than 100% Wagyu but it still offers Wagyu advantages in tenderness, taste and health benefits.

In Japan, a top-shelf 100 percent Wagyu steak can cost $300, and a purebred Wagyu cow could sell for $30,000, according to an article in Business Insider magazine.
(Kobe beef is Wagyu grown in Hyōgo, a state in Japan which includes the city of Kobe.)

Purebred Wagyu beef commands a higher price because a Wagyu calf is considerably smaller than a mixed breed, so it doesn’t produce the same amount of meat, and it takes longer for a calf to be ready for slaughter.

Last year, Leger slaughtered 14 calves. The carcasses age for 21 days before butchering by Coastal Plains Meat Co. in Eunice, formerly known as Eunice Superette.

Wagyu beef has benefits beyond its rich, buttery flavor. According to the American Wagyu Association, health experts have discovered the ratio of mono-unsaturated fat to saturated fat in Wagyu beef is higher than other beef, and it’s higher in beneficial Omega fatty acids. And the association says that saturated fat in Wagyu beef doesn’t increase cholesterol as much as regular beef.

Leger, who also drives a school bus, sells his Wagyu products at the Leger Country Market store in downtown Washington at 407 N. Main St., opened in March 2023. He said the business’ customers are from across the state.

The Lafayette store will be at 626 Verot School Road near Fat Pat’s restaurant and sports bar.

But he said he currently sells most of his inventory at the Lafayette farmer’s market at Moncus Park held each Saturday morning. He said they usually run out of product at the farmer’s market, especially beef bacon, ground meat and burritos. He also makes boudin. “The boudin has Wagyu fat that throws a butter flavor in the boudin.”

The Legers sell a wide variety of Wagyu products that includes sausage, tasso and bacon. But the primary products are steaks – Denver steaks (only two can be cut from each calf), flat iron, chuck eye, flank steak, brisket and ribeye.

​Leger wants to increase the herd with 10 more cows, and he’s thinking about breeding the bull with cows developed from a cross of Beefmaster and Red Angus.

Leger’s bull is three quarters Wagyu and one fourth Maine-Anjou. The herd of 14 cows with 10 calves, and two in the feed lot that will be ready for slaughter soon.

Most cattle producers have a defined calving season, so they only allow their bulls to be in the same pasture with cows for just enough time for breeding. But Leger leaves his bull with the cows year-round because he wants a steady, continuous supply of beef for customers.

The herd grazes on 75 acres of clover, Bahia and bermudagrass along with clover. He prefers the heartier bermudagrass, however. The Leger calves are finished on feed.
Because the calves are small from the Wagyu influence are born small – 40-50 pounds - he doesn’t have to watch his cows closely at delivery time.

Leger will sell “freezer calves” to individuals who want to pick out a calf from his inventory. He will raise the calf until it’s ready for slaughter.

Raising cattle has been a lifelong endeavor for Leger. He learned about cattle from his father, Sonny, who had Brown Swiss cattle for meat. 

His daughter, Taylor, handles the accounting and promotional work. His son, Matthew, has been working at the Washington store but he will start managing the new Lafayette store. His wife, Marcy, also helps with the business when she’s not working at her full-time job as a schoolteacher.

Leger obtained his bull and some of his cows from Denny Denison of Keatchie, Louisiana, near Shreveport.

The Leger bull is from semen extracted from an Australian Wagyu bull. “You can’t get any more semen out of Japan,” Leger said.

Denison found a Wagyu breeder in Texas who obtained semen from Australia where the breed is a big industry. Denison started his Wagyu herd about 15 years ago, and he has had Maine-Anjou cattle for most of his 71 years.

He said like Leger, he was on a quest to find high-quality beef and that’s what led him to Wagyu. ”I wanted a bull to provide marbling, not yield.”

Some consumers complain that 100 percent Wagyu is too rich with a high amount of fat-to-muscle ratio. “I try to come up with the best combination of both worlds,” Denison said.
 
His herd of about 400 cows produces around 100 calves for slaughter each year. He waits until calves reach 1,700-1,800 pounds before they’re slaughtered and that usually requires about 30 months.

He is certified as an all-natural producer.

Denison relies on Bahia and Bermudagrass for his pastures.

Maine-Anjou has good marbling characteristics superior to Angus, he said, and the breed has more muscle mass than Angus, he said.

Denison said Maine-Anjou cattle are much easier to handle than Angus. “They’re more docile. Angus are sneaky. They’ll come up on you from behind. Angus bulls are bad for fighting.”

Wagyu bulls are good-natured, and they don’t seem to lose as much weight, Denison said. “Wagyu bulls are really amazing as far as being potent.”

The Japanese Wagyu producers are guarded about their practices, especially their feed rations that might include olive tree branches or chunks of hard candy, Denison said. “They keep that really secret.”

​The Japanese Wagyu are weaned at 3 months and halter broken, he said, compared to most American Wagyu calves that are weaned at 5-6  months.
But he said the beef characteristics begin developing long before the calves are born.

“They start developing marbling in the womb in 3 months.”

He finishes his calves on a special formula of feed that gives the dry-aged beef a unique flavor. ”I have my own secret ration here.”

He said he sells his beef at a Shreveport store, Corks and Cuds, on the South Loop. “I don’t really push it like I should.”

​A good business plan is advisable for anyone about to make the plunge into a venture like Wagyu cattle, said Brittany Zaunbrecher, LSU AgCenter beef cattle and forage extension agent in St. Landry, Evangeline, Avoyelles and Allen parishes.

“They really need to make sure they have a plan to sell it an dhow they’re going to market it,” she said.

The current cattle market is doing well, she said. Part of that upswing is seasonal, but she said the increase is a result of supply-and-demand economics.

“Cattle inventory is at its lowest since the 1960s,” she said. “There are fewer cattle out there from what we’ve seen in the last 50 years.”

Zaunbrecher said this is a good opportunity for cow-calf producers to cull unproductive cows.