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550 Wagyu sees Indiana Grown success

A lifelong beef producer says Wagyu is helping her family’s business stand apart from other direct-to-consumer farms.

Elizabeth Stonecipher says she and her husband grew up raising Angus cattle, but a new business concept was born after trying Wagyu beef at a family dinner party.

“Most of our feeder calves are F1, so they’re half-blood Wagyu and then Angus or some Angus base,” she says. “We do have a few full-bloods on the ground. We’ve just started this about a year ago where we’re selling the retail cuts.”

She says the animals are slow growing and bring a greater premium for the extra time spent on the farm.

“If we were selling an off-the-hook Angus calf, hanging weight right now would be $3 a pound,” she explains. “On a Wagyu right now if somebody wanted to buy half a beef off the hook, the hanging weight is $5.50.”

Stonecipher says participating in Indiana Grown has also increased consumer recognition and marketing opportunities.

“It’s nice to have those labels and things that you can use so people can just see that right up front that I am buying from somebody local,” she says. “It is made in Indiana, it’s not shipped in, especially when people are being conscious of that carbon footprint and wanting things to be more local.”

Stonecipher says she’s especially excited to be a featured farmer during this year’s Indiana State Fair.

The farm 550 Wagyu sells through MarketWagon.com, local farmers’ markets, and their own website.

AUDIO: Elizabeth Stonecipher

Photo courtesy of 550 Wagyu.