Did you know there’s a wagyu beef producer in the Carolinas? Jaclyn Smith is a Jaclyn of all trades, as she and her husband move in the construction space in Clayton, North Carolina. But in 2020 they met a new love.
“Our kids came home from school, and we were home from work for a bit, and it just gave us a chance to slow down and play outside a little bit. And so we just fell head first in love with agriculture, and so we started a little bit of a garden. I had some chickens and some pigs, and eventually our first cow that was pregnant and gave birth to twins.”
From there, the Smiths looked for a unique product, and they landed on wagyu cows.
“We felt like it was a very niche market. It was a really cool, fun beef angle, just this high-end product, a very neat palette experience for the consumer, different than what you know, most people are used to, and just, you know, a fun spin on that, while also, my husband loves the genetic side. And so being able to work with the genetics of the, you know, parentage of the cattle allow us to really hone in on what is creating that best beef experience for the American palate.”
Wagyu is a Japanese breed that was introduced to the US in the 1970s but even today, the high-end beef product is raised by very few American producers.
“The consistency of beef with it, with the marbling, is just very unique to the breed, and so it just hyper marbles. It’s a very fine marbling, which makes the customer experience or consumer experience when tasting it, just very unique and special. It also has some health benefits, so it’s lower in cholesterol than most of the beef product on the market, and it also is higher in the Omega threes, almost some better than some fish.”
Jaclyn says she may be the largest wagyu producer on the East Coast with more than 1000 head. Learn more about the Smith’s Wagyu beef operation at wilders.com.