The Story of the Douglas Wagyu Cattle Co.
Jake, a native Texan, grew up visiting his mother’s relatives in southwest Missouri every summer. He roamed the farms and ranches of his uncle and cousins. He rode in the truck with them as they checked their cattle and rode on the tractor when they raked and baled hay. Back home in Texas, he broke and sold horses and dabbled in rodeo as a bareback bronc rider. While attending college in west Texas, Jake helped his great uncle on his ranch, soaking up his knowledge and life wisdom. He always felt at home with these cattlemen, but his future held a long detour before he would return to a ranching lifestyle.
As much as Cristina loved the country, as she matured, she dreamed of the possibilities of city life. At age 18 she left her province for Manilla to pursue educational opportunity. Then her employment path eventually led her to Bahrain. It was in Bahrain that Cristina and Jake met. He was stationed there with the U.S. Navy. Jake’s “long detour” had been a 36-year naval career starting as an enlisted weapons system technician. Jake worked his way up as a maverick to multiple ship commands and a Captain’s rank. It was at this turning point in his life, when Jake was nearing retirement, that their two dreams came together. Cristina was working in the health and beauty industry. She and Jake met through a local running club. They discovered a shared love of cooking and ranching and began to dream of a future together in America. While Cristina had once dreamed of the city, she now missed what her rural roots had once offered: freshly sourced food and a connection to the earth and animals. Their shared goals were to be self-employed, able to enjoy the outdoors, and to live near family.
Those goals led them to buy a ranch a few miles from Jake’s cousins in Missouri. Passionate foodies, Jake and Cristina had fallen in love with each other as well as the taste of Japanese Kobe beef. They devised a plan to recreate Kobe A5 grade beef in America at a more affordable price than Japanese Kobe beef. They bought their future ranch land in 2018 and rented it out while Jake transitioned out of the Navy and Cristina started studying the Japanese method of raising cattle.
The fields they purchased had been used for crops rather than as grassland. Converting them in preparation for their Wagyu cattle—the first to be raised in the area—proved time and labor intensive. Jake studied and spearheaded land improvement. Cristina did the same with genetics and cattle raising practices. Together they steadily improved the ranch: removing weeds, clearing brush, putting in a freshwater system so each pasture featured clean well water, fencing off the woods and ponds, and planting native prairie, brome, and orchard grasses.
Jake and Cristina collaborated with the USDA EQUIP Program and the Soil and Water Conservation. These agencies provide government aid to help with certain farm and ranching improvements that benefit the environment such as cross-fencing, and strategic planting. Cross-fencing the pastures allows for intensive grazing so that the cattle cannot eat a pasture bare. Consistent grass cover helps improve air quality. Planting pastures of prairie grass helps return the land to its native habitat. And fencing off the woods is beneficial for both cattle and wildlife.
After a year of field preparation, the Douglas Wagyu Cattle Company was ready for its first Wagyu cows. Cristina researched breeders within their geographical area and discovered the Triangle B Ranch in Siegler, OK. Wagyu cattle are not available at regular sale barns like most cattle. One must buy them at private sales from individual ranchers. Triangle B owner Don Brown was kind and generous with his time and help for which the new ranchers are still grateful.
Wagyu cattle raised for beef in the Japanese way live a less stressful life than other cattle being fed out. A common approach to raising cattle is for them to graze in fields. While it may appear picturesque, the cows are left out in the elements 24/7. They are on their own during snow and thunderstorms. The cattle are then placed in feedlots where exposure to the elements still exist.
In comparison, Douglas Wagyu cattle are kept in a barn in individual stalls with concrete floors, so they do not stand in mud. Their stalls are cleaned every other day and filled with pine-scented wood shavings. They are kept dry and protected from the sun, wind, and storms. When the weather is hot, they enjoy cooling showers. (The Douglas Wagyu prefer Cristina’s showers to Jake’s. Jake thinks it is because of her mothers’ touch.) Year-round they are brushed and massaged. They even listen to music. Their favorite genre is country music, and their favorite song is All My Exes Live in Texas by George Straight. You can tell the song is their favorite because when it plays, they wag their tails to the beat. As a result, the Wagyu are gentle and docile. They even have sweet-tooths, but they also enjoy their fresh greens in addition to their special feeding formula researched and designed by Cristina. Jake summarizes, “They are humanely raised with love; no antibiotics or steroids”
This special care and diet and results in award-winning beef. To test their process, Jake and Cristina entered the National Triple Crown Wagyu Steak Competition. They placed fourth overall after only two years in the business. They are continuing to enter competitions to verify what they already know—that they are raising world-class, healthy beef.
Throughout this process, Cristina and Jake’s son Alfred learned alongside them growing bigger and stronger to become an important part of the family operation just as his mother had done growing up in the Philippines.
Their shared dream has come true, and sharing this experience and their prized beef with others is a privilege Jake and Cristina value greatly. Jake compares walking among his the cattle, seeing the mamas and their babies, to watching whales from the bridge of his Navy ship. Both are so naturally beautiful they take one’s stress away. Please visit douglaswagyucattleco.com