The weekly Seward Rotary Club held it’s meeting on Wednesday, February 5 th , 2020 at the Jones Bank Auditorium. Fellowship, a luncheon and short business meeting preceded the program. Rotarian of the Month was program chair Andy Hartmann, who introduce Rotarian Patty Lavelle-Lead Business Development Lead for Plum Creek Wagyu Beef.
The weekly Seward Rotary Club held it’s meeting on Wednesday, February 5 th , 2020 at the Jones Bank Auditorium. Fellowship, a luncheon and short business meeting preceded the program. Rotarian of the Month was program chair Andy Hartmann, who introduce Rotarian Patty Lavelle-Lead Business
Development Lead for Plum Creek Wagyu Beef.
Development Lead for Plum Creek Wagyu Beef.
She spoke on the entire scope of Wagyu Beef and the connection to Seward County and their new gift box program. Plum Creek Wagyu beef is locally own by Ben and Amy Benson, who have raised Wagyu beef on their farm in Seward County, near Garland Nebraska for over five years. The Wagyu cattle are pampered (but not massaged or fed beer) with each animal cared for and given daily attention, resulting in a stress free life that promotes optimal marbling and flavor. All Plum Creek Wagyu beef is butchered and processed at the Wahoo Locker, where it is USDA inspected, vacuum packaged and flash frozen.
The local office for Plum Creek Wagyu Beef is located in the offices of “Big Cob” on Highway 15, South of Seward.
She explained that Wa (Japanese) + Gyu (Cattle) = Wagyu (Pronounced Wag-goo). She went on to share that Wagyu is a breed of cattle valued for its superior level of marbling (intramuscular fat, melt-in-your-mouth tenderness and buttery flavor.
Patty explained All Kobe Beef is Wagyu but not all wagyu beef is Kobe. Kobe is full blood Wagyu that is raised and harvested in Kobe, Japan. While Plum Creek’s Wagyu are not Kobe, because they are raised in the U.S. and not Japan, they are 100% Full blood Japanese Black Wagyu Cattle.
The Plum Creek farm cattle are 100% Japanese Wagyu-their sire (father) is full-blood Wagyu and the dam (mother) is full-blood Wagyu with unmixed ancestry. They have never been crossbred and maintain pure full-blood Wagyu genetics. “American Wagyu” is not a breed, but a marketing term. They are related to the full-blood Wagyu but have been mixed with other breeds, such as Angus, but no
specific percentage of Wagyu is required.
specific percentage of Wagyu is required.
Patty testified as to why Wagyu is a favored, delicious beef. She showed that the marbling is the visible form of intramuscular fat which appears as white flecks with the red muscle. Extensive marling gives Wagyu beef a spectacular tenderness, juiciness and flavor. The texture of Wagyu beef is exceedingly fine-again aiding in its extreme tenderness. Wagyu fat has a lower melting point than other beef and will literally melt-in-your-mouth. The Wagyu beef contains more monounsaturated fatty acids (“good-fat”) than any other beef as well as more Omega 3 and Omega 67 fatty acids that protect against heart disease, arthritis and more.
In June of 2019, Plum Creek Wagyu launched its boxed beef business online, specializing in Wagyu gift boxes that can be customized with personalized messages, company logos and even promotional items.
“Very quickly, we started getting requests for retail cuts,” Lavelle said. “Travelers on I-80 stopped by our office [inside Big Cob Hybrids] to pick up Wagyu to share with their family or because they have always wanted to try Wagyu.” Plum Creek Wagyu beef has recently been featured in Café on the Square in Seward and is working with Fly Dogz to get a Wagyu brat on their menu.
“We are so excited to raise a high-quality product that can be enjoyed locally as well as around the country.”
For more information, visit www.PlumCreekWagyu.com or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/plumcreekwagyubeef.
A highlight of the program was Patty preparing and sharing Wagyu beef samples-distributing official samples of prepared Wagyu burgers and summer sausage.
Questions and answers followed.