On day 1 of our trip, we had the pleasure of visiting Legacy Ranch Wagyu Cattle we learned the process of raising Wagyu cattle, as well as information about the states’ agriculture and local FFA chapters.
We
learned that the ranch was started up in 2019 by Mr. Sawyer Cottrell, who is a first-generation
farmer with a passion for agriculture and his cattle. The herd started with
just a couple cows but has grown so much. He explained that they ran a farm to table
operation which is where the cattle are born on the property, weaned, moved to
a feed lot area and when finished processed for beef and end up on our plates! We
got to meet the yearlings up close and learn about the everyday care and life
on the ranch.
You
may wonder what is so special about Wagyu? The breed originated in Japan and its
breed is known for the meats unique marbling of fat. Because of this the meat
is more valuable because of its flavor and taste. The cattle we saw were
usually half Wagyu and half Angus. The ranch is not so much based on the
percentages but more focused on the overall meat taste. We then toured the
freezer room where we looked at all the meat and what they sell and tried their
very own beef sticks.
The
last, and my favorite, thing we did was get to meet and connect with another local chapter. Mr. Cottrell is also an
agriculture teacher and FFA advisor. It
was really interesting to see how other chapters programs worked and what they
did. We learned that in Illinois they focused more on farming than the show
aspect and we also learned that many members our age in Illinois work labor
intensive jobs working in crop fields, helping out on a livestock production
farm and even work in homes helping out.
And to wrap it all up we all shared delicious grilled Wagyu steak and sausage. We had such an amazing experience and learned so much about agriculture in Ilinois.
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