Black Jack Ranch was recently featured on the American Cattlemen Podcast, where BJR Manager Kim Howard sat down with host Gale McKinney to talk about bringing Wagyu genetics to commercial cattle producers. The conversation took place during the 2026 Texas Wagyu Association and Australian Wagyu Association Conference in Fort Worth, where Kim joined industry leaders for educational seminars and networking ahead of the Big Texas Wagyu Sale.
Kim shared an inside look at how Black Jack Ranch operates on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, running roughly 600 head of cattle and calving 180 to 200 calves a year under an “80/20” model — 80% beef production, 20% seedstock genetics. She also shared more about the ranch’s farm-to-market retail store, the Saturday Wagyu smash burger events that routinely sell 180 to 200 burgers in a matter of hours, and how elite sires like Samurai 1749J have helped the ranch consistently produce exceptional carcass quality and Prime-grade beef.
The discussion also covered why Kim believes commercial producers stand to gain from incorporating Wagyu genetics into their own herds, addressing common concerns around feeding periods and phenotype, and making the case that performance, carcass merit, and profitability should be the real focus.
