Kansas farm raises Wagyu cattle with no shortcuts — Double W Cattle

When Bradon Wiens drives past a certain spot on his family farm in southwest Kansas, he remembers his great-grandfather K.L. Wiens who died in a tractor accident here in 1949. Bradon’s grandfather was only 14 at the time, but soon he was running the farm and taking care of his mother.

“When I drive over there, I think of all the hard work that [my great-grandfather] put into the farm,” said Bradon. “I’m grateful that I can follow in those footsteps.”

In 2013, Bradon became the fourth generation in his family to farm on this stretch of prairie in Meade, Kansas, about 20 miles north of the Oklahoma border. He and his wife Rachael worked alongside Bradon’s dad to raise feeder cattle and farm wheat and milo.

The couple soon found a niche raising Wagyu beef and selling the meat directly to consumers. Wiens Wagyu was a customer-focused operation that quickly gained a following in Kansas and beyond, delivering fresh Wagyu beef and jerky to consumers and restaurant clients.

Bradon said his passion for Wagyu led him to contact other farmers and chefs who were amazed by the beef’s rich flavor, low melting point and health benefits. A 2016 study concluded that highly marbled beef such as Wagyu may reduce the risk factors for cardiovascular diseases.

“We started selling beef in farmers markets and at local restaurants, mainly in Wichita. It was great, and we enjoyed it,” said Bradon. “During COVID, there were the supply chain issues that everybody faced, and we saw that it could be a future problem, especially being in such a rural area. So, we started looking at different avenues.”

In 2021, the couple’s trajectory changed suddenly. Bradon was involved in a serious shooting accident that pushed the family to pause and consider a new direction. As he recovered, Bradon and Rachael plotted a new course for the Wagyu business. They landed on an idea that would become Double W Cattle.

“At the time my husband was in an accident and recovering, we started receiving phone calls to buy our live cattle,” said Rachael. “It was kind of a no-brainer for us to sell the live animals instead of taking them to be processed. To be able to just sell the live animals and still make a profit on it to fit our lifestyle was a really great way to make our lives less stressful.”

Bradon and Rachael were able to transition their business from selling beef directly to consumers to selling Wagyu feeder cattle to other beef operations, all while raising their own seed stock for this valuable Japanese breed.

“We had other companies approach us about buying our live cattle for their beef programs, and we saw that as a good opportunity,” said Bradon. “At the same time, we also had people interested in raising their own Wagyu. When those opportunities came up and fit with some of the life changes that were going on, we decided to change in that direction.”

Bradon said his experience marketing and shipping Wagyu directly to the public has given him and Rachael important insights into what customers care about when it comes to purchasing beef.

“Selling direct to consumer really gave us a connection to our customer,” said Bradon. “Knowing the customer in agriculture is important, to know what they want, their desires and what kind of product you need to be putting out terms of cattle.”

Raising prized Wagyu on a sustainable farm

On top of farming and running a cow-calf operation, Bradon and Rachael stay busy raising three sons on the farm. Rachael said it’s a lifestyle that allows them to involve their kids in the operation as they learn life lessons about taking care of the land, animals and each other.

“Our vision is to be good stewards of the land and cattle that God has given us,” said Rachael.

“We would like to do everything with integrity and honesty. We want to be transparent in how we do business. We want to build up the Wagyu breed for those who are already in the Wagyu world, or are thinking about getting into the breed, by sharing what we’ve learned with others.”

Logan Lix is a farmer and retail banker with American AgCredit, a lender in the national Farm Credit System. He said working with the Wiens family and Double W Cattle has been a firsthand look at how a family farm can embrace change to stay successful.

“The most successful clients are the ones who adapt and work to stay ahead of the curve,” said Logan.

“They might get burned on occasion, but they’re going to learn from those mistakes and the next time they have a new change coming their way, they are going to adapt even better.”

Over the years, Bradon and Rachael have produced educational videos showing the best cuts of Wagyu beef along with cooking tips, recipes and how-to videos that demonstrate the level of care they put into raising each animal on the farm.

Now that they are focused on selling cows and bulls for genetics, Bradon said he is forging relationships with producers who value the couple’s transparency and passion for promoting this special breed of cattle.

“Our bloodlines are the way we do business,” said Bradon. “We’re committed to raising full-blooded black Wagyu with integrity and no shortcuts.”