By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post
When the From the Land of Kansas program celebrates its 45th anniversary next week in Topeka, it will count among its members a Salina couple whose business is selling tasty and healthful Akaushi beef.
The From the Land of Kansas program began in 1978 as a state agriculture program designed to promote and celebrate agriculture experiences and products grown, raised or produced in Kansas, according to information from the Kansas Department of Agriculture.
Today, the program has grown to include farmers' markets and businesses that "span the breadth of the agriculture industry, from restaurants, agriculture equipment manufacturers, retailers, farmers and ranchers, to food processors, agritourism, wineries, breweries and distilleries," the agriculture department noted.
Its 375 members are spread across the state and include Ad Astra Akaushi, a beef business in Salina with roots in south-central Kansas.
Salinan Blake Bergkamp, who with his wife, Hannah, and his parents, Tim and Mary Jo, operate Ad Astra Akaushi, which began business in 2022. Blake explained that the cattle are raised on his parents' ranch near Pretty Prairie, which is south of Hutchinson.
"We're a retail beef business that was started by my wife, Hannah, and I as part of a way to stay connected to my family farm operation, a cow-calf operation operated by my parents," Blake said.
Blake and Hannah buy the Akaushi calves from his parents. The calves are raised from birth to finish on his parents' farm. Blake and Hannah are then responsible for selling the beef.
"We're working with a couple of retail businesses, as well as selling beef shares to families and individuals," he said.
Akaushi is one of four original Japanese Wagyu breeds, according to information on the Ad Astra Akaushi website. It was first introduced in the United States in 1994.
Blake said the Akaushi beef offers several health benefits over traditional domestic breeds. It also offers typically a higher grade of beef than most people would find in a store.
"We thought we had a good, value-added product that differentiated from what most consumers are able to find in a typical storefront," Blake said. "We saw that as an important piece to set ourselves apart from other businesses out there."
Because of the way it develops, the Wagyu breed typically requires more time from birth to finish.
"The Wagyu breed typically grows a bit slower. To maximize the marbling potential of their genetics, they need to grow a bit longer than typical beef breeds, and so there is a higher input cost to feeding them for a longer period of time and raising them to an older age," Blake said.
Akaushi finish about twice as long on grain as do typical domestic breeds. That helps improve the marbling, Blake said.
Hannah noted that the cost of raising Akaushi cattle also includes a DNA verification process to assure consumers that the beef they are getting is really Akaushi.
"It's not a huge expense, but you do the DNA verification process with the Akaushi," she said.
Akaushi cattle receive eartags and small tissue samples from the cattle are sent to a lab so that Ad Astra Akaushi can verify to consumers that the beef they are eating is Akaushi, Hannah explained.
Health benefits
Blake said Wagyu cattle have a higher ratio of monounsaturated fat to saturated fat. Monounsaturated fat has been proven to benefit heart health and lead to lower cholestrol.
"That's the healthy fat and more typical to what you would find in a canola oil," he said.
And the taste?
Blake said customers notice a difference from regular beef when eating the Akaushi beef.
"That's the most common feedback that we get from customers is that they notice right away more of a tender beef product and more of a buttery flavor," Blake said.
Both the Akaushi steaks and roasts earn high praise from Ad Astra Akaushi's customers, he added.
Reaching consumers
Blake said that up to a year before the first cattle were finished and the beef was for sale last year, he and Hannah were busy getting a website built and creating Facebook and Instagram accounts for the business.
Joining Facebook-based groups and other groups, such as From the Land of Kansas also have helped the couple reach consumers, Hannah said.
Additionally, another goal was to sell Akaushi beef to businesses that would then resell the beef to consumers, she said. Ad Astra Akaushi beef can be found in two Kansas retail stores: Kansas Premium Meats in Belvue and The Merc Co-op grocery store in Lawrence. Blake said that Fly Boy Brewery & Eats in Sylvan Grove also has purchased some of the Akaushi beef.
The couple hopes to establish similar relationships with local and area outlets as well.
This year, the company will have USDA-inspected processed beef, which will allow beef to be shipped out of state, Blake said.
"That was kind of a big reason to join From the Land of Kansas, as well as just to reach a broader audience and be able to take advantage of some of the benefits that they offer their members," Blake said.
For more information about Ad Astra Akaushi or to inquire about ordering, go to the Ad Astra Akaushi website.