Booth Creek Wagyu (KS) are a data-driven operation, laser-focused on rapid genetic advancement through their partnership with Vytelle, implementing both Vytelle ADVANCE™ and Vytelle SENSE™ technology at their family-run ranch.
Booth Creek Wagyu, situated on 5000 acres of rolling hills north of Manhattan, Kansas, has an ambitious goal: to change the way America eats beef. Just as discerning drinkers prefer specific wine varietals or whiskey profiles, Booth Creek wants their customers to discover their ideal wagyu marbling score, tasting a steak with the same sophistication as a complex shiraz.
“America is just waking up to Wagyu, and we think we’re on the front of that wave,” says founder Dave Dreiling.
Vertical integration is the key to achieving excellence at Booth Creek Wagyu, with the ranch, feedlot, processing plant, distribution center, and retail outlet, all within a 30 mile radius. Not only is this approach more environmentally conscious, it means that every stage of the process can be carefully monitored. Understanding data, from conception to carcass, is paramount to Booth Creek’s success: a value they share with Vytelle.
Utilizing both the Vytelle SENSE™ and Vytelle ADVANCE™ systems, Booth Creek Wagyu are committed to achieving rapid genetic advancement.
“We’re doing in every twelve months, what typically the industry would take maybe three or four years to do,” Dave explains.
Time is money: feed efficiency and wagyu growth rates
Booth Creek utilizes Vytelle SENSE™ programs across all yearling bulls and heifers to identify which animals possess superior feed efficiency traits worth passing on to future generations.
Given wagyu’s naturally slow maturation, essential for developing their coveted marbling, these cattle represent a significant investment requiring precise timing to maximize returns.
“When we look at the economics of feeding out a wagyu, it takes so long that feed efficiency is critical,” observes Dave Dreiling.
Recognizing when cattle reach their developmental peak and determining the optimal processing window proves essential for maintaining consistent quality while minimizing costly feeding periods.
Feedlot Manager Craig Kennedy explains that the Vytelle SENSE™ units are a key component of Booth Creek Wagyu’s operational turnover.
“With the in-pen weigh systems, we can take those daily weights and use that to figure out ‘are these animals done? Are they still growing 2-2.5 pounds a day? Where are they at?’ That really helps our efficiency to get them out of the yard if they’ve stopped growing.”
Rapid genetic progress: Vytelle ADVANCE™ shortening the generational interval
Dave Dreiling cites Vytelle’s hormone free IVF as the key to not only faster genetic advancement, but maximizing expensive semen with higher numbers of calves on the ground from a single straw.
“I got a text from Europe a couple of years ago where I had set the world record for the price paid for bull semen. That’s not something you go around wearing on a t-shirt! But I didn’t care, the semen price didn’t matter because we could make so many embryos and set that as the basis for our cow herd. Without IVF I wouldn’t have been able to do that.”
Booth Creek Wagyu are not only using Vytelle ADVANCE™ for their own herd, but acting as a satellite operation for producers from all around the region to access Vytelle’s technology. With technicians attending the ranch every week, breeders from across the state converge at Booth Creek to conduct Ovum Pick-Ups (OPUs) and discuss breeding approaches.
“It’s really neat to learn what other people are doing, and what we can do to help them,” explains Craig Kennedy of Booth Creek Wagyu’s collaborative approach to acting as a Vytelle Satellite.
Livestock as legacy: the future of Booth Creek Wagyu
Though Dave Dreiling began his career in business rather than agriculture, he’s determined to make a lasting contribution in the livestock industry.
“This is a legacy company for us. It’s because of the impact we’re making. To be able to provide that to our customers for me is more impactful than any other business I’ve ever been in,” says Dave.
Through their partnership with Vytelle, Booth Creek Wagyu exemplifies how data-driven genetic advancement can transform an operation, proving that when metrics meet innovation, the future of American wagyu becomes both a science and an art.