Ranch Reach | WW
A PASSION
By Heather Smith-Thomas
W
agyu cattle are a dream come true for Steven and Mary Erichsen. They own and operate Black Dog Ranch and Cattle Company near Weatherford, Texas, raising Wagyu seedstock. This breed has become their passion. When asked about how they came up with the name for their operation, Mary said that when they created our first ranch in Oregon they realized that they have always rescued black dogs (except for one brown and white one). Thus the name Black Dog Ranch and Cattle Company. Originally they were both in high-tech professions, and both from the Northwest. “We moved to Texas about 10 years ago, and at first wondered what we were going to do there,” says Mary. “One day out of the blue, Steve said we were going to move to Texas, and I said, ‘Sure!’ even though all of our family is from the Northwest. We have a son and a daughter, and 3 grandsons, and they all live in Oregon.” Steve was very active in cutting horse competitions. “We often came down to Texas for cutting horse events and really fell in love with this area,” Mary says. It was an instant transition after Steve voiced the desire to move. Within a few months they sold their house to the first person who gave them a cash offer, and they moved to their sight-unseen ranch in Weatherford, Texas. As Steve explains, they had been showing cutting horses for many years, and to do that very successfully, you have to be in Texas! “By happenstance, my company gave me the opportunity to move down here, so we did it, and it was a good move, and I loved it,” he says. Mary’s brother-in-law was a physician for many decades and spent some time in Japan. “As a gift, he was given some Kobe beef. I had a meal at their house one day, and they’d cooked Kobe steak. I was quite young at that time, in my early 20’s, and I’d never tasted anything like that! It was so delicious, like eating butter; it would melt in your mouth. I was 18
Wagyu World | January / February 2022