Shibasaki Farm

This Hitachigyu Select Farm is family owned and operated by Tetsuo Shibasaki and his two sons, Michiya and Arinobu in the town of Sakai in Ibaraki Prefecture. The meat that comes from Shibasaki Farm is so popular in the locality that it was proudly chosenby the Sakai Municipal Town Government as a recipient of a gift through the Furusato Nozei Program. The Furusato Nozei Program is a plan developed by the Tokyo Government that offers taxpayers a deduction on their income and residence taxes if the taxpayer makes a donation to a rural municipal government of one’s choice. In return for the contribution, in addition to the tax break, the donor receives products produced in the prefecture. In 2005 Mr. Shibasaki added the breeding business to his existing finishing farm system and began the process of becoming an Ikkan Keiei fully integrated farm. This approach helped stabilize his business and made it more efficient. In 2015 a massive typhoon brought huge damage to his farm. The flood waters killed sixty percent of his 215 cattle. His determination to rebuild his business was supported by his sons, his community, and the municipal government. Mr. Shibasaki has a plan to make his already premium quality beef unique in flavor and quality. He is in the process of switching from a national producer of brewers’ by-products (sake lees, grain solids) used as a part of feed to suppliers who produce such nutritious feed in his hometown. “I am now negotiating with the owners of those breweries because I want to be able to have complete visibility into the production of feed for my animals”. Being able to say “Made in Sakai Town” gives him pride in his beef. He knows that every step in the process of beef production including the supply of feed must be under his control; everything counts. Ninety his cattle are cows and the remaining 200 are comprised of bulls, heifers, bullocks, and calves.