Will Neal
Will was born in South Texas on his family’s century ranch. Raising cattle his entire life while taking part in FFA and 4H projects as a young man showing steers throughout Texas. His passion is Japanese Wagyu cattle and working with fellow ranchers. He is a graduate of Baylor University with an Accounting degree and is one of the founders of Kobe Club along with his wife Julia.
Julia Neal
Julia and Will are married for 22 years and have three wonderful children.
Julia has BBA in Economics. She has extensive experience with managing companies. Julia was instrumental in the design of Neal Meats building as she worked as the General Contractor and oversaw all operations of the build. She also has managed Kobe Club’s development of their Pork program with Mangalitsa pigs since 2012.
She has also built the websites for both Neal Meats and Kobe Club.
1)
USDA Plant
Even though you may want your meat processed custom rather than inspected, using a usda level plant assures the plant is clean and tested for things such as listeria. The level of plant is night and day above custom, or state inspected plants. The bar is just way higher. It all depends on whether your meat is worth the extra to use a plant like ours. The cost to build and run a plant like ours is much higher yet our prices are competitive with simple custom plants.
2)
New coolers and equipment
Coolers are the heart of a processing plant. We personally had two fullblood wagyu ruined at another plant as they did not have adequate cooling systems. We have three temperature controls in our coolers and the entire room is sealed with 16 inches of blow in foam.
3)
Ethics
Actually, get All of your meat back
What a concept!
With cameras at all exit points and locks on freezers, your meat is safe with us. You are always welcome to observe the cutting of your meat and tour the plant. Trust is key in this industry. We have been on other side many times.
4)
Presentation of your product
As an owner of a Wagyu farm, we have sold our beef to all 50 states and Canada over the past 4 years. At times, we would get meat back from other plants that was simply unpresentable. If you are selling meats direct to the public, go with a plant that has sold meats all over the USA and understands presentation. Once meat is cut and packaged, there is no fixing unpresentable cuts. You have to get it right the first time. We use 2 vacuum packaging machines and a $200,000 rollstock theroformer. You will not get a better presentation.
5)
Fellow Rancher
Will and Julia Neal have been ranching for decades. We are not career processors that have no idea what it takes to feed animals. It is time consuming and expensive. We understand ranchers and challenges we all face to make money in a meat industry dominated by large meat conglomerates.
6)
Experienced meat processors
We have done our best to hire the finest most experienced meat processors. While many other plants pay around $13/hr, our top experienced meat cutters make around $20/hr and up. What you pay for someone's time is relative. Some can accomplish in an hour that would take others 3 hours. We wanted the best so we hired the best. You pay for what you get whether it be carpenters or meat processors.
7)
Smoked Products
We use a state of art computerized Pro-Smoker 500 made in Wisconsin. Quite simply, the best money can buy. We use pellets so it minimizes mercury in your meats. Healthy great tasting meats every time!
If your meat is important to you, we are your processor!
