HB Big Al 502 (FB2998) — First Full-Blood Akaushi Born Outside Japan

Big Al is the direct product of what many breeders consider the best bull and cow of the Akaushi breed.

His sire Dai 10 Mitsumaru — also the sire of the original imports Hikari, Kaedemaru and Kunisakae — was considered the greatest Akaushi bull in the world by Japan at the time. When Al and Marie Woods sent the world-class cattlemen Yukio Kurosawatsu and Bruce Hemmingsen to Japan in 1993 to procure a shipment of "Japanese Browns," his dam Akiko was one of the top cows in Japan — and it took considerable wrangling to buy out her existing contract and bring her to the States.

Since there was no way to get Dai 10 Mitsumaru out of the country, the decision was made to breed Akiko to him before she started quarantine in Japan. The resulting calf, carried across the Pacific via plane en utero, was none other than Big Al — the first full-blood Akaushi born outside Japan.

Eventually Al and Marie Woods' herd of Akaushi and their descendants was bought out by HeartBrand (HeartBrandBeef.com), and Big Al was a mainstay herd sire in their program for many years — until his death at 17 years of age, when he got loose and killed himself trying to breed cows. Today at HeartBrand headquarters, Big Al can be viewed in all his life-size glory via full-body mount in the front office. He is the sire of Ashwood, the #1 bull for growth in Australia's EBVs.

Pedigree

{
  "sire": {
    "name": "Dai 10 Mitsumaru", "reg": "FB424",
    "sire": { "name": "Dai 2 Mitsumaru", "reg": "FB426", "sire": { "name": "Mitsutake", "reg": "FB401" }, "dam": { "name": "Dai 3 Mitsu", "reg": "FB4063" } },
    "dam": { "name": "Godai", "reg": "FB427", "sire": { "name": "Dai 5 Shigekawa", "reg": "FB4064" }, "dam": { "name": "Hataura", "reg": "FB4065" } }
  },
  "dam": {
    "name": "Akiko", "reg": "FB2120",
    "sire": { "name": "Namimaru", "reg": "FB373", "sire": { "name": "Dai 2 Shigenami", "reg": "FB375" }, "dam": { "name": "Dai 2 Maruhana", "reg": "FB376" } },
    "dam": { "name": "Mitsuko B 9639", "reg": "FB438", "sire": { "name": "Mitsutake", "reg": "FB401" }, "dam": { "name": "Mitsu 1753", "reg": "FB406" } }
  }
}

Pricing

Original import bull semen. Call or text 801-259-9358 for current market pricing (per 2019 catalog).