Grass fed is Best
Grass fed beef is a healthier, more flavorful and more nutrient dense product than grain fed beef. Our cattle have access to several pastures around the farm and are free to roam as they like in and out of pastures and over the wooded areas of the farm. The pastures are never over grazed. We feed only hay raised on our farm. We grow our hay without the use of pesticides and herbicides. We harvest it when the nutrient content will yield the highest quality hay. It dries in the sun and is baled and stored in our barns out of the weather to further ensure quality. All cattle also have access to free choice * minerals in various feeders around the farm.
(*eat it when they need it)
Grass Finished
What is grass finished? ~ a frequent question we get here on the farm.
Simply put, all of our cattle eat nothing but grass; fresh pasture when available and dry hay during the winter months. This includes the mother cows and the breeding bulls. Many farms feed grass during the early months of a calves life and feed grain during the last few months of a steers growth in order to put added weight and fat on the steer. This would be an example of grass fed and corn finished steer. Unlike others advertising "grass-fed" our cattle are never fed grain and never confined to a feed lot.
Cattle are ruminants and as such are not equipped to digest grains. The ingesting of grains can lead to a weakened immune system and can cause digestive upset. An all grass diet is as nature intended. As a result our cattle are much healthier than most feedlot beef and/or corn fed beef.
From Forbes Magazine 7/09
Forbes magazine rated grass fed beef as one of the top ten healthiest foods on earth; an excerpt from the article follows along with a link to the entire article.
Grass-Fed Meat
Meat from grass-fed cows has a much different fat profile than ordinary supermarket meat: high in omega-3s, lower in potentially harmful omega-6s and loaded with CLA, a kind of fat known for its anti-cancer activity. A superb source of protein and vitamin B12, it's also missing the antibiotics, steroids and hormones found in the meat that comes from feedlot farms.
