Grass Fed Beef Musings....

That was worth repeating!

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It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with the simple pleasures and to be cheerful and have courage when things go wrong.
Laura Ingalls Wilder

I have seen some articles that beef will finish and marble nicely on grass but it seems it takes a lot longer. Makes sense to me...just seems many won't take the time to let that happen given the cost constraints. And those who have suggested genetics can play into it seem to make sense to me.

I appreciate everyone's comments and thoughts. I think we all agree we want food that is healthy and nutritious without chemicals etc. And there are a lot of paths to that end.

For those of you running out to the grocery store for your grass finished beef, keep in mind it was likely shipped in from Uruguay. That's where most of the grass finished beef comes from. They have lush pastures that allow that. Sort of runs counter to the Buy Local ideal.
Businesses realize many seeking grass finished don't know anything about raising beef. I've seen " Pasture Raised" on common ordinary grain finished beef. Grass raised would be truthful, too. Naturally Raised isn't Organic, either.
Education is key. Issues are complex and the truth often isn't what we want it to be. Some avoid GMO and want no pesticides. But non-GMO is more likely to have insecticides than GMO. All cattle have bovine growth hormones, naturally. Some get added bovine growth hormones when they are young calves and it increases growth. But it is long gone before the cattle are ready for market. Antibiotics, if given at all, clears from the cattle's system long before it meets the butcher. Grass finished or grain finished is no guarantee that it hasn't had a hormone implant, gotten antibiotic injections or starved half its life.
Grass finished Bull meat is shipped to the US from New Zeeland and Australia in boxes so stores can make their ground beef less fatty.

Well we got our steer back from the butcher. So far have had Ribeye and sirloin. And I cant honestly remember having better steaks. We will definitley try the same alfalfa for two months finish. Just the right amount of marbleing and tender as can be.
And not just my oinion. 6 other very honest persons.

The lush grasslands of Uruguay are providing most of the grass finished beef sold here. To assume that grass fed is somehow going to be exposed to fewer insecticides or herbicides isn't based on reality. Buying grass finished beef runs counter to the buy-local ideal many strive for.

Far to many backyard farmers are choosing breeds that they think can thrive on natural grasses and brush. They are unskilled on hay selection and must buy whatever the local farmer is selling. Meeting the protein and nutrient needs of calves with grass alone is difficult for the inexperienced.
Vast lush pasturelands, high quality legume hay, cut at peak nutrient levels, cured in low humidity and properly stored, fed free choice will improve the quality of grass finished beef. Raised in marginal conditions will likely provide meat that you'd best eat at home and not share with others.

Despite many studies over many decades, there is no real health benefit and no environmental advantages to grass finished beef.

Since GMO alfalfa has been grown for several years, expect your grass fed beef could be fed GMO alfalfa. So, avoiding corn and soybean isn't any assurance that it will be non-GMO, unless you feed your own.

All I can say about grass vs grain is.. if it's on my plate, is cooked right, tastes good and isn't tough, it really makes no difference.. I'm too busy eating it to wonder how it was fed out..

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Never let your fear decide your fate!
Kein Mitleid für die Mehrheit

I have yet to eat a home raised steak that didn't taste better that store bought, but my experiences are with moderately grain fed.

A lot of people choose breeds that were designed to survive on marginal pasture. Then they provide marginal pasture, when possibly a little more pasture management and a more improved breed that has been selected for efficient feed conversion might actually be better use of resources. Choose cattle based on what people have been breeding them for recently, not for what the breed was supposed to be like 200 years ago. Remember, Holsteins were originally designed for a grass only system. Most of today's Holsteins would probably die in about a week of grass only management, while they are in production. Regardless of grass. By the same token a breed that was designed to scrounge through the lichens in a sub-alpine climate and not die, might today be more suited to being barn kept calf factories, because that is what is being selected for, most recently in their breeding history. Another big problem is pastures that are nowhere near big enough. So naturally,smaller pasture, smaller cow breed. Small doesn't always mean efficient.
If you are depending on the sticker to mean anything on storebought meat, lots of luck. Unless you are doing it yourself, or know and trust the person who is, there is no telling what history that meat may have.
But, if you raise your own, it won't matter if it is half coyote, and you fed it cedar boughs the last month, it will always taste better to you.

I won't argue which is healthier but I have a friend who raises grass-fed cattle & he will flat out tell his customers, "You have to cook this meat differently or it will be chewy". That's fine with me if that's what folks want. I've always preferred to finish mine on grain, mostly corn. However, a few years back my life changed, I moved to a small farm, and started raising mostly Lowline angus cattle. We always intended to finish one of our calves but seemed we always ended up selling the calves so went withou until we finally had a 4 year old heifer we'd raised that would never settle and calve. We decided we would butcher her - she had never been fed a grain diet, only hay and pasture. We thought about bringing her up to the barn and putting her on grain for a month or so but decided we'd 'bite the bullet' and butcher her right off the grass. Wow! We were so pleased - absolutely beautifully marbled, tender steaks, wonderful roasts and perfect hamburger! Off grass! So I believe there truly is something to the genetics of a beast as to whether it's any good as grass-fed or not. So next one we do will probably be the same way and hope for the same results. I do believe it's the Lowline angus genetics that gave such good grass finished beef though.