To grain, or not to grain? That is the question.

Finished is the key word!!! No matter what the feed used cattle need to be finished properly to provide good beef for eating. You have to match a nutritious forage and a good quality bovine when both are at there proper growth stage to have a very good ''grass fed'' beef! Just because they are cattle confined to a diet of grass, it does not make them necessarily good or superior!

Farm = crops
Ranch = livestock

How about a Dairy FARM? And THAT is where I get my calves from. LOL

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We always get our beef in the fall, before they are on hay. I think that makes a difference. Pastured is better than hay. And yes, there are ranchers who feed exclusively corn. My neighbor does and his holstein steers are huge. They also have a huge amount of fat on them. I've never bought one.

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I had two steers on a program called Tend R Lean.
You used ONLY that mix grain product at a 10 to one ratio with corn and by the end of 12 months you were the other way around 10 Parts CORN to one part Tend R Lean. NO HAY, NO Pasture Just this Palletized mix and Corn.
http://www.tendrleen.com

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Depends on what you want from your meat.

Do you want to eat a cow that was improperly nourished? (Cows were *not* meant to eat grain no matter what you have been told). Or do you want to maximize the nutritional benefits of the beef, thus nourishing your body properly?

If you're all about taste and texture and don't make proper nutrition a priority-finish the cow on grain. If you are willing to learn to enjoy the grass-fed cow for what it is-properly nourished-or if you are raising kids, opt for the grass-fed/finished.

Maybe not exclusively grain, but you can bet your butt that feral cows in the wild will eat grain if they can get it, even if they have plenty of lush green grass to eat. And cows have been bred over time to do better on grain than in the past.

When I lived in Iowa I sometimes bought steaks from grass-fed beef.

It tasted just the same as the corn-finished beef, but it was leaner and so a person did not DARE overcook it! Since I never cared for beef fat I did not worry that the grass fed beef did not have fat around the edges.

I like stead, whether grass fed or corn fattened!

Totally agree, though I've never run across a feral cow.

That said, if I set a bowl of oatmeal down in front of my daughter beside a box of Twinkies, she's going for the Twinkies. That doesn't mean the Twinkies are the best choice for her though, you know?

And the cows of today have been bred differently. Because of that I struggle with what to feed my milk cow, as I don't want her on grain. Sure, they make quick work of McCrap, but that doesn't mean the cows are as healthy or offer as much nutrition just because they have been bred to eat the wrong stuff.

For the last three years or so, I've been able to eat grass finished beef. It isn't the same as grain finished. In general for grass finished beef, it will be older, (but not old cow), in the range of 30 months of age. Grass-fattened/finished beef can be just as marbled and grade out to prime just fine. But it doesn't happen as quickly as grain fed beef. The taste is generally stronger, and the fat, both cover and marbling, tend to be more yellow.

It is mostly a question of economics. If you can get a marketable product to the store in 16-18 months for grain fed beef, there can* be less cost, less risk, and more profit than older fat cattle. Fattening cattle on grain allows a smaller amount of ground to be used for finishing than the number of acres needed for grass-fattened/finished beef.

*it is a matter of higher cost for grain over a shorter time-frame, or a lower cost of grass over a longer time.

Check out the expectations for grading fat cattle. Why would prime and choice beef be allowed 30 months of age? Market acceptability has become market expectation. The consumer expects white fat, not yellow. The packers expects 800-900 pound carcasses that won't be too old. And so the production of beef has met expectations.

And just what is wrong with grain. It is the seed of the plant. Like I said, corn is different than grain. Wheat, barley, oats, rye. Also what about grass seed screenings made into pellets, after all grass has seed if let grow long enough. I understand the GMO thing, and the organic thing. Plenty of grass out there that is not organic....James

Trust me...you don't want to.

The cattle in our area are mostly open range from June into November, except the strict organic ranches. Those cows eat everything and anything as far as I can tell. They seem to love everything that grows in the ditches. And makes for a fun commute to work! Those older gals look at me like they're going to come after my car for being in their road!

Not only that, but with my grain mixture I have added vitamin pack and has plenty of fiber. And like the one I posted TendR Lean That is a Grain/Fiber Pellet. And with the corn you add with it the steers get plenty of the same as being out on pasture. And as Pastures get into the fall the grass changes significantly with the different types of grasses that grow late into the season.
And having a grain mix you KNOW they are getting the nutrients, and fiber needed for proper gut action.

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Mmmm....I'm getting hungry. Just give me meat, lol.

Grain fed or grass fed, I can cook it any way it needs to keep my tastebuds happy!

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Using the pasture based diet with whey we have no trouble achieving marbling without any corn. A lot of it has to do with genetics and then there is harvesting the animals at the right age.

I don't do beef but this is related - we raise pigs on pasture and we don't feed commercial hog feed/grain. Pasture is the vast majority of the our pigs's diet with the addition of some whey which adds lysine.

They also get a small amount of spent barley from a local beer brew pub but that is extremely low in energy - it's protein, fiber and minerals which is really for younger growers rather than the finishing ration you're discussing.

We also grow pumpkins, sunflowers, apples and such which add to their diet in those seasons. Sometimes we've raised them on just pasture - they grow a little slower and are leaner.

See: http://SugarMtnFarm.com/pigs

With our normal pastured pig diet we get about 0.75" of back fat which is perfect for our market - we sell weekly to stores, restaurants and individuals. Fat is good but buyers don't generally want there to be a lot of fat on the meat. Marbling is best but to get marbling generally means there is also having some back fat so there is a careful balance or you end up with a lot of 'waste' and low carcass yields.

Slaughtering at the right age is critical. Below 200 lbs live weight the pigs have little marbling. Above that they start to marble nicely. For the very best marbling and flavor I love our older sows at two years and up. We get them to finish weight at about six to eight months of age depending on the season - they grow more slowly in winter.

The flavor on pasture or even better pasture+whey is far better than corn/soy fed. The result is we haven't bought any pig food in about nine years. Might be ten years now. This is with about 400 pigs on our farm.

Much of the same applies to any livestock.

Cheers,

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in Vermont

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We only eat 100% grass fed. Beef that is finished on corn is flavorless and lacking in texture. Just like chicken raised in barns.

Had both and I agree. If you like grass fed beef, you'll love venison.

I keep mine 18-24 months before slaughter, and I supplement pasture/hay with a couple pounds each of 12% beef ration (hormone/AB free) every day from the day they will start eating it, which is usually around 4-5 months. The ration is a pellet blend of soybean meal, corn, oats, trace minerals, etc.

It's the best beef I've ever eaten, and folks that come for a meal remark how good it is.

So when shall the Mrs. & myself show up ?

Anytime you want. You know the way.