Grass finished or corn finished, Which do you like?

RW kansas hogs · #1 04/16/12, 07:26 PM

I'm not sure if this has been talked about on here but i couldnt find much in the archives about it.
Which do you prefer and why? grass finished or corn finished.

We have 3 holstien steers thar we moved to a rented 4 acre pasture that hasnt been used in over 5 years (lots of grass), 2 of the steers are 9 months old and the 3rd is going on 4 months old.
Me and my father went in togther on these steers so to speak, He paid for them and I had to bottle feed them, Wean them etc etc and then my family gets a steer for the freezer.
The man is tight wad, plain and simple

. After we moved the steers i mentioned that we could just take them to the meat locker in the fall, And my lord he got all puffy on me

, Blah blah blah about grass finished beef. I said well the grass is free so you dont have to pay to finish them off on corn you tight wad. Well that ened our day together rather fast lol

.
But any how whats the difference between the two?

Thanks people Tim

tinknal · #2 04/16/12, 07:30 PM

Been done to death, but here's my .02

Grain grain grain. Especially with Holsteins. They don't get "grass fat" like a beef steer will.

Gopher · #3 04/17/12, 07:31 AM

I would not grain feed because there are no grain farmers near me. So for me to buy grain, I would have to go 40 miles to a feed mill and buy 50 lb. bag of kernnel corn for $12. Cracked corn even more. I am doing grass fed and finished because the best beef I have ever had was a grass fed jersey/holstein steer. But that animal was on good pasture with good soil. I even ate it w/o Heinz 57 sauce. But, imo, not all pasture is the same. My pasture is slowly improving with the rotational grazing and the multi species grazing. Just like most things in life, do what you think is best based on your situation and where you live. I know that I would never get into a "grass fed - grain fed" discussion with my father in law because he has grain fed animals from the sale barn all of his life. That is his paradigm and production model. He does it because he thinks it is right and every other way is wrong.

My advice to you is to grain them if you can. Putting them on 4 acres and then taking them to the locker is not good pasture or animal management and I think you will be dissapointed in the steaks and roasts. Good grassfed takes time and management of the soil, pasture, and animals.

lakeportfarms · #4 04/17/12, 10:03 AM

With three Holstein steers on 4 acres you'll be lucky if you have enough forage to keep them fed this summer, much less in the kind of condition you'll need to enjoy any steaks from.

IF you manage the pasture you might be able to make full use of it, but don't forget what goes in the front end also comes out the back end, and they won't eat any grass around those spots for some time. By the end of the summer, you'll have a lot areas grazed to dirt, and 2 foot high clumps that they won't touch.

Maria · #5 04/17/12, 10:39 AM

Grass fed produces meat with better ratios of omega 3 fatty acids and is much better for you. There's a lot more involved that's mentioned in the article below, but that's the decider for me.

Health Benefits of Grass Fed Beef

We only feed our cattle and sheep grass, hay and minerals and they do fine. They taste great and make store bought meat seem like tasteless mush.

goodhors · #6 04/17/12, 11:06 AM

We had more pasture than you, so we were able to feed grass or hay until about the last 6 weeks. For the last 6 weeks, we added a good sized helping of cracked corn, soybean meal, to his daily diet, along with grass.

So I would call ours "grain finished, grass raised" beef. He was, bar none, the BEST beef we ever ate. He got plenty of exercise, was a beef breed though, so meat had the fat worked thru all the meat fibers in all cuts.

Except for cutting meat off the bones, nothing from him needed a sharp knife to cut it for eating. Extremely flavorful, which was helped by hanging the carcass longer than usual. He hung 19 days if I remember right. Had to pay extra for that, but WORTH it!

My mother directed the grain feeding, hanging extra time, and taught me a lot with the great results. I was the "barn person" who fed as directed, took care of him. He was processed at almost 2 years, with that grass diet, probably 900# on the hoof. Family steer, not doing commercial or quantities of animals. She later said we should have sold him for top grade resturaunt beef, get the big bucks per pound. He sure was good eating.

genebo · #7 04/17/12, 01:26 PM

If you have access to enough grass and/or hay to do it, then grass fed beef is the way to go. Much healthier.

Grass fed beef that is poorly done is not good, though. It can be too lean to cook by conventional methods and may have a stronger taste than the store-bought (grain fed) beef you're used to.

Grass fed beef needs a lot of grass, water, minerals and time to be at it's best. Feedlots can feed crimped corn 24/7 and finish a steer in 17 months. A grass fed steer isn't at his best for another 10 months or so.

But if you can do it, you'll never go back to the commodity beef they sell in stores.

InvalidID · #8 04/17/12, 01:33 PM

I'm with the folks that say grass is better but only if you have good grass. I think it's important to remember you aren't raising cattle, you're growing grass. Good high quality grass makes good high quality beef. Weeds and dried up turf makes for tough foul flavored beef.

I have access to lot and LOTS of stale bread which I give to a steer getting ready for the freezer. About 4-5 weeks of 5lbs of bread a day plus all the grass he can eat makes for fantastic beef. If my pasture was as nice as I'd like it to be (give it time, give it time) I'd likely skip the bread.

ETA: I'm pretty new at this and have only slaughtered two of my own so far. One was straight grass and the other got some bread. The straight grass steer wasn't bad, but had a lot less fat.

tinknal · #9 04/17/12, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InvalidID

I have access to lot and LOTS of stale bread which I give to a steer getting ready for the freezer. About 4-5 weeks of 5lbs of bread a day plus all the grass he can eat makes for fantastic beef. If my pasture was as nice as I'd like it to be (give it time, give it time) I'd likely skip the bread.

E

This would not be "grass fed". Bread is grain. I would call this "grass finished", and agree it makes for the very best of beef. Ground cob corn at about 5 gallons a day and all the grass/hay they can eat for the last 60 to 90 days makes for the very best of beef.

I've had it all, from straight grass, to straight grain fed and nothing holds a candle to beef fed this way.

InvalidID · #10 04/17/12, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinknal

This would not be "grass fed". Bread is grain. I would call this "grass finished", and agree it makes for the very best of beef. Ground cob corn at about 5 gallons a day and all the grass/hay they can eat for the last 60 to 90 days makes for the very best of beef.

I've had it all, from straight grass, to straight grain fed and nothing holds a candle to beef fed this way.

I was thinking grass fed and bread finished. Either way it's really good beef and I'd recommend anyone that can finish this way try it. I don't know why but I think the bread finishes better than straight grain. Maybe it makes more fat? Maybe it adds a different flavor? I dunno, but it's GOOD.

RW kansas hogs · #11 04/17/12, 09:52 PM

Thanks everybody for the information and helpfull advise, We plan on spilting the pasture in half this wknd and do some rotational grazing, We have also decided to feed them a few pounds of corn/oats every day to keep them people freindly. Plus i plan on putting my goats down there as well to help with any weed problems.

We are kicking around the idea of running a few hogs in the pasture in early fall to clean up after the cows. They will be rotated as well untill there job is done.

springvalley · #12 04/17/12, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InvalidID

I was thinking grass fed and bread finished. Either way it's really good beef and I'd recommend anyone that can finish this way try it. I don't know why but I think the bread finishes better than straight grain. Maybe it makes more fat? Maybe it adds a different flavor? I dunno, but it's GOOD.

I think because it`s kinda like getting your hamburger and bun , all in one.

Hehe lol , sorry couldn`t help myself.

> Thanks Marc

InvalidID · #13 04/17/12, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by springvalley

I think because it`s kinda like getting your hamburger and bun , all in one.

Hehe lol , sorry couldn`t help myself.

> Thanks Marc

No worries. I always joke that I'm going to finish the turkeys on gravy...

francismilker · #14 04/19/12, 12:17 AM

I get the both of both worlds when finishing. I usually put them out grass and forget about em' until the freezer starts getting low or I feel like they're 600-700lbs. Then, I corral them and gradually work them on to full grain. Once I start to see them put some fat cover on their ribs I schedule and appt. with the butcher.

It does take a little longer this way but it's cheaper if you have ample grass.

haypoint · #15 04/19/12, 06:32 AM

This is a hot topic. People get very emotional over their beliefs.
Grass fed is leaner and therefore dryer and in my experience tougher. Grass fed, having less fat is healthier. Trimming the fat off meat and staying off the gravy is healthier, too.
A few years ago, Kroger tried grass fed beef. It had been in the news as the healthy choice, etc. They sold a lot of it, for a while. Their customer tracking card (Value Card) showed that out of the thousands upon thousands of sales, no one bought their grass fed beef twice. Sounds like people were willing to try it, but not willing to buy it again.
You should try it for yourself, but a whole steer is a lot for a sample.
Home raised beef is good. Perhaps in some cases, grass fed is better than cheap, old, store bought grain fed beef, perhaps.

All that aside, you will blow through that tiny pasture in about 6 weeks. Recently, hay prices have shot up. So, you will be looking for more pasture, buying lots of hay or supplementing the pasture with lots of grain. Don't forget they need a mineral block and lots of water.

Everyone that has eaten grass fed beef has an opinion. Some day, you will too.

mitchell3006 · #16 04/19/12, 12:03 PM

If you are worried about the manure problem feed them a little whole grain every day or so. Put a few chickens in the pasture with them and they will scatter the piles for you to get the grain. The chickens will also help to keep down some bugs. American games are probably the best variety to use for this since they can fly well to escape predators and will "naturalize" easily.

haypoint · #17 04/19/12, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mitchell3006

If you are worried about the manure problem feed them a little whole grain every day or so. Put a few chickens in the pasture with them and they will scatter the piles for you to get the grain. The chickens will also help to keep down some bugs. American games are probably the best variety to use for this since they can fly well to escape predators and will "naturalize" easily.

Great idea for equalizing the fertization of your field. However, by spreading it around, you just increase the size of the circle that the cattle won't eat.

Cliff · #18 04/19/12, 02:14 PM

For me it's totally about health. I've seen people suffering and dying in my work (ccu nurse) with heart disease for many years now.

Nature designed cows to eat grass. They are healthier and we are healthier when we eat them if they eat as nature intended. Their meat has a very unhealthy (for us) fatty acid profile if they are fed grain.

We crave sugar salt and fat. It used to serve a survival purpose. Now that we can pretty much eat what we want it is killing us. Of course people will choose fatty beef over lean. Just like most will choose sweets over fruit. We crave these things. Plus this is what americans are used to. But americans are keeling over by the millions with heart disease.

We have brains and discernment to look at the facts and choose to do what is healthy, to learn to "step out of the box" and learn new ways of doing things. Most of what we do is just out of habit anyway and staying stuck in the same rut is comfortable for most people.

sassafras manor · #19 04/19/12, 02:38 PM

I would have to disagree. We bring our cattle up to our "barn pasture" in the winter thru early spring and we allow our laying hen flock to free-range in the same pasture and they do an awesome job spreading the manure piles. Since they spread the piles so well, we do not need to drag that pasture and have a nice green lush pasture that our catle have kept eaten down uniformly. There are no circles or areas of tall grass that the cattle will not eat and I atribute that entirely to the fact that we do run our chickens with the cattle.

tinknal · #20 04/19/12, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cliff

F

We have brains and discernment to look at the facts and choose to do what is healthy, to learn to "step out of the box" and learn new ways of doing things. Most of what we do is just out of habit anyway and staying stuck in the same rut is comfortable for most people.

Passive aggressive much?