The stress thing is way overblown. Having had game animals that were harvested with a single shot, caught unawares compared to animals that were harvested after being chased by a pack of hounds most of the day. Also farm animals harvested in the most humane circumstances possible, those harvested when things didn't go as planned, and those that were downright mercy killings after unfortunate circumstances in which an attempt to harvest meat was carried out in spite of those circumstances. Never been able to tell a difference. In fact, some of the extremely stressed animals have been some of the best tasting. Sped up the aging process was my theory.
That brings us to a huge factor in meat quality, and that is aging. The more the aging, the more tender and better flavor. Another huge factor is diet. Probably the biggest factor is growth plane. You catch an animal that is in the process of losing weight, it's going to be tough and taste bad. If it is actively gaining, it is going to taste better. A lot of grass fed beef operations find themselves in situations where the animals are stressed because they are running out of pasture, and they are losing fat. Cattle don't typically reach harvest weight in a single growing season. Pasture quality when a particular animal is harvested is going to play a huge part in customer satisfaction and customer retention. Lush spring grass that is mostly water and late winter hay is not going to promote the active gaining, nutritionally unstressed condition that promotes consistent quality. Neither is late summer drought. The cattle industry has been aware of these challenges for quite some time, and this is why commercially produced beef is grass fed and grain finished.
That brings us to a huge factor in meat quality, and that is aging. The more the aging, the more tender and better flavor. Another huge factor is diet. Probably the biggest factor is growth plane. You catch an animal that is in the process of losing weight, it's going to be tough and taste bad. If it is actively gaining, it is going to taste better. A lot of grass fed beef operations find themselves in situations where the animals are stressed because they are running out of pasture, and they are losing fat. Cattle don't typically reach harvest weight in a single growing season. Pasture quality when a particular animal is harvested is going to play a huge part in customer satisfaction and customer retention. Lush spring grass that is mostly water and late winter hay is not going to promote the active gaining, nutritionally unstressed condition that promotes consistent quality. Neither is late summer drought. The cattle industry has been aware of these challenges for quite some time, and this is why commercially produced beef is grass fed and grain finished.
