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What Makes Grass-Fed Beef Farms Different

By Marissa Velazquez


There was a time when grass-fed beef farms were a way of life. All cattle were raised grazing in natural pastures on large ranches and sold to meat packing companies for processing. Then in the 1950s things changed and cattle were taken to large enclosed lots where they were fed enhanced grain to fatten them up for processing. Between 1950 and 1980 virtually every source of cattle came from these lots.

Changing to large feed lots and feeding the cattle grain rather than grass helped to control the production and supply of meat in America. It helped neutralize some of the things that can change without notice in the cattle industry. The weather, grazing conditions and market pricing became stabilized within a very short period of time. Since that time, however, nutritional experts have determined that the switch from pasture to feed lots was not in the best interests of the health of consumers.

The amount of omega 3 fatty acids in pasture fed cattle is three to four times higher than what feed lot cattle can produce. As the omega 3 dropped in meat, coincidentally, the rate of heart disease and obesity has significantly risen in this country in the past forty years. There are cancer fighting acids, such as CLA that have also been diminished by conversion to feed lot raising of cattle.

Omega 3 fatty acids are not just good for your heart and blood pressure. They also help with neurological issues that can happen as we age or ones such as depression and anxiety that can happen at any age. In addition to omegas there is another acid called CLA in grazing cattle that can effectively fight cancer.

The longer the calf is left with its mother the better chance it has of filling out and developing into a full framed steer at market time. The extra year they spend raising calves on the farm makes all the difference in the taste and texture of the meat it produces. Instead of having fat layered on the meat it is finely marbled throughout the carcass.

It is an investment to decide to pasture graze your cattle. You have to be committed to devoting at least two years to your first herd of cattle you raise for sale. There are nearly two thousand farmers and ranchers on the American continent that have decided that it is better to spend the time and effort to create a better, healthier product for the market.

Animals kept in the feeding lots are under constant stress. The overcrowding and unsanitary conditions are just the beginning of the problems. Many cattle become ill from eating the grains and the additives that are put in them. Anti-biotic are added to counter the problems inherent to the lots and the amounts must increase as the tolerance rises in the animals. These medications are passed to people who also get a raised tolerance to the medications through consumption of the meat.

These farmers are not called organic farmers. They are a cut above organic. The farmers who raise these cattle must rotate their fields on a regular basis to ensure that there is no over grazing. The cattle are raised in a calm, stress free environment that encourages some of the best tasting meat found anywhere in the country. On grass-fed beef farms the main goal is producing the purest form of meat to the customer.




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