Grain-Fed, Grass-fed, or Organic Beef.
When you are looking at farm raised beef you will see the following terms: Grain-fed, Grass-Fed, and Organic Beef. It’s important to decide how you want your beef fed, because ultimately it can impact the taste of the meat. What do these terms mean in regard to the beef you are trying to purchase? Ultimately which one should you choose?
Grain-Fed Beef-
Grain fed beef is a term generally used to describe how the cow is finished before butchering. Around 3-6 months before the butcher date the farmer will start feeding the cow a combination of corn and soy, it is a formula that has been perfected throughout the last 80years. The rest of the cow’s life they have been fed grass, Hay (dried grass) and occasionally grain.
Farmers feed Grain throughout the year for a few reasons. During the winter months when the temperature reaches 32 degrees or below, grain helps the cows stay warm. Their bodies process the grain and it allows them to burn energy to stay warm without the cow losing weight. Another benefit to occasionally feeding grain is to train your cows to go to another pasture or into the Lot where you work the cows. To finish the cow (3-6 months prior to slaughter) on Grain is to make them naturally gain weight and grow quicker than grass fed beef.
The benefit of Finishing your cow as Grain-fed is some people feel it improves the taste of the beef. Feeding your cows Grain creates a greater marbling effect on the cuts of beef. It also makes the beef a little bit sweeter in taste.
The only Con that I have ever found for buying Grain-Fed or finished beef is if you are allergic to Corn. Some people if a corn allergy have reactions if they eat corn fed beef.
At the BLT Cattle Ranch we Grain-finish our own beef that we butcher for our family. We prefer the greater marbling affect. We have butchered only grass-fed and grain fed beef. BLT like’s how sweet the meat is.
Grass-Fed Beef-
Grass fed beef means that the cow has only been fed grass and forage in the pasture (Yes, the term seems obvious), they are even Grass-finished (3-6 months before the slaughter). Grass-fed is more natural for the cows. However, there is not as much marbling. They have also been given hay, literally cut and dried grass that has been rolled into a hay bale. I have never met a farmer that did not feed their cow’s hay in the winter. The nutrients are still the same as fresh grass.
The Negative to Grass fed is that some people feel it is harder to cook, because it is not as Juicy due to the lower Marbling effect in the meat. The solution to fixing this is putting a tablespoon of butter on the top of the meat and letting it soak in. However, that defeats the purpose of how healthy the beef is. The other con that I have heard that people feel Grass fed beef has a “gamier” taste.
Positive is due to the lower marbling count (fat count) the consensus is Grass-Fed beef is healthier. There are fewer calories per pound.
When we Grass-finished our cow, I would not describe it as “gamier”, it is not like deer meat or buffalo. It is not as sweet as corn-fed and does not have the added fat for the marbling. However, it still tasted a WHOLE lot better than store bought beef.
Organic Beef
If you are looking for Organic Beef make sure they have the USDA Certified Organic sticker on their packages. The reason you look for this, is that most grass-fed cows are organically fed. Since they only eat grass and forage that they find.
USDA Certified Organic Beef has certain requirements. The farmer is required to do the following:
- Fed 100% organic feed and Forage. This does not mean that Organic cows are only Fed Grass. There are Organic feed that farmers can feed their cows, they cannot include GMO.
- They are never administered hormones, and usually not antibiotics
- They farmer has to have raised living conditions; cow has to have access to graze on pastures (like most other cows)
- They can only use certified organic Spray to kill the weeds in the pasture.
Negative to organic is the price. You will be paying for the label “organic”. The farmers have a higher responsibility the feed and spray cost more. This type of beef will most likely not have the marbling like a grain-finished cow.
Make sure you ask the farmer how they finish their organic cow. As previously stated, the cow does not have to only be grass-fed. If you are looking for organic and grass fed, read the labels and make sure it says USDA Certified Grass-fed Organic.
In conclusion
All three types of beef are healthier than store bought beef. They all taste better; they will all cook differently than store bought beef (Check out the Beefiest book of Beef for cooking tips).
At the BLT Cattle Ranch we are not Certified organic. We finish the cows out however they are ordered. IF you want grain-finished let us know, or if you want grass-finished. We only use the antibiotics that keep our cows healthy, they are given the best antibiotics. They are NEVER given hormones. We use the safest spray on our field (Read ‘Why Farmer’s spray their field’ for more information). We never give our cows anything that we would not want in their meat for our family to eat.
All our cows are fed grass, Hay, and grain in the winter. Like previously stated the grain is needed for the below freezing temperatures to keep our cow’s fat and sassy throughout the winter. If our cows have babies on the ground it helps the mommas produce milk that will keep the babies warm. Giving your cows Grain in the winter is not like grain-finishing them. Finishing them is where they are majority fed grain. In the winter 1 50lb bag of grain is fed to 20 cows.
Pick the type of beef that works best for your family. Buy local if you can (read ‘Why you should buy local beef’ for more information)