You’ve heard ‘grass-fed’ on tv, online and in the grocery store. But what does that mean for cattle that aren’t grass-fed? Are they eating dead bugs? Tree bark? What is in their bellies if not grass?
Well, it’s not really that much of a mystery because nearly ALL cattle spend most of their lives grazing on grass or eating some type of forage (hay, silage etc). The difference between grass-finished and grain-finished cattle is what they eat the final 3-5 months of their life.
Nearly all cattle eat grass most of their life.
Grass-finished cattle will spend their whole life grazing and will generally reach slaughter weight (~1200-1300 lbs) at roughly 17-19 months of age. Grain-finished cattle, on the other hand, spend most of their lives (roughly 75%) on grass or eating hay but spend the last 3-5 months of their lives in a feedyard where they will eat a specially formulated ration of hay, grain, vitamins and minerals until they reach a slaughter weight of 1200-1300 lbs. However, grain-finished cattle consume feed with more energy and protein, so they are able to reach slaughter weight more quickly than grass-finished cattle, generally around 14-16 months of age. This can vary based on the producer’s decision on when to ship the cattle but it’s a good benchmark for those unfamiliar with the beef industry. Another difference between the two types of beef is the taste – grain-finished beef tastes different than grass-finished. Not necessarily better or worse but different. I have eaten A LOT of grain-finished beef but I have also done a fair bit of traveling around the world to places where cattle are strictly grass-finished. I prefer grain-finished beef, but I suppose that is what I have eaten 99.999% of the time so it’s what I’m used to – other consumers may prefer the grass-finished flavor. It’s all about your preference – just know that it’s all safe and healthy, regardless of how it was finished.
Now that you know that grass and hay are part of every cow’s diet (it has to be, cattle NEED forage for survival) let’s get down to the brass tacks of the cattle business. The beef. Here are the facts behind these two different, yet equally as nutritious and safe, types of beef for your plate.
Grass-Finished Beef
- Cattle spend their whole lives eating grass or forage
- Is an excellent source of 10 essential vitamins and nutrients (zinc, iron, protein, B6 & B12 – just to name a few)
- Half the fat in grass-finished beef is monounsaturated fat (the good kind like in avocados and olive oil)
- Can be organic, natural or conventionally produced
Grain-Finished Beef
- Cattle spend the majority of their lives eating grass or forage; when they arrive at the feedyard they continue eating hay and forage, along with grains.
- Is an excellent source of 10 essential vitamins and nutrients (zinc, iron, protein, B6 & B12 – just to name a few)
- Half the fat in grain-finished beef is monounsaturated fat (the good kind like in avocados and olive oil)
- Can be organic, natural or conventionally produced
- May include feedstuffs that are sourced locally from other food production industries (potato starch in Idaho, citrus pulp in Florida, pineapple bran in Hawaii). Click here to see food production by-products that are fed to cattle around the nation.
Beef at the bunk
So you see, the only significant way in which grass-finished beef and grain-finished beef differ is the last few months of their lives. I hope when it’s laid out this way, you can feel comfortable supporting all beef producers – whether they raise their cattle on grass/hay 100% of the time or if they choose to supplement their cattle with grain.
Now, as a reader request, we’re going to talk about how cattle grade. More specifically their quality grade and what that means to us as beef lovers and eaters.
When I say quality grade I’m talking about a grade given to the carcass of an animal, based on palatability of meat (tenderness, juiciness and flavor). Some of the factors that go into this decision are meat color, texture, maturity, firmness and the distribution of marbling. Ahhh, sweet marbling – aka intramuscular fat. A certified USDA meat grader (that is a real job) will evaluate the amount and distribution of the marbling in the ribeye muscle of a carcass to help determine the quality grade (because marbling is not the only factor, as I mentioned earlier).
There are three main quality grades you probably notice in the marketplace – prime, choice and select. There are class breakdowns within these grades but for clarity and length purposes, I’m only going to discuss the overall grade.
Prime beef is from young well-fed cattle. The meat has abundant marbling and is generally found in upscale restaurants and hotels (Morton’s, Del Frisco’s, Ruth’s Chris, etc). These roasts and steaks are great for grilling and are very tender and juicy.
Choice beef is still high quality but has less marbling than prime beef. This meat will be juicy and tender, very similar to prime beef, and is very good when grilled or dry-heat cooked.
Select beef is normally leaner (less marbling) than its fancier Choice and Prime cousins. It’s still fairly tender but may not be as juicy so I would highly recommend marinating it before cooking. Here’s a great one to try!
Beef that doesn’t fit into these grades is generally used to make processed products instead of being sold in the grocery store as a whole muscle cut. It’s still safe and good to eat, but it doesn’t have the marbling or other needed characteristics to launch it into the higher quality levels. Most of the time, prime and choice beef is from grain-finished cattle because grain gives most cattle that extra “oomph” they need to bump up their marbling. You can purchase grass-finished prime and choice beef, it’s just harder to find. And, like I said, both types can be organic or natural, and can be raised using antibiotics (responsibly) or growth hormones. Those tools are not limited to just one type of producer.
Now, ready for a steak? If you have more questions about the beef we eat, cattle or food in general, please let me know!
Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~
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Comments
19 responses to “If Cattle Aren’t Grass-Fed, What Are Farmers Feeding Them?!”
Grass finished cattle won’t necessarily spend their entire lives grazing. They can be finished in a feedlot using a high roughage ration including fiber sources other than grass/hay. I think it’s important people realize grass finished cattle can still come from a feedlot.
That is a fabulous point! That might be fodder for another blog post!
We raised one every couple of years. My dad used grain and sweet feed. The butcher always admitted to stealing a cut of steak for himself due to the marbling.
I wonder what the effect sweetfeed would have on the monosaturated fat? Would it change to the undesirable type due to the sugar content? (molasses)
You know, I’m not really sure about sweetfeed and its effects on the fat flavor. I will try to find out from one of my ruminant nutrition friends!
I think truthfully…. we need to address the CRAP that some cattle is fed/finished with….
Skittles? Sawdust? Chicken poop???
Hi Dani – yes some cattle are fed candy and other foods that don’t meet human-edible standards. Chicken litter is legal to feed in some states but it’s very rare. I have never ever heard of sawdust being fed to cattle, so I would love to have more info on that if you can share.
How are cattle slaughtered?
Hi Marilyn – I’m actually working on a post to answer your question right now! Come back soon!
Thanks very much for your post. I’m a city eater with rancher friends. I try to tell other city eaters who rant about factory farms, etc etc etc, that ALL cattle are “grass fed” until late in the game.
This brings up a point. Agriculturalists (is that a word?) don’t explain themselves enough. It’s understandable. You’re working too damn hard, and explanations don’t pay any bills. I can’t blame farmers, ranchers, and orchardists for not starting websites like this one that go through the basics.
However, with each new generation, the connection between producer and consumer grows weaker. City eaters love you, but they don’t know the basics because no one tells them the basics, and most of them don’t have relatives or friends who can tell them. So there are outlandish beliefs in the city about food.
Anyway, thanks for the article, and thanks for the site.
Thanks so much for your comment, Jake! I hope that I have helped clear up some misconceptions and maybe you will point your friends in the direction of my Facebook page and blog! If you have future ideas for blog content, please shoot me an email (bbuzzard13@gmail.com)!
I don’t have a problem with cows being either grass or grain feed. My problem is with the hormones and antibiotics. I’m in my 60’s have ate beef, like most US citizens almost my entire life. About my late 30’s early 40’s I started getting severe stomach pains, which always resulted in a trip to the Dr.’s. After many tests and writing down what, when and where I ate the Dr’s finally figured out that my pain was coming from beef that had been injected with antibiotics and hormones. So I stop buying beef in grocery stores and buying it in restaurants, I’d order something else. I started getting my meat from a local butcher who I knew got his beef from Ohio and Pa. Corn fed non-hormone or antibiotic injected beef. This stopped me having digestion problems with beef. Now I’ve moved to New Mexico from Ohio and the stores can’t tell me where their beef comes from. I found some hamburger at an Albertson’s in Las Cruses labeled Grass fed, non-hormone or antibiotic injected. Guess where it came from???? Australia! I had to stop buying beef in Ohio’s grocery stores because the beef came from Nebraska and Oklahoma, now I’m in the middle of the beef producing nation and I can’t find non-hormone, non antibiotic meat. Can you give me some advise or does it look like I’m going to have to give up on beef all together?
Hi CheriLea – you may be allergic to beef, that is entirely possible, but it is not because of the use of added-hormones or antibiotics. I am not a doctor but I’m sorry to tell you that your dr was wrong about beef with added-hormones and antibiotics. Beef that has added hormones has only 1.9 ng of estrogen – cabbage, potatoes, lettuce, soy – those products have hundreds of thousands of ng of estrogen. Antibiotics have withdrawal time and if there was residue in the meat, it would have been caught and disposed of by the USDA. As a rancher, we have to obey withdrawal times or we get kicked out of the system. I am sorry you are experiencing health problems with eating beef, but I can guarantee you it is not due to anything that a farmer or rancher does in raising the cattle for beef.
It’s not the beef that I’m allergic to. After years of trying to figure out what was causing me problems, it was at a farmers suggestion that I go to Amish Country to buy my beef. Which I have done for more than 20 years with not one problem. The minute I get ahold of something that has come from the Nebraska, Colorado area, my problem flairs up. There are no antibiotics, hormones or GMO feed in the beef raised by the Amish. My problem is not being able to find grass or corn fed from birth to slaughter out here. Which is very surprising.
Cheri, there are no antibiotics or hormones present in the meat in any beef you buy in any grocery store. As for the GMO-free feed, I am not sure what kind of seed the Amish in your area use but I live in a very large Amish/German Baptist/Mennonite community and I’m nearly certain that they use GMO seed – which is completely 100% safe and has 0 effect on the meat, animal or human health.
Great point Jamie! Labels are so convoluted anymore that consumers are confused. That’s why the best source is a farm you can visit or connect with other consumers that have knowledge of . Grass fed can mean anything and it adds a lot more variability than feedlot beef.
fortunately there are now lots and lots of local farms that sell directly to the consumer 🙂 And the good ones have plenty or trusted reviews.
Thanks for chiming in Chris – I just want to point out that just because beef isn’t local, doesn’t mean it’s bad or any less nutritious. Additionally, local beef can be grass-finished or grain-finished; organic or natural or conventional.
Ageed. I’m only saying for those that are worried about the trust factor, the best system is to meet a farmer, visit and build a relationship
That’s a fair point.
How do I go about trying to find a local Rancher that sells directly to the consumer?
You might try a farmer’s market near you for something like that. Or maybe Craigslist?