According to a recent study from Clemson University comparing grassfed and grainfed beef, the following 10 differences were detected.
Grassfed beef was:
1. Lower in total fat
2. Higher in beta-carotene
3. Higher in Vitamin E
4. Higher in B-vitamins and riboflavin
5. Higher in minerals calcium, magnesium and potassium
6. Higher in total omega-3 fatty acids
7. A healthier ration of omega-3 to omega-6 fats (1.65 v. 4.85)
8. Higher in CLA (conjugated linoliec acid - a potential cancer fighter)
9. Higher in vaccenic acid (a precursor to CLA)
10. Lower in saturated fats linked with heart disease

Effects of grass-feeding on the nutrient composition of beef

Just finished reading an article review by Lauren Gwin & Fred Martz on the effects of conventional and grass-feeding systems on the nutrient composition of beef. This review was based on an article by Leheska and published in Journal of Animal Science 86:3575-3585. The authors took ground beef and strip steaks from 15 grassfed beef producers from 13 different states on 3 different occasions. They were compared against grain fed beef from retail meat cases or university meat labs in 3 different regions on 3 different occasions. This paper contradicted prior data showing that grass-fed beef was lower in saturated fats and higher in monosaturated fats than grain fed beef. It also showed that grass-fed beef was leaner, had higher levels of Vitamin A and stearic acid which does not raise cholesterol in humans and may explain why the consumption of grass-fed beef tends to lower blood cholesterol.



Grassfed beef also had higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), omega 3 fats, and trans-vaccenic acid.



These reviewers felt that the data was biased toward grain fed beef because the samples of grain fed beef were on grain for an unspecified period of time. Beef on grain for more than 100 days will have a higher saturated fatty acid concentration than cattle on grain for less than 100 days. Since most beef consumed from retailers has been grain fed for more than 100 days the saturated fatty acid content tends to be higher. Thus if the cattle grain fed beef studies was on grain for less than 100 days, the fatty acid content may not have reflected what most consumers eat from retail grocers. One also wonders that in order to get published in this peer review journal the reviewers might have suggested toning down the grass-fed rhetoric in order to stay in line with conventional wisdom and grain fed dogma.

Here is a nice article on the health merits of grass fed beef.

http://Perfect10Abs.com/grass-fed-beef.html

I just read today that according to the USDA, in the first quarter of 2009, U.S. cattle ranchers received the smallshare of the consumer's beef dollar in 7 years. The price paid to U.S. cattle ranchers in May 2009 for raising a choice beef steer from birth to 18 months of age was approximately $1,059. Consumers who purchased choice beef after the packer slaughtered athe animal paid about $2,168 for the meat.

Further evidence that not only is locally raised, grass fed beef healthier but also cheaper.

Working with the NRCS EQIP Program

The NRCS office in Greene County has been very helpful in establishing our rotational grazing system. In October 2007, we applied for the EQIP program which establishes a cost sharing agreement on internal fencing, water lines and wells and grass seeding where the government pays for approximately half of the cost for those items. The NRCS staff is also very helpful in planning and implementing a grazing, fencing and watering system to fit the land.

Of course nothing is truly free and thus in exchange for the money we are required to fulfill the terms of the contract with them which includes a lot of record keeping and actually doing what we said we would do. Thus far things have worked well and we have received one payment within 3-4 weeks of submitting a bill to them. It is early but so far so good.

Fencing and the corral

Perhaps the funnest part of this endeavor so far has been designing the fencing and corral for Ozarks Natural Beef. We have seen our share of headaches but after all the planning it sure is rewarding to watch it take shape. The basic design was purchased from a rancher in Australia with some modifications taken from Temple Grandin's corral design book. The corral has an outer and inner wheel that can hold 100 head. The outer ring is connected to a crowding pen with two panels that rotate 360 degrees. The crowding pen then dumps into a squeeze chute with separate channels for potloads and stock trailers.

The outer and inner circles have a 2 inch rock base to prevent stress on the cattle from excessive mud. The crowding pen and squeeze chute areas are concrete with deep grooves to avoid slipping.

Our 120 acres is surrounded by 5 wire high tensile electric fence with 1 1/4 inch Powerflex fence posts. The pasture is divided into 3 paddocks with single wire electric fence. Along the two fence lines that divide the pasture in thirds, there are six water stations - three on each fence line. These water stations measure 20 x 20 feet with a geotextile base and a 6 inch base of 2" rock on top. In the middle is an 8 foot tractor tire with the sides cut out and a cement base. Each of these tractor tire waterers will hold around 500 gallons of water. Each is equipped with a float and hooked to an underground water line that was trenched alongside the fence line. We have cemented four corner posts around each water station to allow our temporary fence to be connected to it. This gives the cattle 360 degree access around each water station as we parcel off portions of each grazing area.

With six water stations in the 120 acres we are able to provide water at all times within 1000 feet of every cow. Additionally, the flexibility we have in watering allows us to parcel off the 120 acres in up to 38 grazing paddocks measuring from 1.5 to 4.5 acres with temporary fencing.

What, when, how and why

We needed to translate our passion and ambition for raising grass fed beef to a marketable product. Since the only necessary and sufficient element of any business is a customer we began looking for who our customer(s) might be. This was not as obvious as it would seem. For example there are feedlots looking for stocker cattle. Marketing to that customer with either a cow-calf operation or stocker feeding wasn't exactly in line with our ideals since what we wanted was to place a unique and healthier product on the dinner table of the end user. We discussed custom grazing or backgrounding cattle from other ranchers. Pursuing that customer also seemed unsatisfying as once again we couldn't control the end product. Perhaps the utlimate direct customers are the ones sitting directly around us. There are many accounts of grass farmers that market their meat products direct to consumers in their community. For us though, this did not make much sense. What we think we can be very good at, what we are passionate about, and what drives our economic engine is producing a high quality, grass finished beef carcass. What we are not as passionate about is advertising, marketing, logistics, and processing that carcass. For our purposes, that seemed like a job better left to those who did feel passionate about those things.

We then started looking at two companies that market grass finished beef directly to consumers - Tallgrass Beef and American Grassfed Beef. These two companies are within a reasonable distance from Springfield and are in the business of processing and marketing the product that we are passionate about producing. We contacted Tallgrass first. Initially what we heard sounded promising. People from that organization would help us find and select the right type of feeder cattle for our purposes and then buy them from us at a premium provided that the cattle met the live ultrasound data required by their customers. This seemed great until we started getting feedback from people who had dealt with them in the past. Apparently Tallgrass has promised more than they have been able to deliver in terms of a market for grass finished beef. As a result, two cow-calf producers that I spoke with had disassociated with Tallgrass and warned me to do the same.

I then spoke to Mark Whisnant from American Grassfed Beef. They run a very similar type of operation as Tallgrass and will help with finding, selecting, and growing grass fed cattle and then will purchase grass finished cattle for their abbatoir and customers. We will wait and see if they are able to deliver on their promises to do what Tallgrass apparently has not been able to do.