Why Grassfed?
Good For Your Health
A recent rigorous study conducted jointly by researchers at the USDA and Clemson University has confirmed and added to evidence that grass-fed beef is healthier for humans than grain-finished beef. Among their findings:
In comparison with grain-fed beef, grass-fed beef is
See SK Duckett et al., “Effects of winter stocker growth rate and finishing system on: III. Tissue proximate, fatty acid, vitamin and cholesterol content,” Journal of Animal Science, 2009, 87:2961-2970.
See also Luc Djousse et al., “Plasma and Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Incident Diabetes in Older Adults,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, July 2011.
A recent rigorous study conducted jointly by researchers at the USDA and Clemson University has confirmed and added to evidence that grass-fed beef is healthier for humans than grain-finished beef. Among their findings:
In comparison with grain-fed beef, grass-fed beef is
- lower in overall fat (thus calories, too)
- higher in Omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to be valuable in promoting heart health and preventing diabetes
- lower in harmful Omega-6 fatty acids
- higher in valuable vitamins and minerals, including vitamin E, the B vitamins thiamin and riboflavin, as well as calcium, potassium and magnesium
- higher in conjugated linoleic acids, or CLAs, which may have powerful cancer-fighting properties.
See SK Duckett et al., “Effects of winter stocker growth rate and finishing system on: III. Tissue proximate, fatty acid, vitamin and cholesterol content,” Journal of Animal Science, 2009, 87:2961-2970.
See also Luc Djousse et al., “Plasma and Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Incident Diabetes in Older Adults,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, July 2011.
Good for the Environment
Since we do not grow row crops, we do not need to use chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides on our land. We get rid of noxious weeds in our pastures by managing grazing and using our own muscle power rather than using chemicals. Our cattle supply plenty of fertilizer themselves, which we apply to the fields at appropriate times. This not only benefits the vitality of our soil, but prevents contributing to the major environmental problem of fertilizer and agricultural chemical runoff in our streams and water supply. Among other consequences, this contamination is the primary cause of massive dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico where oxygen levels are so low that life is impossible. The problem is accelerating, and the Gulf dead zone was as large as the size of Connecticut in 2017.
See Leslie Kaufman, Chemicals in Farm Runoff Rattle States on the Mississippi, New York Times, 6/2/11.
Actively managing our pastures and monitoring their condition also leads to prevention of erosion, which benefits the rivers and streams that run through our pastures as well as downstream water systems. Current research also indicates that managed grasslands may be significant in carbon sequestration.
A recent USDA study also suggests that grassfed cattle cause fewer greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants than grain finished cattle.
See "Putting Dairy Cows Out to Pasture: An Environmental Plus" Agricultural Research, May/June 2011.
Since we do not grow row crops, we do not need to use chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides on our land. We get rid of noxious weeds in our pastures by managing grazing and using our own muscle power rather than using chemicals. Our cattle supply plenty of fertilizer themselves, which we apply to the fields at appropriate times. This not only benefits the vitality of our soil, but prevents contributing to the major environmental problem of fertilizer and agricultural chemical runoff in our streams and water supply. Among other consequences, this contamination is the primary cause of massive dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico where oxygen levels are so low that life is impossible. The problem is accelerating, and the Gulf dead zone was as large as the size of Connecticut in 2017.
See Leslie Kaufman, Chemicals in Farm Runoff Rattle States on the Mississippi, New York Times, 6/2/11.
Actively managing our pastures and monitoring their condition also leads to prevention of erosion, which benefits the rivers and streams that run through our pastures as well as downstream water systems. Current research also indicates that managed grasslands may be significant in carbon sequestration.
A recent USDA study also suggests that grassfed cattle cause fewer greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants than grain finished cattle.
See "Putting Dairy Cows Out to Pasture: An Environmental Plus" Agricultural Research, May/June 2011.
Good for Taxpayers
Unlike most U.S. farmers, we accept no federal subsidies of any kind in the operation of our farm. The costs and risks we assume are entirely our own.
Haymaking at Plum River Farm
Despite the temptation to increase our farm's cash flow by raising row crops such as corn and soybeans, we have held to our decision to raise only hay on our cropland, thus avoiding the need for chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. We use the hay to feed our animals in the winter, knowing that they are ingesting only the nutritious grasses grown on our farm, even in the coldest, snowiest months of the year.
Good for the Animals
We work hard to provide our cattle with conditions in which they can grow and thrive throughout their lives. Calves stay with their mothers for at least 8 months, and we wean them gradually, allowing both time to adjust. Once weaned, our cattle eat only the nutritious grasses that their bodies digest most readily. This keeps them healthy and growing at a steady rate. Should any of our animals develop a bacterial infection, we would of course treat them with antibiotics, but we have no need to treat them otherwise, and we don't. They take longer to grow to marketable size eating only grasses than do grainfed cattle, but the results are worth it. When the animals are ready for processing, they travel just 15 miles to A.J.'s Lena Maid Meats, a small, award-winning, family-run, USDA certified facility, where they are dispatched quickly and with as little distress to the animal as possible.
Most cattle in this country have starkly different lives, with the greatest variation occurring in the last few months of their lives. Unless beef is specifically labeled as 100% grassfed, grass finished, or pasture finished, the animal almost certainly spent its last months fattening up in a feedlot eating grain, flank to flank with other cattle. Since bacteria thrive under these conditions, and since the cattle are eating food to which their bodies are not adapted, feedlots routinely dose them with antibiotics. This practice has contributed to the development of drug resistant bacteria. In a recent study, researchers found that nearly half of the meat (37% of the beef) they purchased in supermarkets around the country, was contaminated with staphylococcus. Even worse, over half of the contaminated meat was infected with multidrug resistant staphylococcus aurea (MRSA.) Furthermore, feedlot conditions and the improper handling animals receive at some large slaughterhouses has provided one of the prime pathways for E. coli bacteria to enter our food supply.
See Andrew E Waters et al., Multidrug Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus in US Meat and Poultry, Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2011.
We work hard to provide our cattle with conditions in which they can grow and thrive throughout their lives. Calves stay with their mothers for at least 8 months, and we wean them gradually, allowing both time to adjust. Once weaned, our cattle eat only the nutritious grasses that their bodies digest most readily. This keeps them healthy and growing at a steady rate. Should any of our animals develop a bacterial infection, we would of course treat them with antibiotics, but we have no need to treat them otherwise, and we don't. They take longer to grow to marketable size eating only grasses than do grainfed cattle, but the results are worth it. When the animals are ready for processing, they travel just 15 miles to A.J.'s Lena Maid Meats, a small, award-winning, family-run, USDA certified facility, where they are dispatched quickly and with as little distress to the animal as possible.
Most cattle in this country have starkly different lives, with the greatest variation occurring in the last few months of their lives. Unless beef is specifically labeled as 100% grassfed, grass finished, or pasture finished, the animal almost certainly spent its last months fattening up in a feedlot eating grain, flank to flank with other cattle. Since bacteria thrive under these conditions, and since the cattle are eating food to which their bodies are not adapted, feedlots routinely dose them with antibiotics. This practice has contributed to the development of drug resistant bacteria. In a recent study, researchers found that nearly half of the meat (37% of the beef) they purchased in supermarkets around the country, was contaminated with staphylococcus. Even worse, over half of the contaminated meat was infected with multidrug resistant staphylococcus aurea (MRSA.) Furthermore, feedlot conditions and the improper handling animals receive at some large slaughterhouses has provided one of the prime pathways for E. coli bacteria to enter our food supply.
See Andrew E Waters et al., Multidrug Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus in US Meat and Poultry, Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2011.
For dozens of citations documenting the health and environmental benefits of feeding cattle a 100% grass diet, see http://www.eatwild.com