Would you buy this beef?

[kiara7]

I usually get grass-fed, pasture raised beef from one source, but I won't be able to get it for a while. I've found this local farm, but their website states this:

Our beef is first and foremost grass and hay (homegrown) fed. We
feed only enough supplemental feed to maximize efficient digestion.
Our calves are always on pasture and their primary diet is always
grass and/or hay. Supplemental feed is the most expensive feed they
can eat, so we only use the minimal amount necessary to produce a
quality product. Our beeves get about 5-10% of their diet from the
supplement.

Would you still buy it? I'm just not so sure about the supplements....it's better than the grocery store though.....

[cristeen]

If the only other option is grocery store, yes.

Is their feed organic or not (corn and soy)? If I could get organic at the grocery store, but this wasn't, then I'd have to think real hard.

[JustVanessa]

I would want to know what the supplemental feed is. My inlaws have a beef farm and the only food they get is pasture or home-grown hay year round and we live up in the north with a 6 month winter.

[Alyantavid]

Originally Posted by cristeen

If the only other option is grocery store, yes.

Is their feed organic or not (corn and soy)? If I could get organic at the grocery store, but this wasn't, then I'd have to think real hard.

Yeah that. I seriously wonder about how the supplemental feed "maximizes efficient digestion".

We feed grass and hay year round and ours do just fine, so I don't know.

[noobmom]

Originally Posted by kiara7

I usually get grass-fed, pasture raised beef from one source, but I won't be able to get it for a while. I've found this local farm, but their website states this:

Would you still buy it? I'm just not so sure about the supplements....it's better than the grocery store though.....

I know some small operations feed a bucket of grains to their animals when they come in at night as a way to keep them tame. It's more of a treat than anything else, but I could see it adding up to maybe 5% of their diet. If it's a local farm I'd probably go visit, take a look at the animals, and ask about the supplemental feed. Personally, I'd be ok with it assuming it doesn't include antibiotics and the animals looked healthy and had enough space to graze.

For those of you who keep your own cows, do you find there is an ideal time (taste-wise) to take the animals for processing? I'm new to grass-fed beef and I know there are variations in taste depending on a lot of factors. It seems to me the end of the summer would be the ideal time for slaughter, but I'm just guessing.

[annethcz]

Originally Posted by noobmom

I know some small operations feed a bucket of grains to their animals when they come in at night as a way to keep them tame. It's more of a treat than anything else, but I could see it adding up to maybe 5% of their diet. If it's a local farm I'd probably go visit, take a look at the animals, and ask about the supplemental feed. Personally, I'd be ok with it assuming it doesn't include antibiotics and the animals looked healthy and had enough space to graze.

This was the first thing I thought of also.

I *personally* would be okay with this practice, but I know that I'm not as strict as some other people are. To me, buying from a local farm that employs mostly 'natural' practices beats grocery store organic, hands down.

[JustVanessa]

Originally Posted by noobmom

For those of you who keep your own cows, do you find there is an ideal time (taste-wise) to take the animals for processing? I'm new to grass-fed beef and I know there are variations in taste depending on a lot of factors. It seems to me the end of the summer would be the ideal time for slaughter, but I'm just guessing.

Its a bit different here because we are so far north, but my inlaws calves are born in April and go to auction in October....usually around the 2nd weekend. So sixish months. Some farmers further south calve earlier than this, but we have so much snow here that they have to wait.

[Alyantavid]

For those of you who keep your own cows, do you find there is an ideal time (taste-wise) to take the animals for processing? I'm new to grass-fed beef and I know there are variations in taste depending on a lot of factors. It seems to me the end of the summer would be the ideal time for slaughter, but I'm just guessing.

Ours typically get done around 18 months. I don't know that that's the perfect time taste-wise, but ours are always really good. We typically butcher in the late summer/fall.

[mamadelbosque]

Yeah, I probably would. Especially if they are using it just as a sort of 'treat' to get them into the barn at night (this is what we do with our goats). And honestly, if it was that or supermarket beef (even supermarket "organic"), I'd definetly do it. Its the same sort of options I have with eggs around here - either I can buy "organic" from the supermarket or get local free-range eggs (for WAY cheaper!). Its not a hard choice, really. And I know why most folks don't have "organic" - cause' "organic" feed is darn near impossible to find around here, which is why our ducks & chickens don't eat it either (and as for why we don't just eat OUR eggs? Well, cause' one chickens been sitting on some for the past couple weeks and has hatched 5/6 so far, though one died... and the other chickens are apparently laying THEIR eggs up in the woods somewhere, and we have had ZERO success finding the darn things!! And our ducks are just like 2 odd months old, so no eggs from them, yet....)

[kiara7]

Thanks guys!

I bought it yesterday, we'll try cooking today and see. Yes, it is definetely much better than the store meat, no doubt,