By: Pam Dierks, Dierks Farms Grass Fed Beef
You’ve made the healthy change to grass fed beef, congratulations! Now…are you asking the right questions about your grass fed beef? Some farms today do feed their cattle grass from birth but the last 90 days many farms will feed their cattle grain to help their marbling and poundage. It is important to ask your grass fed beef source if their cattle is also grass finished.
These are the factors that make your beef healthier by being grass fed and grass finished:
Grass Fed Beef health facts seem to revolve around heart health. Rekha Mankad, M.D., in an article on the Mayo Clinic site said that grass-fed beef is more likely to have:
- Less total fat
- Higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids
- More conjugated linoleic acid, a variety of fat that studies show may reduce risk of heart disease and certain cancers
- More vitamin E and other antioxidant vitamins
A study published in Pub Med on the different feeding systems for cattle, found a significantly higher level of omega-3 fatty acids in grass-fed beef, and far lower levels of trans fat than were found in grain-fed beef.
It is also important to ask at what weight and age the cattle are harvested at. The best tasting grass fed cattle are harvested at approximately 1000 pounds and at 2 years of age. This will give you delicious grass fed beef. Why not have healthy and delicious?
Remember to ask the all-important questions about your beef.
- Is your beef grass fed and grass finished?
- Does your beef only receive forage based feed during their life span?
- Do your cattle roam freely during their life?
- At what poundage and age do you harvest your cattle?
When you have yes answers to all of these questions, you know you have quality grass fed beef.
Dierks Farms is a fifth generation family farm and has raised grass fed cattle since 1881. Dierks Farms raises their cattle from birth to harvesting on an all forage based diet. Our cattle roam freely throughout our pastures. We administer no antibiotics or grain during our cattle’s life span. We raise cattle as God intended it to be. If you are looking for USDA Inspected and graded Choice grass fed beef, please visit us at www.dierksfarms.com. We’d love to make you part of our grass fed, grass finished family.