There are a lot of confusing claims printed on beef labels: Organic, Natural, Grass Fed, Grass Fed–Grain Finished, Prime, Choice, Select.
Our beef is sold under the Natural label, which legally means no hormones, no antibiotics, and minimally processed. We take that further.
On pasture, and what the "treat" is
Our beef is also grass fed. From April until fall, when your beef is delivered, our animals are on lush green pasture 24/7. We rotate them through multiple paddocks, giving the grass time to regrow. Many paddocks are clipped between early June and mid-July to control weeds and stimulate growth; the clippings stay on the ground as natural fertilizer for the soil life.
Starting around the first of August we visit each group daily with a treat — a mixture of either beet pulp and molasses or citrus pulp and molasses. The two are nutritionally very similar; we switch between them based on market price. The amount is about 5 to 8 percent of total daily dry matter intake. Everything else comes from grass.
Beet and citrus pulp are fiber sources, by-products of the sugar beet and citrus juice industries. They are not grains, and the rumen of a mature bovine is specifically designed to digest fiber; the rumen bacteria turn it into sugar. In late-season pasture, natural sugars retreat to the roots as plants prepare for dormancy, so this supplement serves two purposes: it provides additional sugars that help marble your beef, and it conditions the animals to regular, calm human contact. That second part matters more than people expect. Range animals with little human contact become uncomfortable around people, and that stress generates tremendous adrenaline at loading — and adrenaline absolutely makes tough beef.
Why not organic
Most people do not realize that organic beef can be raised in confinement feedlots much like conventional beef, and can be fattened on corn and other grains. The requirement is that the grain be certified organic — typically more than double the cost of conventional grain.
Our own objection is more specific: we do not believe parasites can be effectively controlled under the organic protocol. One of the most important things we can do for the animal and for the consumer is make sure every animal is free of worms and other parasites. Parasites compromise the immune system and drain nutrients essential to health and growth, and any animal on pasture — however good the land — carries some burden. Those life cycles have to be interrupted on a regular schedule.
USDA grading
Our beef is processed under USDA inspection, as stamped on every package, but it is not USDA graded. The grades — Prime, Choice, Select — are assigned under a separate, voluntary USDA program based principally on maturity and marbling. Custom-cut beef sold direct from a farm is typically ungraded, and we make no grade claims about ours.
Marbling, and a word about burger
If you have ever eaten venison, or entirely grass-finished beef, you may have noticed a metallic aftertaste. That taste comes from iron in the blood and is present in all meat — you only notice it in meat with no fat marbling, because fat masks it. Our burger carries enough fat for real flavor, and that flavor comes from the flavonoids in the grass the animals eat.
The bigger advantage of our hamburger is one you cannot get from a commercial vendor or a retail butcher shop: uniformity. Your hamburger comes only from your side of beef. Virtually all other hamburger, including commercial grass-fed, is ground in batches containing meat from multiple animals — often dozens. Our butcher cleans the grinder between sides, so every customer gets a truly custom grind.