Why grass fed?

Why Naturally Grown Grass Fed is Better and Healthier…
In the past 30 years food from grocery stores has lost a lot of its hearty flavour and wholesome health. Why is that? Food producers have to make a living on declining profits and they mass produce food at the lowest possible prices.  I don’t blame them. They have to compete for price.

Mass Production Needs Food Additives
Commercial cattle, the meat you can get in the grocery stores, is raised in huge feedlots on a high powered diet of corn and soy without adequate space for exercise. The conditions are so crowded that cattle are constantly exposed to parasites and diseases. They require supplementation of antibiotics, growth hormones, and minerals. To make some profit, cattle must be market ready in 16 months. The weight gain can be over 4 lbs per day! No wonder that this kind of meat doesn’t taste like it should. It lost its rich flavour and we aren’t sure how healthy this can be.

How Healthy Can This Beef Be?
To top it off, commercial cattle is crammed into trucks and shipped long distance to the meat packing plants. Once in the plant the animals are exhausted and in a panic. Meat from stressed animals does not tenderize well. During processing beef rarely gets hung long enough to allow for natural processes tenderizing the meat, because cold storage is expensive.

We Didn’t Want To Feed This Kind Of Meat To Our Children.
We raise our animals ethically, the way they naturally live. Outdoors in a small herd. They move all day foraging on grasses, legumes and herbs. This forage mix is rich in vitamins, nutrients and fibre to raise strong and healthy cattle. The calves nurse from the cows for about 8 months while they learn to take grass and hay. In winter they often chose to stay out in the snow and eat the hay we harvest from our fields.

 Fresh Grass and Hay – Scientifically Proven Healthier Beef.
We ask our butcher to hang the beef extra long to cure and tenderize the meat naturally.  This "dry-ageing" preserves the flavour and reduces the water content of the meat. We don’t “corn feed” the cattle to boost additional fat growth. We want healthy nutrition, not profit.
Agriculture Canada's website states: http://www4.agr.gc.ca/AAFC-AAC/display-afficher.do?id=1266018174931&lang=eng:

"In addition to the nutrients associated with conventional beef, grass-fed beef contains higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA); both of which are beneficial to health. Emerging science suggests that CLA may have antioxidant and anticancer properties. Some preliminary studies have also found that CLA improves blood lipid profiles, which affects such things as heart health, cholesterol and diabetes, and may reduce body fat in animals and humans.

More research is needed to confirm these potential health benefits but initial results are promising."

We are not certified organic. We are too small with only a few cattle and chickens.
Organic certification is quite expensive and requires a lot of bureaucracy. We know what we feed and invite you to check us out. We eat what we produce and only sell what's left over. Come out and see for yourself. 

To your good health!

Ernst and Krista.