Holstein for beef

[kfacres]

I've raised and eaten both grain fed and grass fed, some others have raised and some I have raised. The meat is just....different. The difference is pretty drastic at times, like the difference between the pale yolked grocery store egg and the flaming orange yolk of a free range hen.

My own meat has always been better (by better I mean more to what it is that I personally desire). I kill my meat younger.......chickens, goats, cattle, hogs.........I like 'em young. Most beef and the future goats are killed at around 10-11 months.

With both grass fed and grain fed, there is a huge difference in the quality (tenderness, texture, and flavor) of an 11 month old and an 18 month old.

I also cook the grass fed stuff a little different, it's cooked slower and gentler, and unless its a steak on the grill, its wet roasted in the end.

It's hard to kill anything grass fed as quickly as you would grain fed, anything... Most grassfed will take as much as 2x as long to 'finish'.

 

[jhm47]

I have attended many beef nutrition seminars, and it is now evident that cows that are fed lower protein rations during the early stages of pregnancy will have calves that are affected. The calves often will be less fertile, have less marbling, and grow more slowly. This is validated by several agriculture colleges which have studied thousands of cattle. I would also guess that calves that are denied adequate protein in utero would probably be lacking in carcass quality. So, while we can feed them well after their birth, we often have no control over what happened before they were born.

 

[lovinglife]

This has turned into a very interesting thread! I appreciate all the advice so much.