Why Grass-Fed and Finished Beef?
As a pioneer ranch that has been raising cattle in the Nicola Valley for over one hundred years, we maintain traditional values when it comes to our cattle to produce quality, natural, grass-fed and finished beef the way nature intended.
From calving until they reach maturity, our steers live in a multi-generational herd here at the ranch. They’re ranged on pastures without fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, and are free from growth hormones, steroids, antibiotics, and grain.
NUTRITION
Most commercial beef programs fatten weaned calves in feedlots with the heavy use of grains until they are slaughtered at around eighteen to twenty-four months old.
Our program believes that quality meat is produced from allowing cattle to live as nature intended, roaming across ranges with their herd until they are around thirty months old. This process ensures that our beef develops a healthy amount of intramuscular fat (marbling) and a exterior fat cover, while remaining lean and high in protein for your consumption.
Grass-fed and finished beef is not only more flavourful than it’s grain-fed counterparts, but there are nutritional differences as well. It’s higher in vitamins A, B1, B2, and E, which are ALL important for a healthy immune system. It’s higher in calcium, magnesium, and potassium which are important in muscle function, bone density, and the regulation of our circulatory system. Grass-fed and finished beef is also lower in total fat, higher in protein, and lower in calories.
One of the most important differences between grain-fed beef, and grass-fed and finished beef, is the abundance of fatty acids. The human body cannot synthesize our own omega-3’s and omega-6’s, and rely on our diet for our fatty acids requirements. Grass-fed and finished beef is not only higher in omega-3’s and omega-6’s, but the ratio of fatty acids allows for more effective utilization in our body. These goods fats play a vital role in nearly every system in our body.
ENVIRONMENT
Though nutritionally it is clear that grass-fed and finished beef is better for you than grain-fed beef, it is also better for the environment.
Grass-fed and finished cattle are often ranged on environments that are unsuitable for any other agricultural use. Their impact on these environments’ mimics that of the large ruminant herds of the past that once roamed in the same areas, which is necessary for the health of these rangelands. Cattle add organic matter back to the topsoil, which allows for better water retention, plant biodiversity, and animal habitats. Grazing cattle also prevent non-native plants and grasses from out competing native plants and grasses, which ensures a greater biodiversity than non-grazed environments.
Our choice in raising natural, grass-fed and finished beef, without any hormones, steroids, antibiotics, and grains, was a simple one. We want to produce the highest quality beef that is better not only for the cattle and environment, but for you and your family.