How to Grow Grass Fed Beef

Grass-fed cattle uses fewer resources than grain-fed beef.

Grass-fed beef uses fewer resources than grain fed beef, according to New Mexico University Extension Service. The average grain-fattened calf travels 3,000 miles between the time it is born, transported to the feedlot where it is fattened, moved to a processing plant for slaughter and then shipped to a grocery store. Grass-fed beef typically remains on one farm from birth to processing, and is marketed locally. In addition, the fat composition of grass-fed beef is healthier for humans, it has more vitamins and minerals and is less likely to be contaminated with E-coli bacteria than grain-fattened beef.

Things You'll Need

• Electric fencing
• Mineral block
• Hay

Instructions

1. Select pasture with a mix of grass and legumes. Examples of pasture grasses include fescue, reed canarygrass, Kentucky bluegrass and orchard grass. Examples of legumes are alfalfa, birdsfoot trefoil, alsike and red clover, and annual lespedeza. Pastures that contain a mixture of grasses and legumes provide higher levels of calcium, magnesium and protein than pastures containing only grass, according to Mother Earth News. If your pasture does not contain a variety of grasses and legumes, you can overseed the existing pasture without tilling up the existing plants.

2. Practice rotational grazing. Allow your cattle to graze on one section of the pasture until the grass is approximately 2 inches tall, and then move the cattle to a new section. Use electric fencing to divide existing pastures into smaller fields for rotational grazing. Rotational grazing allows the pasture to recover and grow while the cattle are on different sections of grass, which keeps the pastures healthy and cuts down on parasite infestations in the cattle.

3. Provide a mineral block in the field. It is possible to raise cattle without supplementing with grain, but it is important to provide them with a mineral supplement to ensure they remain healthy. One example of illness from lack of supplementation is grass tetany, a condition that develops when the cattle's calcium-magnesium ratios are out of balance. A well-fertilized pasture often has high levels of calcium. Without supplemental magnesium, cattle can develop grass tetany. Symptoms include rapid breathing, excessive salivation, an awkward gait and a high temperature. Untreated, the animal can collapse and die within six hours.

4. Prepare for cold weather. Grass-fed cattle require supplemental feeding in most parts of the country for part of the year. The only supplemental feed acceptable for grass-fed cattle is hay, so it is important to have access to quality hay during the cold months while the grass is dormant. In the summer, you may need to feed supplemental hay if lack of rain slows pasture regrowth.

Tips & Warnings

• The average steer being raised for meat requires 21 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of meat, according to Mother Earth News. The disadvantage of grass-fed cattle is that they require more room to raise than grain-fattened cattle, which are raised on a feedlot in compact quarters.

References

• "Mother Earth News": Raising Grass-Fed Cattle. Molitor, Helen
• Ohio State University Extension: More Ohio Producers Exploring Grass-Fed Beef Production
• New Mexico State University: Raising Grass-Fed Beef Profitability on Arid Rangeland Focus of Workshop
• University of Missouri Extension: Pasture Grasses
• Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs: Pasture Legumes Identified

Resources

• University of Wisconsin Extension: Guide to Identifying Pasture Grasses
• University of Wisconsin Extension: Guide to Identifying Pasture Legumes