Grassfed to Finish: A Production Guide to Gourmet Grass-Finished Beef

by Allan Nation

A production guide to Gourmet Grass-Finished Beef Are you missing out on America's hottest farm product? Grass-finished beef is hot. So hot demand out paces supply. Educated consumers have learned about the health benefits - fighting heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity - and are clamoring for it. Producers are rushing to answer their cry, and in the process are harvesting beeves too early, using the wrong genetics, and grazing less than desirable pasture systems. The result is a mishmash of product that is all too frequently tough and flavorless, causing consumers to rethink their choices and give up on grassfed. Is grass-finished beef really best? Grassfed to Finish answers with a resounding YES! It shows producers who are willing to take the time and care required how to create a consistently tender, flavorful, gourmet grassfed product all year long. And grass-finished beef can be produced virtually everywhere in North America if adequate moisture is available. In the process gourmet grass-finished beef can earn between $600 and $1000 a head, or more while satisfying customers who will continue to choose gourmet grass-finished beef for life. In Grassfed to Finish you will learn the
u Why grain is totally unnecessary for a gourmet "killer" product and actually lowers quality.
u How heavy stockers differ from finishing-weight cattle and how to produce them.
u What it takes to have tender, flavorful meats, every time.
u How genetics can create a high value carcass yield.
u What researchers have learned about the health benefits of grassfed products.
u How to incorporate low-stress tactics for healthy, happy animals.
u How to turn cull cows into gourmet products.
u What educated, health-conscious consumers want and how to serve them. Grassfed to Finish details proven prototypes from Argentina, Ireland and New Zealand that will allow you to choose elements from all three to fit your area and business plan. It details a Forage Chain of grasses and legumes for year-around grazing. And it explains how grazing green-leaf corn plants create the highest consistent gains for finishing. The grass program explained here can be used equally well for replacement heifer development or mainstream stocker steers. However, the production and marketing foundation outlined in Grassfed to Finish will serve you well if you decide to expand production and make grassfed beef your primary enterprise. Those producers who invest the time and educational know-how to produce a gourmet-quality product will reap the highest profits in the grass-finished boom. Only knowledge will separate the exceptional from the "good enough." Come, believe, learn, practice and prosper.

Genres: Agriculture

304 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2005

Reviews

[Josiah Garber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is excellent. If you are finishing grass-fed beef and haven't read it, you should. Or don't read it and my beef will be tastier than yours. ;-)

Josiah Garber - The Farming Podcast

[Brad Belschner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grassfed beef isn't supposed to be chewy and lean. It's suppose to be TENDER, MARBLED, and flavourful. This book is a practical manual on how to accomplish that goal. Getting good results on grass is possible, but it's no easy task. Tender, marbled beef requires very rapid weight gain, and grazing can only provide that if the pasture is high-quality, high-protein, and easily digestible. And of course, the genetics of the cow matters as well, etc. This is a worthy goal, and a complex one. This book is probably most useful to those who are direct-marketing grassfed beef.

[Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even if you don't want to finish beef/lamb/goat/bison on grass year-round, this book is high quality. While Allan Nation is kind of a hokie writer, he knows his stuff. Everything from forage type and quality to cull cows for gourmet beef is covered. This dude is a cattle man supremo. I look forward to applying some of the farming practices at Longacre for year-round grazing.