CATTLE COMPARISON: PASURE-RAISED, GRASS FED CATTLE VS FEEDLOT, GRAIN-FINISHED CATTLE

 

Grass fed beef is everywhere, from the grocery store to the restaurant menu. But what does “grass fed” actually mean? 

Grass fed beef became popular so quickly that many folks were told to think it is “better”, without actually knowing any details. However, when you are able to see what the industrial, conventional production model looks like, it becomes clear that grass fed beef is better for animals, the environment, and rural communities.

Unfortunately, the industrialized, centralized food system has obscured what commodity food production actually looks like. Here, we pull back the curtain to reveal the real difference between pasture-raised, grass fed cattle and feedlot, grain-finished cattle. 

What do these terms even mean?

Let’s start by clarifying some of the confusing vocabulary:

Conventional and Grain-Finished: All cattle in the United States start out on pasture, eating grass–technically, you could call all of this beef grass fed. However, after the calves are weaned (at less than a year old), conventionally-raised cattle are shipped to centralized feedlots known as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Here, they are fed grain for several months to fatten up quickly before slaughter. This is why you will typically see these conventional cattle referred to as grain-finished.

 

Grass fed and Pasture-Raised: At White Oak Pastures, we refer to our cattle as grass fed and pasture-raised. Our cattle eat grass, as they were intended to, and we do not feed them any grain. We make the “pasture-raised” distinction because unfortunately, a producer may use a confined feedlot model, and if they technically feed the cattle grasses and hay on that feedlot, they can still market their beef as grass fed. However, our grass fed beef comes from animals who were raised on pasture, free to express their instinctive behaviors. We are committed to the welfare of our animals, who were born to roam and graze.

Here are the main ways in which pasture-raised, grass fed model differs from conventional industrial agriculture:

 Cattle Environment

Typical commodity, corn-finished cattle are confined to feedlot operations where movement is limited. These animals have feed and water brought to them, which means they gain weight faster.

Grass fed cattle raised on strictly forage (grass) diets are very active. As pasture-raised animals move to forage and access water, they burn calories and fat. These animals take longer to gain weight and are slaughtered at an older age. This activity and diet means that grass fed beef tends to be leaner than commodity beef items.

 Cattle Diet

Conventional animals are “finished” by being fattened eating grains like corn, which is an unnatural diet high in carbohydrates. These animals may gain 5-6 pounds per day on the concentrated high-energy grain feed. Grains are digested faster than the cellulose cattle would get in a normal grazing diet, so these animals can eat more food and gain weight faster. The grain diet is tough on a ruminant’s digestive system, and they become unnaturally obese creatures with issues like ulcers, metabolic disorders, and suppressed immune systems. Conventional cattle are typically about 18 months old when they are slaughtered, but these young animals are literally already dying of obesity and sedentary lifestyle diseases.

Our cattle graze on our pastures, because ruminants have a four-part stomach designed to break down cellulose in forage (grass, pasture, hay). Our grass fed cattle gain weight at a natural rate, staying healthy and strong throughout their entire lives. If they were not slaughtered, they would live out the normal life expectancy of a cow, which is over 20 years of age.

Antibiotic Use

Conventional cattle are finished in confined feedlots, a high-risk environment for disease because of so many animals in close proximity. Industrial farmers preemptively treat herds with antibiotics, contributing to the likelihood of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. These antibiotics are also sometimes supplemented with synthetic vitamins and steroids to encourage unnaturally fast fattening.

Our cattle are kept in herds on pasture. They develop strong immune systems naturally, without the use of antibiotics. They also gain weight at a natural rate without supplements. Our cattle are Certified Grass fed by the American Grass fed Association, Certified Humane, and Certified EOV by the Savory Institute.

 Environmental Impact

The unnatural diet fed to conventional beef is not only unhealthy for their digestive systems, but these grains also come from industrial monoculture crop systems. Commodity grain is produced using industrial agriculture methods, like pesticides, chemical fertilizers, tillage, and GMOs. Conventional grain production further degrades soils and our environment. In addition, the “runoff” of enormous amounts of concentrated manure from CAFOs has been found to pollute neighboring ecosystems and waterways.

Our cattle are part of a multi-species, holistic grazing system that uses animal impact to actually support healthy, robust ecosystems. Managed grazing of grass fed cattle speeds up plant growth, encourages water percolation, aerates the soil, and adds nutrients back to the land through manure. Cattle grazing sets natural cycles in motion, improving the productivity of land even beyond what it would be as inactive pasture.

Third-party researchers have shown that our grass fed cattle actually sequester more carbon than they emit during their entire lifetimes. The way that we produce grass fed cattle is a model that can be used as a tool to help mitigate climate change, if consumers choose to support it.

Cattle Breeds

When CAFOs became widespread, a completely different type of animal was needed to be bred to be able to perform in this environment. Feedlot cattle need to be taller and “slab-sided” to be able to stand in a feedlot covered in mud, muck, and manure. Ranchers also looked for cattle with digestive systems more amenable to an unnatural diet dense with carbohydrate grains.

White Oak Pastures uses our own bulls to breed our own herd. We choose animals that can sustain healthy, fertile genetics that thrive in south Georgia pasture. Our cattle have shorter legs, thicker “spring rib” bodies, and bigger rumen. We’re selecting for livestock that are physically sound, vital, muscular, and possess "a great will to live". 

 Country of Origin

Unfortunately, because of weak USDA labeling rules, much of the grass fed beef you may find labeled as “Product of the USA” in the grocery store is not from the United States at all. As long as meat passes through a U.S.-based inspection plant, and/or is blended with meat from animals born and raised in the U.S., it can be labeled as “Product of the USA”. Cattle can be born, raised, and slaughtered in another country, then the meat is shipped to the United States and processed. It’s estimated that 75-80% of total U.S. grass fed beef sales by value are imported. This greenwashing is devastating for American ranchers.

Our cattle are raised on our pastures and slaughtered on our farm. With our grass fed beef, the consumer can know that the cattle were born, raised, and processed right here in south Georgia. And if you want to know more about the labeling of grass fed beef, there are many resources about the proposed U.S. Beef Integrity Act.

Waste

Conventional beef producers operate in a linear, extractive system. Cattle are brought to a processing plant and slaughtered for products that can be sold in a grocery store or wholesale. The rest of the animal is viewed as a waste product, with valuable nutrients sold to renderers. 

Our farm is committed to zero waste practices, meaning that if we can't sell something to customers, we still view it as part of a natural cycle. We turn some of the animal into handmade leather products, tallow products, or pet chews. If we cannot use a part of the animal, like blood and certain viscera, we compost it and return the nutrients to the soil in our pasture.

 

Slaughter

Conventional cattle are slaughtered in systems that give a traumatic end-of-life for the animals. They are first packed into large trucks to be transported long distances to centralized meatpacking plants. Most plants rely on mechanized slaughter methods for maximum speed of slaughter. Some plants can slaughter 400 head of cattle per HOUR. 

Our cattle are slaughtered and butchered by hand in our on-farm, zero-waste, USDA-inspected processing abattoir. The animals do not need to travel long distances to our on-farm processing plant. Our workers move the cattle by hand throughout the plant, running our abattoirs at what we call a humane rate of slaughter. These efforts prioritize the welfare of both our animals and our employees. Our red meat plant slaughters about 100 head of cattle per WEEK.

Worker Conditions

Conventional cattle are processed by meatpacking workers who receive low wages and operate in unsafe working conditions. These large, centralized meatpacking plants continue to destabilize our country’s food system and make it more fragile.

Our cattle are processed in our on-farm abattoir, providing local jobs that are kept in our community. With 165 employees, our farm is the largest private employer in one of the poorest counties, in one of the poorest states in the country. These opportunities power rural revival and help create a resilient food system.

 Resiliency

On April 27, 2020, a headline on CNN read a quote from a Tyson executive: “Food Supply Is Breaking” in the U.S. The consolidation of these multinational companies over decades leaves them incredibly fragile to any disruptions. There are fewer meatpacking plants than ever: just 50 plants process 98% of America’s meat supply. So when a dozen of the big processing plants close, their entire production system starts to break down. 

Our on-farm processing plant is designed to withstand shocks to the system, because we have built resiliency into our operations. Our pasture-raised animals are healthy enough that we can simply let them stay on pasture in the case of a delay in scheduled slaughter (and they don’t die of sedentary diseases in the meantime). Our two on-farm abattoirs are run at a humane rate of slaughter, valuing the life of both our livestock and our workers. Because of our size and business model, we are able to modify operations as needed to ensure the health and safety of our workers and community. 

In the words of Will Harris,

“The food production industry traded its resiliency for efficiency. It was a really bad swap. Especially for the animals, the environment, and rural America. To gain this efficiency, in order to produce obscenely cheap food, the cycles of nature were made to be linear. This allowed food production to be scaled up… To the point where it is too big to succeed.”

Thank you for reading the blog. If you are interested in some really great tasting and good for you beef, I would suggest contacting White Oak.  If you are interested in buying or selling rural property, please give The Rural KC Team-Keller Williams Realty Partners a call.  913-837-0760 or 913-837-0411.

 

TIPS FOR BUYING HUNTING PROPERTY

It’s the American dream of every hunter – to own their own slice of deer hunting heaven. It doesn’t matter how big or small it may be, owning a chunk of land is special and something we all dream about as sportsmen. Unfortunately, not enough of us act on our dreams and sadly, that’s ultimately what they remain . . . just dreams. How awesome would it be to earn extra income on a property you purchased for hunting? Pretty awesome if you ask me! You need to know how to find, evaluate, and buy your dream property. 

 Step 1: What’s your number? Before you even begin to search, you have to know what you can comfortably afford. Comfortably, being the operative word. Too many people think that because a bank gave them approval for a loan of $X amount, that they can afford it. This may be true if you aren’t spending any money on food, coffee, clothes, and other disposable items throughout the week, but in order to truly understand what you can afford, you need to do a deep dive into your monthly expenses. Learn where you can cut and save during the course of a month. If you don’t have the money, then you need to start saving or get creative. In order to increase the amount of land one could possibly afford, many people turn to partners, as was the case for me. Partners add income and resources that can be invaluable. Not only on the financial front, but also in terms of labor and pure enjoyment of the property. It’s no secret that hunting is an activity enjoyed most with others. Joining forces with a TRUSTED partner can be a great way to increase your funds and ultimately the amount of property you can afford. Once you figure out how much you (and your partners) can comfortably afford, you’ll then want to begin the process of finding a lender. 

 Step 2: Find a lender. Getting preapproved prior to writing up an offer on a property will save you a lot of headaches down the road. Not only will it confirm what you can afford, but it also makes the transaction process much smoother, and you won’t have to go through the excitement of getting an accepted offer only to later feel the pain if you find out you can’t get the financing. The preapproval process isn’t set in stone, but as long as you don’t go out and spend a ton of money on something else between the time you got preapproved and submitted the offer, you should be free and clear. You’ll want to start the preapproval process sooner than later because finding a lender for vacant land can be much more challenging than finding one for a house. Why? Vacant land is much riskier for lenders. It’s pretty unlikely that you’ll be able to get financing from your local bank on a piece of vacant, recreational land. You’ll likely have to work to find a lender who deals specifically with vacant recreational and farm land. Talk to your real estate agent to find out who they would recommend. In this Wired to Hunt Podcast, Dan Perez, owner of Whitetail Properties, discusses the best ways to find a lender for hunting land. Once you’re approved, let the shopping begin! 

Step 3: Find a Real Estate Agent. Finding a notable real estate professional (Rural KC-Keller Williams Partners) to represent you as the buyer can save you thousands in the end. When you’re looking for a real estate agent to represent you, it’s best to find one who knows a little something about hunting and hunting land. In most cases, you’ll likely end up using a different agent than that of which you bought your house, simply because they are probably not experienced in the world of hunting land. Reaching out to someone you know who has experience with hunting land or a land specialist from the likes of a hunting specific real estate company can be extremely beneficial. They’ll help make the process go smoothly and layout many important considerations along the way. 

Step 4: Start Shopping for Deer Hunting Property. Once you have the first three ducks in a row (Budget, Lender, Agent), you can start looking for your dream property. Just like searching for a house, you should lay out key features that are important to you and stick to them. List everything you want in order of importance to help guide you through the process of finding a property. Roughly 100 acres A 60/40 split between wooded and ag land In a “good” area. Huntability.  Good access to entire property Areas for food plots Good tree-stand trees. On top of those property features, you hope to obtain it below market value as a way to add immediate equity to our investment. Lay out your criteria and stick to them. The last thing you want to do is to overpay for a piece of land that isn’t up to your standards simply because you got excited about owning your own property. 

Step 5: Research and Evaluate This is a two-stage process. The first stage should begin while you’re looking for a property and happens on more of a county or regional level. Once you figure out where you’d like to own property, start talking to local wildlife biologists and conservation wardens to understand the local populations and other factors that may play into your decision to buy a certain hunting property. This is especially important if you’re looking at land in a new area or a couple hours from home. They will understand local factors much better than you.  Once you’ve got a target county or area you’d like to purchase land in, the next bit of research and evaluation comes when you are supremely interested in a property. This property should match the criteria you’ve outlined earlier fairly closely. If it doesn’t, you’re probably settling for something less than ideal, simply because you want to own hunting property so badly. Don’t be a settler. The first thing you should do when you find a property of interest is to pull it up on Google Earth and begin to understand the layout and the surrounding areas. Google Earth allows you to view the landscape at all levels which is key to understanding deer movement. It’s important to look at the entire neighborhood, not just the listed property. On average, the home range of any given deer is usually between 300 – 600 acres. . . that’s practically one square mile. I’d say that’s one of the biggest errors landowners and prospective buyers make – they only look between their property boundaries. Just because you’re stuck between legal boundaries doesn’t mean your hunting strategy should be. Follow the chunks of cover, find out how most deer will be travelling. Look for any surrounding ag fields that might serve as destination feeding fields. Travel corridors, food, drainages, terrain, and funnels are just a few things you should be looking at when you start to dissect the deer hunting potential on your property. Think outside the boundaries. Another important aspect to look into at this time is if the property is enrolled in any special government programs that may impact your decision to buy or do certain habitat improvements like CRP Lands or Managed Forests Lands. Once you’re comfortable with how things setup in the local area, start dissecting the property you hope to own. Fall back on your criteria: Is there good access? Good spots for food plots? Quality soil? Favorable terrain? etc. Pay more attention to the things you can’t change like the location, terrain, and accessibility; the other stuff you can gradually improve yourself like clearing areas for food plots or adding more trails. 

Step 6: Boots on the Ground. If you like what you saw while scouting from afar, it’s now time to physically walk the property. All the research you’ve done is pointing to this property being the one of your dreams, now get out there and confirm it. If you can, walk the property with the current owner or somebody that may have experience hunting the property. Ask a lot of questions! How’s the deer hunting? How are the neighbors? Are there trespassing issues? Poaching issues? These are all important questions to be asking. Not only will you be gaining extremely helpful insight, but you’ll also be building a good relationship with the current owner/seller. Aside from asking questions, your main objective is to scout the property during your visit. Is there a lot of deer sign? Quality food, cover, and water? What might need improvement? How much will the improvements cost? Are there good trees to hang stands in? Etc. etc. Creating a list of these types of questions before hand will help you dissect the property as you walk around. Make a list and check them off once you’ve confirmed whatever question it was you were asking. Be sure to write down any questions along the way. It’s way too easy to forget questions that may have arose during the tour as a result of you getting googly eyed over the thought of owning such a property. If you like what you see, it’s probably time to make an offer. 

Step 7: Make an Offer. This is a BIG step! So far it’s been all talk and no walk. The talk is cheap, but the offer is expensive! If you’ve confirmed your criteria, like what you see, and have adequate funds, you shouldn’t have too much to be worried about. One word of caution is to not let the excitement cloud reality. This is a big purchase and far too often, buyers end up convincing themselves that some problems may be minor, when in reality they are major all because they fell in love with the property. Even though you’ve got to jump on a great deal while you can, take some time to make sure it is, indeed, a great deal. Allow time for your emotions to settle, so that you can properly evaluate. Don’t make an impulse buy. Show it to an unbiased hunting buddy and see what they think. Congratulations, if you’ve made it this far and still like the property, it’s time to sign and submit your offer. Don’t be afraid to throw in a reasonably low offer, especially if it’s been sitting for a while. If the seller counters, you’ll know they are willing to come down. If they don’t, you’re likely not in their wheelhouse and they are unwilling to play games. Negotiation is an art, you’ve got to stick to your guns and call their bluff, all while hoping you don’t offend the seller or allow someone else to come sweeping in with a more attractive offer.

Step 8: Enjoy It! There’s nothing more exhilarating than getting a call from your realtor saying they accepted the offer. Once you make it through closing you can officially let the good times roll! Congratulations on achieving what was once just a dream. 

If you are currently looking for hunting ground, please give the Rural KC Team-Keller Williams Realty Partners a call. We can help. 913-837-0760 or 913-837-0411