Howdy All -
The term "Grass-fed and Grass-finished" has special meaning at SonRise Ranch. Fortunately for us, Grass-fed and finished beef is rather unique and pretty hard to counterfeit, unlike the terms "All Natural" and "Organic" that can mean just about anything (I tell folks if they want Organic to go to Wal-Mart) - Grass fed and finished means that the beeves don't eat anything other than grass during the 26-28 months of existence for a butcher Steer, or 9 years of a mother Cow's life, exactly what they were designed to eat!
So, what does a real grass-fed ranch look like? Well, first, it doesn't look pretty! Grass-fed beef herds are a motley crew, mixed by age, color and sex. We don't breed for a registered bloodline, so our Cows, Steers and Heifers don't have a consistent color or breed like our purebred ranching neighbors.
We select and keep only beeves that display good grass performance, fast weight gain on a grass only diet and easy berthing - in short we don't care what breed those qualities result in. Kind of like America, success is based on performance, not color, background or religious preference.
Secondly, our fields look choppy, uneven and extremely varied by different levels of growth, as some grass was just grazed this morning, while other portions have been at rest for over 40 days. They are often littered with a variety of animals and their manure (we follow beef with hogs and chickens). For us to have enough grass for the herd we run, we must rapidly rotate our beeves, just like the great herds would have moved across the western plains in the days before fences, concrete walkways and Interstate five.
We do this by simulate predator pressure with electric fencing keeping the herd in a tight group. Every 24-36 hours our beeves get a new fresh patch of grass when we open the fence, move the water source and call them in with a "Come Cow" call that they know all too well.
This whole thing is called "Mob grazing", or Management Intensive Grazing (MIG). You may notice that the emphasis is on the word "management" and explains why it is very hard to counterfeit - it requires lots of work, but pays off with great herd performance. Trust me, it's a lot easier to toss them some old veggies, spent mash or brewers grain and call it "Green-fed" or "sustainable" because you recycled something... but doesn't result in true "Grass fed and finished beef" - that requires, care, planning and a lot of time spent watching your herd and learning from them - we still don't know everything about true bovine husbandry and have a lot to learn.
This week, I need to make room in our freezers for a beef harvest, so, now is the time to stock up on Pork and Lamb. Below is a coupon for 20% off any Pork or Lamb order over 100 bucks!
Thanks for supporting our Ranch.
Douglas Lindamood
Owner
SonRise Ranch (858) 909-0945 |