making sense of grass-fed beef

Making Sense of Grass-fed Beef

Matthew H. Poore, PhD

Extension Ruminant Nutritionist

Department of Animal Science

North Carolina State University

Beef Cattle Production Cycle

Cow-Calf Production

Calf Weaning Replacement Heifer Development(on farm)

Stocker cattle production (500 to 800 lbs)

Feedlot phase (up to 1200 to 1400 lbs)

GEOFF BENSON, ARE, NCSU 3

Lasting changes in RELATIVE prices drive changes in production systems

Target MarketWhat do consumers want?

“Conventional freezer beef” “Natural” “Produced Without Hormones or Antibiotics “Lean” “Local” “Pasture-fed”

Forage only – ”Grass (Forage) Fed” Limited grain

Organic

Don’t slam your neighbor to try to develop your market!

Beef in general is a very safe food Consumer preferences will allow you

to develop your market Promote the positive aspects of your

product Don’t resort to misinforming the

consumer about the safety of conventional products

Some producers of grass-fed beef have told customers that conventional beef is from animals fed:

Chicken feathers Chewing gum/candy Cement Meal Made from Dead Animals

Byproducts are used, but usually in growing programs

Unusual byproducts are used at low levels supported by research and regulatory oversite

Conventional Beef

Finishing phase Confinement feedlots High grain levels/minimal roughage Steroid hormone implants Feed additives. Ionophores, antibiotics Currently most diets are comprised of

corn, distiller's grains, and alfalfa or corn silage as roughage

Sometimes other byproducts are fed

Work Closely With Your Processor

Understand expected yield and track your own yield: Live weight - 1100 lb ($1.25/lb) Carcass weight - 660 lb ($2.08/lb or $2.81/lb with

processing cost) Marketable product - 330 lb ($4.16/lb or $5.62/lb

with processing cost)

Yours may differ from this and only by careful record keeping can you improve your retail meat yield.

Grain-fedor

Grass-fedor

Something in between?

Characteristics of Grass-Finished Beef

Generally leaner No animal byproducts No GMOs are used CLA is higher Omega-3 fatty acids are higher Generally not as tender Different flavor (“off-flavor”)

Nutrient Profile of Grass-Fed and Conventional Ground Beef

Item Conventional Grass-fed

Total fat 14.7 12.8

Fatty Acids (% of Fat)

CLA 0.60 1.03

Omega-6 2.20 1.85

Omega-3 0.24 0.88

O-6:O-3 9.60 2.45

Leheska, et al., 2009Journal of Anim Sci 86:3575

Influence of Supplementing Grass-fed CattleWith 1% of Body Weight as Soyhulls

Item Grass only Grass + SH

Carcass wt, lb 398 614

Grade Standard Low Choice

Total Fat, % 2.6 4.9

Fatty Acids (% of Fat)

CLA 0.69 0.67

Omega-6 9.36 8.23

Omega-3 4.87 2.53

O-6:O-3 1.93 3.28

Baublits et al, 2004 Meat Sci. 68:297 & 72:100

What Influences Flavor of Grass-fed and Locally Finished Beef?

Item Millet only Grain on Millet Grain after Millet

ADG, lb/d 1.89 2.67 2.31

Final wt, lb 950 1020 1126

Carcass wt, lb 549 611 671

% choice 6 65 54

Backfat, in 0.20 0.40 0.46

Flavor

Roasted Beef 2.55 3.36 3.80

Gamey off-flavor 4.38 2.20 2.49

Bloodlike 2.60 3.26 4.00

Performance of steers finished in NC on grass only, with grain on grass or with 60 days in the feedlot following grass

Harvey, Mueller and Larick, 1990

Fescue +Item Millet Sudex CloverADG, lb/d 1.67 1.53 1.43Final wt, lb 879 857 882Carcass wt, lb 460 443 458% choice 100 33 67Backfat, in 0.34 0.25 0.25

FlavorCooked beef fat 4.54 4.04 4.55Gamey off-flavor 3.28 3.26 2.46Bloodlike 4.27 4.24 4.53

Influence of forage on growth, carcass characteristics and beef flavor

Harvey, Mueller and Larick, 1990

Consumer acceptability of beef from cattle finished on grain or various types of pasture

(Auburn)

Grain-finished steersGain in last 84 days ~ 3.3 lbs/dGrass-finished ~1.25 lb/d

Grass

Grain

Recent NCSU Research (Washburn, Poore, and Hansen)

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

2006 2007 Both Yrs

JX Pasture

JX Grain

Hot carcass weight by feeding regimen

Consumer Sensory Scores for Three Types of Beef (1 to 9 hedonic scale)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Flavor Juicy Tender Overall

Grass-finished

Grain-finished

Commercial CH

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

2006 2007 Both Yrs

JX Pasture

JX Grain

DI- Choice

Forced preference choice by taste panel

How Important is Breed of Cattle?

There is variation in carcass traits within all breeds

Breeds do vary in their ability to marble Charolais vs Angus

Fleshing ability on forage is a key trait for forage finishing systems

Cow size relative to marketable yield is an important consideration

What are the Econimics of a Local Finishing System?

Consider “Model” Systems Producers Might Use

Cow-calf with calf sold at weaning Cow-calf with calves weaned and sold after a 45 to 120

day preconditioning period Finishing system 1. Cow-calf with calves weaned and

then grown on forages up to 22 months of age. Finishing system 2. Cow-calf with calves weaned and

then grown on forages up to 19 months old and then finished on concentrate (2% bwt) for 60 days

Finishing system 3. Cow-calf with calves weaned and preconditioned to 11 months and then finished on concentrate (2% bwt) for 120 days

Lbs of Forage TDN (per Cow Unit) Needed in Various Beef Production Systems

Production systemLb TDN(forage)

Cow and calf to wean 5850

Cow and calf to 10 months (precon) 6477

Cow and calf to grain finish 7038

Cow and calf on grass, grain 60 d 9585

Cow and calf finish on grass only 11880

Enterprise Net Returns compared to Cows only, Oct. Calf Sold Live

ItemEnter- prise

Per Head Sold

Per lb live Sold

Beef cows Base Base Base

Forage finishing +$2,815 +$64 +5¢

60-day conc. feed +$2,866 +$65 +5¢

High concentrate feeding

-$4,246 -$97 -8¢

GEOFF BENSON, ARE, NCSU 28

Enterprise Net Returns compared to Cows only, March Calf Sold Live

ItemEnter- prise

Per Head Sold

Per lb live Sold

Beef cows Base Base Base

Forage finishing -$17 $0 0¢

60-day conc. feed +$5,907 +$134 +11¢

High concentrate feeding

+$1,432 +$33 +3¢

GEOFF BENSON, ARE, NCSU 29

Return From a Grass-Finishing System Depends on How You Price the Cattle

Returns calculated from Dr. Benson's Budgets

Commodity beef price ($85/cwt) - $290 per head

Common price point for Local Beef ($125/cwt) + $133 per head

Carefully Track Your Costs and Revenue if You are Economically

Motivated

Getting Started From the Beef Perspective

What is your current management level? Do you have a controlled breeding season Do you have a good health program Do you have a good forage program Do you wean and precondition your calves Are genetics uniform and in tune with the desired

market

Do you consume your own beef? Do you have the management ability and

desire to take on several new activities?

Questions We Need to Consider Is there a better breed or genetic type for grass-based

systems? What conditions lead to off-flavors beyond what anyone

desires? Do differences in nutrient content of grass-fed beef make a

significant difference in the context of a balanced diet? How does your forage management need to change to

support acceptable animal growth rates for finishing? How can you effectively work with your processor? How can you develop a marketing system that will allow

you to make it work?

What is Grass-Fed Beef??

100% Grass/Forage

or

Pasture-Finished/Natural with Strategic Concentrate Feeding