
Our cattle have continual
access to pasture even during winter months. They fatten according
to their own body make. We do not force them to get fat by feeding
them grain or other products. During winter months our cattle are
supplemented with alfalfa hay harvested from our pastures during the
summer months. Tami’s Grassfed Beef graze on a variety of
greens, including alfalfa, brome, clover, orchard grass, and a variety
of native grasses. Tami’s Grassfed Beef is “pasture
raised” rather than “pasture finished”. Our calves
are born on pasture and stay there until market.
Tami’s Grassfed Beef have a continual supply of fresh grasses
during growing season. We practice rotational grazing and move
the cattle every 24 to 36 hours to new pasture. This not only
promotes good health and a quality end product, but also promotes humane
treatment of the animals. If we need to move them to a new pasture
they have not been to before, we may need to use horses or dogs to
get them there. But we never use motorized vehicles to herd the
animals. Fear is not the way to get them into a paddock. Since
they are accustomed to being moved by humans, when it comes time to
process them, they are not fearful. The process is done very
humanely and before the animal even knows something is happening.
Grassfed
Beef is typically higher in the good fats, Omega 3 and CLA (conjugated
Linoleic acid), Vitamin E, beta-carotene, and lower in saturated fats and
calories. This
contradicts the notion that red meat is bad for you if you are eating grass
fed meat. Ruminant meat and dairy is one of the only natural known
sources of CLA. Synthetic forms are available, but logically not
utilized by the body as well as the natural source. There is little
or no chance of BSE or Mad Cow Disease when you are consuming grassfed beef as the animals and their parents were only fed grass for the duration of their life. No animal by-products were fed to the animal.
Grassfed Beef
is not only better for the consumer, but also for the farmer and environment. It
takes less fossil fuel to move the animals because we are not sending them
to a feedlot. They fatten right where they were born. There is
no need to bring in grain to feed the animals as they are not factory fed. The
animals are moved to their new meal by their own devices while fertilizing
the pastures naturally as they go.
There is a lot
of skill that comes with raising grassfed beef. It is more than just
putting your cattle on the pasture and letting them graze. We're currently
in the development of our genetics through adding the Devon breed into our cattle, trying to produce a better end product
for the consumer. We are always interested in your opinion of the meat
and trace it back genetically to the mother and father to determine improvements
that need to be made.
Our beef is hormone and anitbiotic free! If a steer happens to get sick, which is rare, we will give them a shot of a penicillin derivative medication. If they need more than two shots, we pull them out of the program.
We are very
interested in the nutritional value of the meat. This is first
and foremost in the production of Tami’s Grassfed Beef, but we
are also concerned with the eating experience of the consumer. We
want to know how you liked the beef. We are constantly improving
pastures and trying to work on genetics to make this so.