DS Family Farm
Worried about what you are "really" eating? Have peace of mind with pasture grazed meats.
Spring Flowers 2014
Now that summer has arrived and in celebration of pollinator month, we would like to share with you photos of spring flowers 2014. This is a sample of some flowers we came across in our pastures this spring. Feel free to drop us a note if you would like to stop by for a walk through the pastures in search of native flowers, grasses, forbs, shrubs and trees. We manage cattle grazing to allow for as much diversity as possible. Some of the flowers you see below were trampled, stomped and grazed by our herd over the past few weeks. Some flowers have been safe behind our portable fences and allowed to produce more flowers for the future. Cows prefer a diverse diet just like we do, they eat more than just grass, that is why we call them “pasture grazed” and not just “grass-fed”.
Tap a photo for larger view:
Thanks to my co-workers at NRCS, Ritch and Shaun for their help with plant identification. Hope you have enjoyed these photos. If you think we have misidentified a plant or have any other comments, please share your thoughts.
Last Calf – 2014
Calving season ended June 4th this year with the last calf – 2014. Our herd of 8 cows all calved within 3 weeks.
Being born is hard work for both the cow and the calf. Both animals have a depressed immune system right at birthing. Under any conditions we feel it is important to keep the herd moving to fresh paddocks away from soiled areas to prevent potential disease issues. Calves will creep ahead to the freshest available grass and rest away from the herd. This is easy for them to do with our single wire poly fence. Calves simply walk under the fence while the larger herd members stay in the current paddock. Calves will rest often over the first few days of life away from the herd but close enough to get back to mom for a meal.
Feel free to contact us if you would like to visit the farm to view the new calves. This is a great time of year to visit with fresh grass growing and rambunctious calves bouncing around.
First Calves 2014
The first calves of 2014 have arrived. We found these two bull calves today. Enjoy the photos.
Calves are born with a summer hair coat. Calving this time of year closely matches our local wild animal birth schedule, such as deer.
What a miracle! God Is Great!
Animal Fat Hits Mainstream
OK, one more item on animal fat. Just had to share this article posted recently on The Wall Street Journal. Now that the information is hitting the mainstream media, I urge you to check our earlier post on Traditional Food and continue your own research.
The Questionable Link Between Saturated Fat and Heart Disease, The Wall Street Journal.
Fat is Essential to our health
Have you ever heard the term “essential fatty acids”? These are fats that we must consume in our diet to survive, we cannot manufacture these essential fats ourselves. Let’s take a brief look at two fatty acids that you have probably heard about in the news, omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids.
Omega 6 fatty acids are inflammatory where omega 3 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory. We need both components in our bodies to be healthy. The important thing to research is the ratio of these two types of fatty acids in our diet. Currently the average american diet is around 20 to 1 (20:1), that is 20 omega 6 fatty acids consumed to every 1 omega 3. It appears for best health the ratio should be somewhere around 1:1 to 5:1, if you pick the middle of this range, the optimum would be say 3:1 or three omega 6 fatty acids consumed for every one omega 3 consumed. WOW, we need to cut down on those inflammatory omega 6 fatty acids.
The 2004 Times Magazine article, “The Fires Within”, brought awareness to the problem with the American diet over consumption of omega 6 fatty acids (inflammatory). A benefit of consuming pasture raised animals is not in the omega 3 levels found in the meat, but note that pasture grazed beef will test around 2:1 versus grain-fed beef at 14:1 (omega 6 to omega 3 ratio). Why is this? Omega 6 fatty acids are from vegetable fat (oils). Conventional beef are eating grain, where much of the vegetable fat is stored by the plant. Consuming pasture grazed animals will help balance your diet’s omega 6 to 3 ratio, but the greatest gains in helping our diet on this issue would come from reducing consumption of omega 6 foods (vegetable oils), lard anyone?
Speaking of omega, the end of the greek alphabet, I think this post will end our discussion about FAT. Hopefully you will continue your own research into the facts about consuming animal fats, especially the benefits of consuming great tasting pasture grazed meat, dairy and eggs.
Conjugated Linoleic Acid – Power Fat
Most of us probably agree that fat contributes to the taste of beef. We can also appreciate that beef raised by grazing pasture for their entire lives will taste different from beef fattened in a dirt feed lot. But shouldn’t we avoid animal fat in our diet? Don’t be fooled by the negative press, a power packed fatty acid known as conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), has many health benefits. Cattle raised on forage only diets will have CLA levels three times (or more) higher than grain fed beef.
What kind of health benefits does CLA give us?
- Reduce risk of cancer
- Reduce risk of high blood pressure
- Reduce risk of high cholesterol
- Reduce risk of osteoporosis
- Reduce risk of cardiovascular disease
- Reduce inflammation
- Reduced body fat –
- Yes eating the right kind of fat reduces body fat, go figure.
Can our body manufacture CLA? No, you must consume this Power Fat known as CLA, and an excellent source of CLA is pasture grazed beef! When cattle live their lives on their natural diet, forages, the CLA levels in their meat are naturally high.
Can’t I just buy CLA in a bottle at my favorite health food store? Well, yes you may, but I believe our bodies better use nutrients, enzymes, vitamins etc through quality low processed food. Now relax and enjoy that pasture raised cut of beef.
What is the relationship between flavor and fat?
Much of the following information comes from Mark Schatzker, author of the book “Steak – One Man’s Search for the World’s Tastiest Piece of Beef“. Using information from Mark we will try to answer the question, “What is the relationship between flavor and fat”?
Previously we noted that the USDA grading system is based on visible carcass fat. When the grading system originated, almost all “fat” cattle were fattened on grass and forages, not on grain (corn). There are two kinds of fat in meat, what you can see is called “triglycerides” and fat at the cell level (what you cannot see) is known as “phospholipids”. Phospholipid fat is actually within the cell walls, also refered to as structural fat. Mark Schatzker describes a University test where all the triglyceride fat (marbling and trim) was removed from a piece of meat and prepared. The sample still tasted like beef. In another meat sample all phospholipid fat was extracted. When this piece was prepared it tasted like burnt hair. Obviously, the fat stored at the cell level contains the flavor we know as “beef”.
Luckily we can also “see” the potential for flavor stored at the cell level by observing the visible (triglyceride) fat. White or ivory colored fat, like the sample shown above, reflects a forage based diet. Conventional beef fat will tend to appear clear. So what is going on? Mark Schatzker thinks the rumen (special stomach found in cattle that handles grass and forage digestion) alters or changes the chemicals in pasture grass and expresses the altered plant chemicals as flavor in the beef.
Researching the topic a little further we turn to Mark Bader’s website. Mark Bader, President of Free Choice Enterprises, Ltd., explains that within the rumen, proteolytic bacteria (grain digesters) and cellulolytic bacteria (forage digesters) work side by side and compete for space. In a forage based diet, the cellulolytic bacteria thrive and carry out their work and acetic acid production increases. This increase in acetic acid promotes high solid fat (white marbling) in meat. When proteolytic bacteria dominate the rumen in a high grain (corn) diet, “greasy” fat accumulates over the muscle (clear fat).
Mark Bader comments confirm Mark Schatzker thoughts on the difference between bland tasting grain fed beef versus flavorful grass-fed beef. Mark Schatzker goes on to say we cannot stop at the diet of the animal. In addition to a forage based diet, just as important, is TIME. Immature fat (animals harvested young) will have a definite “off-flavor”. Harvesting mature animals is a must for excellent flavored meat.
Looking for excellent flavored beef? Look for animals raised primarily on a forage based diet and allowed to mature. Remember, when USDA setup the protocol for “PRIME” beef, cattle were harvested after they fully matured from a forage based diet. Consider seeking out beef raised like grandpa use to and they will taste like beef should.
Does beef flavor come from fat?
Our earlier post (The taste of beef), pointed out that the USDA beef grading system is based largely on visible carcass fat, the best grade known as Prime. When the grading system originated (1920s), almost all beef had a much higher percentage of grass in their diet and harvested at a much older age than beef today.
Today a conventionally raised (corn-fed) USDA Prime steak, in my opinion, has very little flavor. Maybe because almost every processed food product today contains CORN. We eat corn for breakfast, we drink corn during lunch, we eat corn at snack time, we drive home using corn in our vehicles, we have corn during our evening meal and finally relax in the evening with corn for desert. Corn corn corn, give me a break, but I digress.
If we have a Prime steak fattened primarily on grass and another Prime steak fattened primarily on corn and the USDA grades on visible fat, do they taste the same? Of course not, refer to the post A cow named grass-fed. Does beef flavor come from “fat”? Yes and No. Flavor is stored in fat (more in a future post) but the flavor actually comes from the diet of the animal. The animal is largely, what it eats. Remember also, you are largely what you eat and when you eat meat, you are what your meat eats.
Do you want to experience true flavor in the beef you consume? Find a local farmer and get to know their production practices. Then taste their beef and you will be experiencing the “flavor of their farm”. Maybe you will find some beef like grandpa use to raise.
The taste of beef
In a previous post (A cow named grass-fed) it was noted that animals raised with a significant part of their diet as grass will have a taste quite different from corn-fed (conventional) beef. Why is this? Doesn’t USDA Prime labeled beef mean “taste great”? One would think that the highest level of a grading system for beef would indicate better tasting beef.
Does the grading system take into account taste? Not really, maybe because it depends on individual preferences? I would argue that when the grading system was originally established in the 1920’s, PRIME beef did relate to great tasting (grass-fed) beef. The grading system is based largely on the amount of fat displayed by the carcass. In the 1920’s almost all beef was grass-fed or at least a large portion of their diet was grass. A PRIME animal was a fat grass-fed (grass fat) animal. The taste of beef in the 1920s was probably much different from the beef found in stores today.
So what happened to our beef in North America? With the advent of the grading system and the market now providing an incentive for beef considered PRIME, farmers adapted production to find the quickest and cheapest way to get cattle fat (remember, higher grades based on amount of visible fat). This production mode continues to this day. This model today usually involves:
- Early weaning of large framed calves implanted with growth hormones
- Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO)
- High startch diet – grains (corn)
- Short animal life span (harvested as early as 18 months), on grass for as little as 90 days
- Numerous inputs to maintain animal health, sometimes involving antibiotics and chemical wormers
Compare the above process to what a PRIME beef would have looked like in the 1920’s:
- Small framed calves raised on grass with their momma for up to 10 months
- Forages as a large part of the animals diet over the entire life of the animal
- Harvested at 2 years of age or older
- Little use of inputs such as antibiotics or chemical wormers
Folks today really only know the taste (or lack of taste) of corn-fed beef. When the original grading system was established, those folks really only knew the taste of grass-fed beef.
Does that mean that taste is related to fat? I will cover that in a future post.
So what do you think? What kind of beef would you rather consume comparing the two options above. The good news today, we have a choice between corn-fed beef or grass-fed beef. We encourage you to find a local farmer that you can visit with concerning their production practices.
A cow named grass-fed
Recently I came across an article on the Omaha World-Herald website that was part of their “Locally Grown” series on food trends. This 2012 article “Beef: Grass-fed vs. corn-fed” is an interesting read about two locally raised beef. I share it here for those of you researching local foods and grass-fed beef.
