“Raising Food Fit To Eat and Teaching Others How To Do The Same.”

Grass-Fed vs Grass-Finished

Last week we discussed what a grass-fed animal should look like in the field. This week I would like to share some thoughts with you on the difference between grass-fed and grass-finished. I know that it sounds like they should be the same so please bear with me!
Most animals, even the ones in the confinement facilities start their life on the grass. They are usually born in the field or a barn depending on the time of year and spend the first six to eight months beside their mother. Then they are weaned and for the next couple months until they are a year old they eat grass/hay with usually some supplemental feed thrown in. Of course every farmer has his own system for his own operation, but the above scenario is fairly typical. At this point, the beeves are either sent to a confinement facility or they are kept/sold for raising on a grass-based operation.
A grass-fed animal can still be grain finished, meaning the fat that marbles the meat and the layer of fat on the outside is put there by corn and soy-based products. But it is still marketed as grass-fed, because it has been fed grass for a significant part of its life.
Whereas grass-finished means that the layer of fat and the marbling was put on that animal by grass alone. This is a far more complicated process, and requires not only good grass genetics but the trained eye of a good grazier. It 

requires lots of sugar in the grass and forage that the animal is eating, because just like for us it is the carbohydrates that really put the weight on.
So then a steer can be “grass-fed” but if it isn’t finished on grass as well then you are still likely to be getting some carcinogenic compounds in your “grass-fed” meat! Also as almost all corn products are GMO, then it is highly probable that you are getting GMO-tainted meat as well.
Again, every operation is slightly different, and almost all beeves are grass-fed at some time in their life. That is why it is important to know your farmer, and what the practices are that they apply on their farm. This is one reason that we encourage people to come out and get to know us, so they know what they are buying.
Next week, let’s look at the difference between grass-fed and grain-fed (from a confinement facility) and see which one is healthier for you. I think you will be surprised at the differences.

Grass-Fed vs Grass-Finished

I’ve been a Seed Stock producer of small to moderate Frame Score Cattle – for a living – since 1998. Karl E. Falster

PCC Influenced Red Angus & Hereford Bulls

“CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN” – PCC Influenced Red Angus & Hereford Bulls 

Four Questions to Ask – F.A.Q.

When I wrote our 1^st Falster Farm web site in 1999, a feature that got the most hits was F.A.Q. This quickly grew to cover a lot of questions and emails. Eventually, Nancy and I started posting to BEST EMAIL OF THE YEAR. Then Google changed their protocols and I had to change our web site, and eventually the F.A.Q. Blog got dropped.

I believe I’ve been asked about every question about cattle rearing and selling that can be asked, literally from the 4 corners of the earth. While I continue to be amazed at the redundancy of some questions, there are four that are; or, should be on the mind of everyone interested in buying Live-stock:

1. Can I see your cowherd? Read More
   Many of our customers, especially those off-shore, buy from Falster Farm without ever touring our pastures. They ask, can you send me a photo? Yes, we do send a current photo, even a video; and, the specific vita about that critter, which can include pedigree and photo of the parents and maybe grandparents. When the University of the Philippines started a breeding program to improve their indigenous cattle, Professor emeritus Cilleo Felix spent two days investigating the issue of our herd sires before selecting two of our bulls to put into that program. Frankly, he said, we want cattle that will get fat on grass alone. The cost of the bull goes forward into the history of the herd.  
2. What’s your culling program?Read More
   So many neophytes state “I’m just looking for a cheap cow or bull, maybe you have a cull to sell?” Bless your heart, we don’t sell culls except to the sale barn or the packing house. The means of selecting our breeding stock is stringent. Dr. Jan Bonsma of South Africa has studied cattle and their environment and realized that the bigger-is-better movement had caused cattle to genetically digress. Corn and supplements had been introduced as a fattening agent causing taste, texture and quality to plummet to an all-time low.  With the introduction of corn and supplements, sustainability was no longer a feasible option in cattle industry. No cow or bull gets a second chance here.   
3. Do your cows work for you, or do you work for your cows?Read More
   Are you producing cows with maintenance requirements that are too high to fit any environment – outside of a feedlot.

   Are you a rancher feeding more and more expensive hay and supplements. That program will keep you busy, frustrated and broke. I can predict a change in genetics will get your young cows to breed back without feeding any expensive hay or supplements, be genetically resistant to fly’s. Yes grandpa you can do it. You can produce cows that fit your environment – instead of artificially changing the environment to fit yours cows.

   To do this, purchase bulls with extremely low maintenance requirements.   Pharo Cattle Company has spent the last 30+ years producing ultra-low-maintenance cattle that can increase pounds and profit per acre in every environment they have been placed in. Falster Farm is populated with those “low input” high-profit genetics.  

4. Can I sell the offspring and make a profit? Read More
   If you are looking for a rural hobby that will pay for itself, or a means of increasing the return per acre of your farm or ranch, the predictable genetics of of our breeding program will work for you. We have a reproducible marketing program for the large or small producer. Just give us a call. 

The reason these questions are so important is because (from whomever you buy) you are investing in that seedstock producer’s genetics. Your cowherd will eventually resemble the cowherd that your seedstock producer has.

Are his cows the right body size and body type?   Before you buy, you need to know the difference between an easy-fleshing 4-frame cow and a lean, slab-sided 6-frame cow or bull. Most of today’s seedstock producers have 6 and 7-frame cows — “they eat a lot of groceries pard.”   Does he make excuses for his cows and give them a second chance?  Are his cows required to graze year-round with minimum inputs?

Are you just buying a bull? I asked grandpa this question one day. He said he always bought the most expensive bull he could buy because his calves always bring top dollar. Buying a registered bull that comes comes from a cattle cube supplemented line of breeding will be too expensive in the near and long term. His offspring will require as much supplements – or more.

Although most commercial cow-calf producers say they want efficient 1100 to 1200-pound cows that can wean 50% of their own weight without being pampered, supplemented, inoculated, calves pulled etc. —  they continue to buy bulls that were produced by 1400 to 2000-pound cows that must be pampered and supplemented with grain to stay in production.   It’s no wonder they are working so hard just to break even.

“It’s only in kill or be killed combat that is too late to make a clean break.” KE Falster

As a former Scout for 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, I can tell you, we ain’t talking about life or death, we’re just talking about money. If you want to change or improve your outcomes, change and improve your inputs. 

“Raising Food Fit To Eat, and Teaching Others how To Do The Same.” 

See Some Of Our Bulls.​

 

“Raising Food Fit To Eat and Teaching Others How To Do The Same.”

Happy New Year 2020

We live in such beauty, it’s a pity we don’t take the time to relax and enjoy it more often. It’s so fun to watch the stars fade away in the morning as the sky turns to gray and then the palest of peach colors spreading to a very light blue. Everything is frozen: the grass leaves, the water hoses, the metal gates, and my fingers. Fortunately, the water in all the deep water troughs is still liquid so I don’t have to break ice with my pitchfork.
The air has that crinkly crisp feel to it, if you know what I mean and is oh so fresh.
The sky is warming to a lovely pale blue, and as the sun rises it paints the dark trees a golden orange, starting at the tips of the trees’ fingers and slowly working its way to the roots. Then the sun touches the fields, and as you marvel at the transformation from darkness into light, it floods the pastures, sweeping over the cows and forming fingers of shadow that point towards the west.
Fog still hovers in the low spots endeavoring to keep the dales and 

hollows in its chilly grasp while over the ponds the mist rises joyfully to meet the new day.

The sun seems to take its own sweet time about getting up in the morning doesn’t it, but somehow, as you watch the light wake the world, and listen to the birds welcome the dayspring, you suddenly realize that it’s day, and you barely had time enough to enjoy it all.
What a wonderful way to meet the New Year: with the perfect dawn of a new day! There is such joy and hope in the beginning of things, isn’t there? And when the heat of the day hits us and everything tumbles around our ears, projects don’t go as planned and our hopes get bashed a little bit, remember what Scarlett said, “After all, tomorrow is another day.” I think that as long as God gives us dawn, spring, and new babies, there is always room for hope.

Have a wonderful New Year.