I came back to farming in 2015 after taking a redundancy.. My education and career to that point had been in the Forest industry. I knew the basics from growing up on a farm  but I knew I would have to focus on the primary mode of production on the farm, i.e. grass production. My studies of the literature highlighted the similarity with forestry in the sigmoid curve that describes the growth of both grass and trees.

However YouTube “intervened” against me going down the “grass measurement” route, in favour of regenerative agriculture. I came across graziers like Joel Salatin, Greg Judy and Alan Savory who are leading the way in producing amazing beef in an environmentally sound manner without measuring grass….

That was it, I decided if I’m going to farm full time the only way that I could get there was by standing out and producing a premium product! That was 2015, I was still selling into the commodity market but I started to change my system with the eye towards going 100% grass-fed.

So is Grass-fed really much different? Well there is a lot of research on this subject, predominantly from dairy farming as constituents of the milk are measurable daily.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030216306671

The fat/protein content and quality are significantly improved while on pasture. These findings are reproduced with beef, however with dairy it is worth noting how little concentrate feeding it takes to do away with the nutritional benefits in favour of higher output.

With Beef farming, bringing animals to a level of condition suitable for slaughter on grass only is challenging! Can you imagine trying to get fat only on salad? That’s why most farmers (including myself in the past) use concentrates grain/soy to supplement the condition of the animals prior to slaughter. The current food standards says we cannot guarantee those supplements are GMO free.

As well as that I have set out to produce all my grass without synthetic fertilisers. Research has shown this to also increases the nutrient density of the food while it also is better for the environment.

Those are the main parameters where I can claim to going above and beyond producing a superior quality product.

The secondary effect of producing beef this way is that we are increasing biodiversity on our farm. Our grazing method, (management intensive grazing) leaves a lot of residue/waste behind which provides cover for ground nesting birds as well as feeding the soil life.

So why have I gone to all this trouble, do people really care? I believe they do and will even more-so!

They care because they are informed about the health benefits of food with naturally derived lipid and protein profiles. They care because of GMO’s in the alternative they are not informed or consulted on.

They care because they want their purchases to support their local community and environment. They care because they don’t blindly trust 3rd party “quality assurance” certifications.

So anyway thats a summary of my journey to 100% grass-Fed and why I think its becoming increasingly important. Looking forward to getting to know you and feeding your family.