Farm Talk Tuesday-Corn Fed vs. Grass Fed

Farm Talk Tuesday question of the day..."What is the difference between grass fed and corn fed beef?"

The primary difference between grass-fed and grain-fed beef is that grass-fed beef are only fed grass and other forage crops, while grain-fed beef are eventually finished on some kind of grain (usually corn) ration.

Grain and grass-fed cattle both spend a significant part of their life either grazing on pasture/grasslands or eating some kind of dried forage, like hay.

At Gallagher Farms, we choose to grain finish our beef using a ration made up of corn that we grow right here in Piatt County, in addition to other byproducts that humans don't really have any other uses for. Basically, our cows are upcycling our garbage and turning it into high quality protein! When I say garbage, we're talking things like wet or dry distillers grains, soy hulls, etc. that cows actually enjoy eating.

We choose to grain finish our beef for a variety of reasons. Here are the big ones:

-Grain finishing typically results in superior marbling/flavor.

-We can get beef ready for market/processing sooner (and save $$ on inputs).

-We lower our carbon footprint by grain finishing.

We will not make any claims that one practice is better than the other. Each farmer/rancher does what makes the most sense for their operation and that can vary significantly from one farm to the next. We also won't claim that the end product is better for one practice or the other, as we all have different preferences when it comes to taste. We know some farmers who raise grass-fed beef and can hook you up if you'd like to try some!

Graphic Courtesy of BEEF. IT’S WHAT’S FOR DINNER.

Graphic courtesy of BEEF. IT’S WHAT’S FOR DINNER.