Spring Hill Farms

The demand for grass fed beef is on the rise. Research is proving out that it is healthier for you and even helps fight cancer.

It took a long time to convince me that grass fed beef was better for you than grain fed.

The research that is coming mainstream these days though will convince the most skeptical person.

It's hard to describe the feeling you have sitting down to dinner with those you love and knowing they are eating foods that help keep them healthy rather than making them sick. That is one of our main priorities here at Spring Hill Farms.

Diet and lifestyle are two of the foundational keys to health. Read Dr Mercola's latest blog about the benefits of grass fed beef. [More]

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What's the true cost per pound when buying a side of beef or whole beef? For instance you see advertised grass fed beef for say $3.99 pound hanging weight.

So you read a bit further and see that a side of beef (hanging weight) is typically around 350 lbs. For an explanation of hanging weight click here.

 

SO…

 

$3.99 x 350 lbs = $1,396.50 You know what the side costs but the question that arises is something like:

 

So what cuts do I get?

 

How much meat do I get?

 

That is the real question you need answered to decide if your getting a deal you're satisfied with.

Many consumers have never bought beef this way. They get their beef and find they ended up with 55% of the hanging weight.

So the true cost per pound looks like this:

350 lbs hanging weight which yields approximately 55% for a take home weight of  192.50 lbs.

$1,396.50 /192.50 lbs  = $7.25 per lb packed weight (take home weight).

Before you buy beef in bulk by the hanging weight:

Ask the farmer for these numbers! They should be keeping track of the yields from their beef. If they are not, and can't answer your questions, you have no way of knowing what your final cost per pound will be.

These numbers are averages and not all beef yields the same. If you don't know what the typical yield is from the farmer's beef it is a shot in the dark. Many farmers are not well versed in selling freezer beef so they aren't familiar with what the yield is from their beef.

I have seen many farmers who actually sell small amounts of beef at a lower price per pound than what it would cost to buy a side!  This tells me they probably have no idea what their beef yields.

Why would you buy a half a beef at $7.25 per pound packaged weight when you could buy smaller amounts say a 50 lb box for $6.00 per pound?

Using the example above you could buy the same beef in 50 lb boxes for $1,155.00 That’s a savings of $241.50 I'm sure you can find better use for that money!

If you purchase a side of beef from Spring Hill Farms we will show you the numbers on our beef. You will have a very good idea what your final cost per pound will be.

So before you purchase a side of beef, get the true cost per pound.

Until next time….

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Grass fed meat is leaner, denser, less watery, and far more flavorful than other meat.


This is affected by mainly two things:

•  The quality of the animal (breed and genetics)
• The quality of the forage (pasture quality or hay)

For instance some cattle don’t finish as well on grass as others do. That’s the genetics part. The forage could be hay if it’s winter or maybe less than optimal pasture, and cattle typically don’t finish as well on hay or nominal pasture as they would on lush, green, spring grass.

Keep this in mind as you cook grass fed beef. Over cook it and you'll be disappointed.

So you’re ready to cook a steak.

• Cook it low (heat)
• Cook it slow

Never cook a steak over medium rare. Rare is better. Anything over medium rare is going to be dry and tough. Think jerky, it’s not very good without some heavy spices. Which leads to another tip; do not salt a steak until after it’s cooked and on your plate. Salt pulls moisture out of the steak….not a good thing. You must have a meat thermometer! You can’t really get it right if you’re trying to go by what color the inside of the steak is. If you cut into it valuable juice escapes and leads to a drier steak.

You should use tongs instead of a fork to turn steaks. Same as above, your losing valuable juices every time you poke it with a fork.

The best temps for grass fed steaks are as follows:

120 to 140 degrees.

Once you get it to this temperature pull it off the heat and throw it on a plate and leave it sit for at least five minutes while the juices redistribute and it finishes cooking.

Follow these guidelines and you’ll be amazed at how delicious grass fed beef really can be!

Here's a printable copy of these tips.

 

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Herbivores have been under attack for centuries. Farmers and breeders have been doing everything in their power to convert them to grain.

As a result, we have made the majority of our cattle and goats dependent on a high grain diet in order to perform at the levels demanded.

In the case of commercial type cows, they finish in half the time and are ready for slaughter. Of course it comes with a price. Out of balance omega -3 and omega-6 ratios in the meat, and little if any CLA's in the fat.

Just as costly is the fact that good grass-fed genetics are almost non-existent as compared to commercial grade cattle.

Then to add insult to injury, along comes a farmer and hears all about 100 percent grass-fed, grass-finished beef. "This is the ticket!" he exclaims.

Off he goes to raise 100% grass-fed and finished beef. The only problem he discovers; it's one thing to throw some cattle out on grass, but a whole different deal to get them to finish on grass.

Many times he discovers this once his cows are hanging at the slaughter house on the rail.

Or worse yet when customers start calling and saying it's tough, or dry, or tastes funny etc.

The farmer has some choices at this point, upgrade his herd, go back to grain, or educate his customer about why his beef is different.

It seems many farmers are opting to educate the customer. I suppose some education is good seeing as how many people are not the best cooks I've ever seen. Over cooked beef of any kind is dry.

But the truth is as I have talked to farmers all over the country....much of the beef out there is not genetically capable of finishing on grass. 

That might not be exactly how they say it, but from what I can tell, that's the translation. Farmers usually say things like "well it's grass fed so it going to be dry." or very lean, or chewy.

Sometimes they say things like "the ground beef is out of this world."
So I asked about steaks and then we're back to "well now it's grass-fed...."

Come to think of it, I'm not sure who is actually having a dilemma:

• The herbivores - can't get along without grain.
  
• The Farmers - can't produce a good product on grass.
  
• The Consumers - can't figure out how you eat grass-fed beef.

Let me clear up the dilemma. Spring Hill Farms has 100 % grass-fed and finished beef that you can eat and enjoy it! For those of you who want data, our beef consistently grades choice to high choice and a yield grade of #1 or #2.

Cows can thrive on a 100% grass diet. Farmers can find genetics that will help them upgrade their herd. And consumers can find beef that is out of this world good tasting and tender with marbling. To top it off it's also loaded with all the health benefits of omega 3's, CLA's and all the other things yet to be discovered!

Until next time...

David