Better Beef

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In the time period before feedlots, the cattle that did well on grass were the medium-sized English breeds developed for what Nation calls “a quality eating experience.” These included Angus, Hereford, Shorthorn and the ruby red Devon. But those breeds got too fat on grain in feedlots — producers were then encouraged to switch to slower-to-fatten animals, which they got by crossbreeding the old English cattle to big sires from such Continental European breeds as Charolais and Chianina (Key-a-nee-nah).

The strategy worked, Nation says, to the point that today, the old, pre-grain-fed genetics that work best for grass-finished systems are “rare as hen’s teeth.”

Don Bixby of the ALBC adds to the old genetics list Galloways, which were important range cattle in the 19th and early 20th century, and the dual-purpose Red Polls, which he calls “great grazers.”

Today, Robinson says, the really serious producers are investing heavily in new breeding stock. “Some are even bringing it from New Zealand and other areas where cattle never went off grass. They’re also bringing in cattle from Japan that have a lot of marbling on their frames. Other than that, people are scouring the country for little pockets of old, ‘line-bred’ English cattle.” Line breeding is a type of inbreeding that concentrates on a given ancestor with the goal of focusing its genetic impact on the whole herd.

In addition, they’re working on improving their soil and establishing a chain of forage grasses that will move the availability of fresh grass-fed products beyond just a spring and early summer season. “The seasonality issue is a function of perennial grasses,” Nation says. “Grass in the spring and early summer, we can finish cattle on easily; the problem with the United States is the summers are hot. When the temperature goes above 87 degrees, that perennial grass lignifies (turns woody), and the average daily gains of the cattle collapse.

“So, we have to produce at least 1.7 pounds per day of weight gain in order to have the animals develop enough fat for good cooking and eating quality. What you have to do is plan a series of forages; you can’t do it with just one grass. You would use your base perennial rye or orchard grass with clover, then swap those cattle that didn’t finish to soybeans or green-leaf corn or millet, or some sort of annual that doesn’t lignify. (The annuals don’t lignify because they’re not trying to survive to the next season.) On grazed soybeans, the cattle will gain more than 2 pounds a day in summertime; on grazed corn (just eating the green leaves), we can get about 3 to 4 pounds a day.”

Argentinians produce grass-finished beef year-round with the same predictability as feedlot beef and the same finish, Nation says. They grow a forage chain of 70 percent perennials; 20 percent winter annuals and 10 percent summer annuals. The seasonal availability of grass-finished beef also can be moderated by freezing a fresh supply during spring and early summer; the trick to preserving quality in that meat is proper thawing — which means slowly, in the refrigerator.

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