Environmental Benefits of Grass-fed Beef
- Minimal use of fossil fuels — cattle harvest their own feed and spread their own manure!
- Reduced disturbance from machinery benefits wildlife, especially ground-nesting birds
- Cleaner water — Grasslands have less run-off and soil erosion than cropland
- Rotationally-grazed pastures have more earthworms and diverse soil micro-organisms
Grass-fed Beef Farms Give Livestock a Better Life
- Cattle are born and raised on pasture — not feedlots and cement floored mega-barns, so they have less hoof and leg injuries, and rarely suffer the breathing problems and skin ailments that often afflict cattle kept indoors.
- Less flies and parasites because the herd is constantly moved to fresh grass and kept ahead of the flies and manure. Less time standing and sleeping in muddy barnyards!
- Cattle are free to choose from wide variety of natural forages and can self-medicate from herbal remedies growing in the pastures.
- Less stress — when cattle have room to roam and can enjoy the normal social behaviors inherent in herd animals, they are healthier and live longer.
- Calves are raised by their mothers (and aunts!), not fed milk replacer from bottles or buckets. This allows them to learn normal social behaviors of the herd.