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> but the whole grass-fed beef market. 1) I'm sure you know, but "grass-fed" does not mean "grass-finished". Most of those "grass fed" farms still do a final
by bsder 3y ago
> but the whole grass-fed beef market.
1) I'm sure you know, but "grass-fed" does not mean "grass-finished".
Most of those "grass fed" farms still do a final bulk with corn (which, honestly, defeats the whole point of "grass-fed"). The monetary incentive to bulk on corn is simply massive (the animal winds up like 3x the weight).
2) The biggest problem for boutique farming (like "grass-finished") is the lack of consistent order volume.
The big farms amortize the price of feed, the price of butchering, etc. over a consistent and continual number of cows. Boutique farms suffer all these and gain none of the scaling.
I have tried to get my local "grass finished" to start marketing to all the "Froofy Diet Types" (for example: Gundry Anti-Lectin which is anti-Corn) which would dramatically increase their volume. Unfortunately, the political overlap between those who produce grass-fed cows and those who consume "Froofy Diets" tends to be a null set--creating a set of attendant problems.
- atticora 3y agoIn this case I know the rancher and the processor, and they both can confirm that these cattle are purely grass fed. Since this was a dry year, that cost a painful amount of alfalfa in addition to forage, which contributed a lot to the price. This is about the best life a stock animal can have. They are born and raised on the range. A couple of times in their life they are moved in a trailer from one section to another. And on the last day they go the processor and get put down very suddenly. So greater than 99.9% of their lives are spent on wild lands with little interference. Here's another way buying in bulk is different: The rancher texted me a picture of the cow I was getting. Safeway doesn't do that.
- bsder 3y ago> Since this was a dry year, that cost a painful amount of alfalfa in addition to forage, which contributed a lot to the price. Yeah, that's the problem with "grass finished". Corn is super cheap while grass and alfalfa can be expensive.