Demand for Grass-Fed Beef Continues to Skyrocket

Experts predict that within the next decade, grass-fed beef could make up to 30 percent of the beef produced in the United States. This growth, however, will bring with it some substantial challenges.

The bulk of these challenges are likely to be related to foraging and grazing. That’s because it takes specialized forage finishers to achieve the high degree of finishes that consumers crave in their grass-fed beef. The type of forage finishers who can produce the type of fat and marbling consumers expect are relatively hard to find.

To finish cattle on pasture, cattle must always have the best feed. Unfortunately, many finishers give cattle pasture that is overly mature. This is a mistake because when pasture is overly mature, only about 25 percent of it is adequate to finish cattle.

In order to adequately finish cattle, it is important to move animals faster into the phase where the nutrient content and quality of pasture is at its highest. This is also when plant growth of pasture is most efficient.

The location and types of forages used for grazing are extremely important to consider when finishing cattle. High elevation and arid climates are ideal for perennial pastures. Effective management and irrigation allow for cattle finishing in these areas to take place throughout the entire growing season. In the Southeast, on the other hand, producers should consider warm season annuals along with irrigation to grow finishing-quality feeds throughout the season.

No matter where cattle are being finished, there are always time when quality forage will not be available. That is when direct-cut silage must be used. Therefore, this issue will need to be addressed as demand for grass-fed beef grows.

One option that has been bantered about is interregional marketing cooperatives which focuses production in different regions. This would allow for the grazing season in each area to be capitalized on.

Another issue with grass-fed beef is the amount of time it takes to finish cattle. For example, if you take an animal off of pasture and feed it antibiotics and corn, you can harvest it in about 12 months. Grass-fed cattle take about double that time.

No matter what the issues, producers are scrambling for ways to resolve them. After all, if consumers are willing to pay more for grass-fed beef, producers and retailers are going to work hard to provide that type of beef.