We get asked a lot of questions about our beef, our cattle, and our farming practices. We’ll answer the most frequently asked questions here. If you have a question that’s not on the list, feel free to contact us!
Is your beef organic?
We are not ‘certified’ organic, but we follow organic practices in the way we raise our cattle. We believe in being transparent with our customers, and that knowing your farmer and their farming practices is more meaningful than a label on a product.
What does grass-finished mean?
Labels and terms can be confusing, such as “natural”, “pastured”, “grass-fed” and “grass-finished”. When we say “grass-finished”, we mean that our cattle spend their entire lives on pasture, and are never fed a grain ration, even during the finishing process. Some producers feed grain during this time period to encourage marbling in beef and expedite finishing. We use a system of rotational grazing and great grasses to get great marbling in our beef, without feeding grain. It takes longer to finish cattle strictly on grass, but we believe that great grass-finished flavor and proper marbling are worth waiting for!
Do you treat your cattle with antibiotics?
We do not treat our cattle with sub-therapeutic levels of antibiotics that some cattle are given to maintain their health. Occasionally we will have an animal that needs a dose of antibiotics to save their life. This is a very different situation than feeding cattle a daily dose of antibiotics in their feed. We would never withhold lifesaving medication from one of our animals, but if a cow is treated, they are removed from our beef program. That being said, when used according to label directions, and when correct withdrawal periods are followed, there should be no residual antibiotics present in beef from an animal that was treated with a therapeutic dose of antibiotics.
Are your cattle humanely raised?
The short answer is yes, but we love to talk about what a great life our cows live, so I’ll go into a little more detail. We raise our cattle in a way that we feel is as natural, and low-stress as possible. Our cattle spend their entire lives on pasture. They are never confined in a feed-lot situation, even during the finishing phase of their lives. They have fresh pasture and water throughout the entire growing season, and in the winter are supplemented with hay. We use pasture/natural cover breeding methods for our cows so we are handling them less frequently and allowing natural breeding behaviors to occur. Our cows calve on pasture, not confined in a barn or lot, and we plan our calving season around the time of year that we feel is best for the cows and calves. Our calves are allowed to spend extra time at their mama’s side before weaning. We choose to wean around 9 months of age as this is the time that self weaning is already beginning to occur. Our cattle are never isolated, except in extreme situations that benefit the health of the animal, and are always allowed to exhibit herd behaviors that are natural to cattle. We move our cattle from pasture to pasture on foot, quietly, without unnecessary running or yelling, to keep the herd calm and stress-free. When the day comes that our steers are ready to be processed, they are handled quietly and with respect. We use a USDA inspected processor that employs humane handling methods that align with our own, and we feel they treat our cattle in the best way possible.
As mentioned before, Josh is a veterinarian and we take the health of our cattle very seriously. We would never allow an animal to suffer from disease or sickness or for any other reason, and Josh uses his knowledge and expertise to care for our cattle in the best way possible. Please let us know if you have any questions about the way we raise our cattle. We love to share what we do and why we do it.
Are your cattle given growth hormones?
We never give our cattle growth hormones or steroids.
Where can I buy your beef?
Year round our beef can be ordered online, and picked up from our porch in Shelby County. From late spring to early fall, you can find us on Saturday mornings at the Eastwood Village Farmers Market. You can find more information about purchasing under the “shop” tab here on our website.
Do you ship your beef?
We are not currently shipping our beef.
What breed of cattle do you raise?
The majority of our cow herd are commercial, red angus cross cattle. Most of our commercial mama cows have been born and raised on our farm, aside from a few old gals that we’ve had from when we first started our herd! We use Red Angus bulls to breed to our commercial cows for our beef program, so most of our calves are actually majority Red Angus by genetics. We also run a small herd of Registered Red Angus cattle, and a few of these calves enter our beef program each year, with the rest going to be bulls or heifers for breeding.
Is all your beef raised on your farm? Or do you sell beef from other farmers?
All beef that we sell has been raised from birth to finish, by our family, on our farms.
Does grass-fed beef cook differently from grain-finished beef?
We find that grass-fed beef tends to cook more quickly than beef purchased from grocery stores. For more cooking tips and recipes, visit the “cook” tab on our website.
Do you process your beef yourself?
We are required to use a USDA inspected facility to process our beef for sale into retail cuts. We are fortunate to have a wonderful relationship with Trackside Butcher Shoppe. We feel comfortable with the way they humanely handle and harvest our livestock, and are pleased with the way they butcher and package our beef.
What is dry aging?
Dry aging is the process of hanging beef in a chilled environment, exposed to the air, for a period of days. The dry-aging process allows bacteria and enzyme breakdown to increase flavor and tenderness in the beef in a controlled way. Different producers have different preferences on length of aging, but studies performed by the University of Kentucky tell us that optimum flavor and tenderness occur when beef is aged for 14 days. All Bluegrass Beef is dry aged for 14 days before packaging.
Where are your farms located?
We have farms located in Shelby, Spencer, and Clark county, Kentucky.
