Angus Beef Wholesale 100% Pasture Raised

Find answers to common questions about our premium Angus beef, ensuring you have all the information needed to make the best choice for your restaurant.

What does grass-fed mean?

To be labeled grass-fed beef, the animals must eat grass for at least part of their lives. Some grass-fed beef is finished on grain. If you want 100% grass-fed beef, look for the additional words “grass-finished,” which means the animal ate nothing but grass and forage its entire lifetime.

Is grass-fed beef better than grain-fed beef?

Many chefs and meat experts agree that the best tasting grass-fed beef comes from cows raised on high-quality, multi-species grassland. But taste is subjective. Grain-fed beef develops more intramuscular marbling from being fattened on grains, often in feedlots. In the U.S. that is typically corn, which gives the meat a sweeter flavor profile that many consumers prefer. When properly husbanded by experienced farmers, beef raised free range on a diverse diet of grass and forage has a bolder, more complex taste and a higher nutrient value than grain-fed beef. Beef that is grass-fed and finished, such as Silver Fern Farms Angus for example, benefits from the diversity of live grasses that flourish in New Zealand’s vast pastures. Experienced farmers also make a difference. Silver Fern Farms is a co-op of 16,000 mostly small, meat-producing farms throughout New Zealand, which has a farming tradition that goes back many generations.

Is grass-fed beef the same as pasture-raised beef?

Not necessarily. Grass-fed describes what the animals eat. Pasture-raised describes where they live. All beef cattle start out eating grass. Some beef labeled “pasture-raised” may still be confined in feedlots for fattening on grain. Some pasture-raised beef consume grains naturally, like Irish Nature Beef. Its flavor benefits from a mix of fresh grasses, forage and grains, offering consumers the best of both worlds.