your omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acid ratio

[hayray]

Very few business survive by trying to educate the customer so that they will buy your product. It takes alot of energy and money just to get your product known let alone having to convince people why they should use it. Most sucessful business thrive becuase they offer a product that the customer already wants. I looked up the ratio on Wikpedia and it is stated that the ratio of n3 to n4 omegas is 2:1 for grassfed and 4:1 for grain fed. The medical profession is just telling people not to eat beef, I hear that all the time. However the NCBA publishes reports that show that the majority of beef cuts are leaner than boneless chicken breast so some of the info. being pushed by the public is mis-leading.

 

[mnmtranching]

Grass feeding is fine, and where there's a market use it.

The only way the US can produce 100,000 head per day to meet domestic demand is though feedlots feeding a high percentage of grain in the ration. We can import all the commercial grade beef we need. It's the high quality grain fed stuff that is in demand here and for our beef exports.

 

[2/B or not 2/B]

I think this is an interesting topic and there are some good posts here. The ratio may be debatable but I do believe in the health benefits of grass fed beef over grain fed. In addition to omega-3 I believe it has higher GLA, gamma linoleic acid, another beneficial fatty acid. More fat may be more delicious, I won't argue with that, but maybe we don't all necessarily need the extra. I understand it takes longer to raise and requires more space but imo the amount of beef we have been raising and consuming may just not be sustainable, and now not economically feasible. I agree that the way to partially compensate for the slower gain on grassfed is to finish it earlier. True, you can't hang it as long if there is less fat covering, but if you are slaughtering it younger, it should be more tender anyway. True, the carcass and cuts will be smaller but for some people, the idea of super sizing everything (homes, vehicles, TV's) is becoming less practical and holding less appeal. We butchered a grass fed "baby beef" and he's delicious. Fits in our freezer nicely and has been providing us with nutritious, economical food throughout the year. Saying we may be raising and eating less beef in the future doesn't make me a beef hater btw, I just think that sometimes an industry experiences a boom and expects it to last forever when it can't. Hopefully in the future, there will still be room for grass fed beef and grain fed, surely consumers will demand some of both. Maybe we will just see a different balance than what we have right now.

 

[TexasBred]

Very few business survive by trying to educate the customer so that they will buy your product. It takes alot of energy and money just to get your product known let alone having to convince people why they should use it. Most sucessful business thrive becuase they offer a product that the customer already wants. I looked up the ratio on Wikpedia and it is stated that the ratio of n3 to n4 omegas is 2:1 for grassfed and 4:1 for grain fed. The medical profession is just telling people not to eat beef, I hear that all the time. However the NCBA publishes reports that show that the majority of beef cuts are leaner than boneless chicken breast so some of the info. being pushed by the public is mis-leading.

Actually the thriving business indoctrinate the public rather than educate. Make you think you can't do without it and everybody beats the door down for their products. Nothing but good marketing.

 

[Alberta farmer]

I'm no expert on peoples eating habits but it seems to me you don't see many 10 oz. or 12 oz. steaks anymore? Mostly 6 to 8 oz.?
I don't think I've ever eaten grass fed beef so don't know if it is poor or not, but it does seem that the trend is to put more weight on cattle with grass with a relatively shorter period on grain? The days when that 500 lb. feeder calf being fed a grain ration to slaughter is getting fairly rare.
Don't know how it is in the USA but in Alberta the guys who bought small calves and backgrounded them until they hit 800 lbs. has pretty well ended? Also the small(500 head or less) farmer-feeder has pretty well disappeared...its all 5000+ feedlots now.
Generally you can put weight on grass steers for about 40 cents a pound? I think they figure weight gain in a feedlot is about 75 cents a pound? Seems to me if those figures are true we should be moving toward grass gains instead of expensive feedlot gains?
If the consumer will accept grass fed it seems to me that is the way to go. Probably makes for a healthier animal too? Just my opinion.

 

[Alberta farmer]

Sorry, one more thought. If a feeder pig has a feed conversion rate of 3 to 1 and barley costs 7 cents a pound then it costs 21 cents to produce a pound of pork? If a chicken converts 2 to 1 the cost is 14 cents a pound of chicken? Feeder cattle are around 6 or 7 to 1 so cost of putting on a pound of beef would be 42 cents or so? Not familiar with corn but it would be the same ratio.
What happens if corn or barley become very expensive? If corn doubles in price which sector of the meat industry is the least effective...from a grain useage point of view? Which sector will be most able to bid up the price of grain?
I think we all can understand why more and more pounds are being put on beef through grass. It might be the only way we'll compete in the meat market.

 

[TexasBred]

Sorry, one more thought. If a feeder pig has a feed conversion rate of 3 to 1 and barley costs 7 cents a pound then it costs 21 cents to produce a pound of pork? If a chicken converts 2 to 1 the cost is 14 cents a pound of chicken? Feeder cattle are around 6 or 7 to 1 so cost of putting on a pound of beef would be 42 cents or so? Not familiar with corn but it would be the same ratio.
What happens if corn or barley become very expensive? If corn doubles in price which sector of the meat industry is the least effective...from a grain useage point of view? Which sector will be most able to bid up the price of grain?
I think we all can understand why more and more pounds are being put on beef through grass. It might be the only way we'll compete in the meat market.

\

Don't know about barley, but corn did double in price last year....actually more than double and I think we say the results too. But keep in mind also that feed for chickens and pigs ordinarily carries a huge amount of corn in the ration (more than most cattle rations), very few if any by-products as well as higher priced protein sources so the cost of feed is much higher. Bo Pilgrim can tell you all about this I'm sure.

 

[brandonm_13]

Don't really know our ratio. We feed our calves, but since we don't feedlot any that we eat for beef, they are probably alot better in that aspect. We are slowly switching our operation over to complete grassfed. Even if it wasn't healthier, the cost of feed fluctuates too much. We've been crossfencing and adding in electric. Hopefully, I'm going to have all of my calves finished on grass and sold to patrons locally. We'll see how it goes.