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NW PA | Hey guys,
I don't post much on here but love reading the comments form others. I have been raising sheep/lamb for about 10 years and some beef steers for freezer beef for about 6 years. The question of Grass fed vs Grain fed is always a touchy subject...one I deal with when selling freezer beef. My first couple years in beef I raised Dexters, 100% on grass. My customers loved the beef and several are still to this day asking if they can get more. Problem was they are so damn small and it takes 26 months to get them to finish a ~400 lb carcass.
4 years back I switched to Herefords. I buy them from a buddy up the road. I knew they would need to have some corn to finish them. I've learned a lot over the past 4 years and wonder if I'm stumbling onto something that may be useful to other smaller producers. I don't finish my steers in a drylot. I rotationaly graze them on orchard grass and clover pastures, in combination with my breeding ewes. The steers will graze a paddock for 3-5 days, then it gets rested (# days depends on time of year), then the ewes graze, then rested again, rinse and repeat. BUT, I also go out every day and feed my steers 10-18 lbs/hd/day of corn. They have access to free choice mineral and clean water of course.
My steers are butchered each fall at 18-20 months old. Last year the HW averaged 711 lbs and my ADG was around 1.61 lbs/hd/day. That is much lower than what most of you probably get in a feedlot. But the economics of what I am doing works for me. I have been marketing this beef as Grass AND Grain fed beef. For most people, when I explain what I do they are ok with it. A few still lament that I don't have 100% grass fed beef, but most of my customers love the beef and come back year after year.
I would love to hear from others who do/did something similar, and learn how I can further optimize my system, etc.
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Grass Fed AND Grain Fed
