06/02/2026
I've been meaning to discuss this for a while. There are differences between 100% grass finished beef and grain finished beef.
The vast majority of my customers prefer grain finished beef. I have both grass and grain finished Black Angus. I'm happy to have a conversation with you to help you determine which you would prefer.
All of our Angus is pasture raised. They are free ranging on massive pastures, thousands of acres. Finishing is usually done the last six months before a beef is sent to butcher.
When a beef is grass finished, it stays on pasture it's entire life. Differences, much leaner beef. You will not have much marbling in the beef at all.
Every steakhouse you go to normally serves grain finished beef. A question I like to ask my customers is what is the cut you prefer when you order a steak. If you tell me ribeye is your favorite cut, I promise, you will not like grass finished beef. It is lean and will look more like a sirloin when it comes to marbling. People that like ribeyes, like myself, like it for the high marbling, as that's the most marbled cut of beef. You will get that with grain finished beef.
I do have customers that prefer grass finished for health and even taste reasons. It's beefier in flavor. It does have overall less fat in the beef than grain finished. If that's what you prefer, just ask for it. I almost always have it available to send to butcher.
My grain finished Black Angus is finished on a three way silage. The cattle are pulled in from pasture the last six months or so before buther date into corral. There, their diet is controled. They still get hay (grass) but silage is added to it. Fermented grains, we use oats, barley and peas. Makes an exceptional finish on the cattle.
You'll see in stores labels saying things like grass fed beef. That is 100% a misnomer. All beef is grass fed the majority of their lives, it's how they are finished that matters. There is no oversight from the USDA regarding how cattle are fed and labeled. If you see grass fed, don't fall for the blatant deception. It's just a marketing scam. The label must indicate 100% grass fed and finished for it to be truly accurate. Another note, just because a beef is grass fed/finished, does NOT make it organic. That's another whole can of worms. Grass fed beef in stores can still be given feed grown using fertilizers and pesticides. Only the label indicating it's USDA 100% organic passes the organic test.
The ranchers I purchase cattle from are not registered as organic, but they are raised the same way. The organic label and certification is extremely expensive and a big marketing ploy.
Remember, all the cattle at Summerhill Local Meats are raised naturally, no pesticides, no fertilized feeds, no growth hormones and no antibiotics.
Message me if you have any questions. I'll help you make a decision about what kind of beef you would want to have to fill your freezer.
Last note. Everything is locally raised in SouthEast Idaho and everything is processed your way, locally at butchers I trust implicitly.
This truly is beef produced in the USA, specifically, Idaho. Another marketing deception by retail meats is beef can legally be marked a "product of the USA" simply because it goes through USDA certification. Those live cattle and carcasses can still be imported from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.
