What is Grass-fed

The term “grass-fed” is being used more and more often now days when discussing how certain animals are raised. Unfortunately, there is a lot of ambiguity with the use of this term and what it actually means for consumers. In addition to loose official standards around the use of the term, many ranchers also have different opinions as well on how it should be used as well.

Grass-fed: Traditionally – grass-fed means: an animal that has been raised their entire life feeding strictly on a diet of natural grass and forage. However, this is not currently the standard use of the term grass-fed and as a result has created a fair bit of confusion for consumers. Many producers use the term grass-fed, but then go on to “finish” them on grain in order to increase the animals overall weight.

Finishing: the concept of “finishing” an animal is when a producer raises their animals on a particular diet until a certain date at which point the animals are finished on grain for the last few months to help fatten them for slaughter. This has led to the use of terms such as grass-finished vs. grain-finished. An animal that is grass-finished feeds on a diet grass and forage right up until slaughter and is not fed grain during that time.

Grass-fed Buffalo

100% Grass-fed: A few producers, including Wild Idea Buffalo, choose to use the phrase 100% Grass-fed. This phrase is used to help distinguish animals that are 100% Grass-fed, because they feed exclusively on, natural grasses and forage. While 100% Grass-fed is not a universally adopted term, it is meant to help clarify exactly what the animal has consumed during its life up until the date of slaughter.

Animals that are raised strictly on a natural all grass and forage diet not only live a healthier and more humane life, but also pass on significant health benefits to the consumer. For more information about the benefits of a grass-fed diet please refer to the following article discussing the impacts in our buffalo: Wild Idea Grass-fed Buffalo vs Feedlot Buffalo.