What Does Grass-Finished mean?

Q: I know what you mean by grass-fed but what do you mean by grass-finished?

A: Well, all cows are grass-fed during most of their lives. Because of this the grass-fed beef label has been misused and mistreated. We use the term grass-finished because our cattle are never fed grain. "Finishing" is the method of feeding a cow that is near it's processing date the proper feed ration to create the ideal fat content and flavour of beef. Some beef producers choose to feed their cattle grain to finish them. This beef is considered grain-finished. Others, like us, choose to finish their cattle on grass. This beef is considered grass-finished. 

Q: Why do you choose to grass-finish? 

A: This goes back to how we got started selling beef in the first place. We farm on the land that Eric's grandpa and dad farmed. As we grew our herd we started to realize that the land was unable to support the amount of animals that it used to be able to support. We asked ourselves, "What changed and how can we fix it?" This is how our journey to regenerative agriculture started. The "soil nerd" in me could go on and on about the health of soil and how that effects the nutrients in the food we eat, but that is for another blog post.

We began to implement the 5 principles of soil health on our farm and slowly began to see positive changes. During this time, we were approached by a few people wondering if we sold GRASS-FINISHED beef. After a bit of research and talking with other farmers we figured that grass-finishing beef fit well into the regenerative agriculture practices we were already implementing. In 2018 we sold our first round of Quarters and Halves and by the summer of 2019, God gave us the opportunity to start Williams Cattle, (now known as EC Williams Livestock Ltd.), and sell individual cuts and bundles online and at markets.