Raising Cattle on Grass

Auburn, April 22, 2004 ---- More and more Alabama farmers see possibilities in raising cattle on grass, forgoing the more traditional finishing of beef on grain in Midwest feedlots before slaughter. But an agricultural economist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System said making the shift to a grass-fed operation is more complex than simply changing feeds.

Dr. Walt Prevatt, an Extension economist, said Alabama beef producers need to consider a number of factors including production costs and product marketing before making the leap to finishing their steers on grass in Alabama.

“This is one area where farmers really need to do their homework before they decide to make a wholesale change in how they manage their animals,” said Prevatt.

An upcoming field day sponsored by the Auburn University College of Agriculture should provide answers to many of producers’ questions.

The field day set for May 14 will be held in two locations. The morning session, which starts at 8, will be at the Beef Unit of the E.V. Smith Research Center off I-85 in Shorter. Producers will have the opportunity to review current grass-fed beef research being conducted by Auburn University scientists.

Dr. Chris Kerth, an Auburn University meat scientist, will discuss his work in meat quality and nutritive values of grass-fed beef and grain-fed beef.

“Grass-fed beef does have a different flavor than beef finished on corn,” said Kerth. “But our research, which includes consumer taste testing, indicates that consumers can make the change and that there is a market out there for grass-fed beef. In fact, 20 to 30 percent of consumers surveyed in our research indicated that they would prefer the grass-fed beef product.”

Lunch and the afternoon session will be at the Ham Wilson Livestock Arena in Auburn where participants can evaluate carcasses from grass-fed and grain-fed beef. Speakers will discuss a number of topics including forages for finishing beef, managing beef nutrition, selecting beef genetics, economics of production, meat quality and nutritive value and meat marketing.

Tours of the newly constructed Meat Lab and Beef Teaching Unit and ALFA Services building will be conducted following the afternoon program. Registration before May 7 is $15 per person. After that date, the fee is $25.

Send your name and fee payment to the following address.

Grass-fed Beef Field Day

c/o Carole Hodge

Animal Sciences Department

Auburn University

209 Upchurch Hall

Auburn, AL 36849

Checks should be made payable to Auburn University Department of Animal Sciences.

For more information and maps to the field day locations, go to http://www.ag.auburn.edu/~ckerth.

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