What grade are YOU in ?

By Donna OShaughnessy  AKA The Midlife Farmwife

If you're expecting some raging commentary about immature individuals who think the world revolve around them...you're mistaken. I can always blog about that topic. The material is endless. Instead I am going to address the outdated and ill-informed meat grading system of the USDA.

It started with an email I received a few days ago. On average we get 3-20 emails each day asking about our farm. Several will inquire about raw milk (the answer is yes), several will want to know about tour availability, (again yes, but a donation would be nice) a few will want information about our farm store (closed on Sundays unless it isn't) and a few more will want to order meat by the 1/2 or whole carcass. (No, you can not get bacon only) Then I got the email asking about our beef grade.

Grass Fed does not equal "Fat Free"

Well, I thought, its A plus of course, but I can be prejudiced. Then I read the rest of the email. "Is your meat Prime, Choice or Select ?" Oh, I get it. He was referring to the USDA's age old system of grading meat originating from a grain fed beef. No wonder I was confused, our herd had not been fed grain in several years. That's right, I am talking none, not to start, not to finish,none. The USDA's current meat grading system is based primarily on marbling, the amount and location of fat in particular cuts of meat.

The 100% Grass Fed Herd is alive and swell at South Pork Ranch, Chatsworth, Illinois

So, when your entire herd is 100% grass fed, the amount, type and location of fat is very different from grain fed beef. Apples to oranges , I tried to explain to the author of the email question. That does not mean that grass fed beef is without any marbling, its just means it's different. It looks different, it cooks different and it taste different. All fat, I went on to tell him, is not created equal. So why does the USDA insist on grading us in the same way? Good old fashioned ignorance, in my opinion.

Its easier to ram the round farmer into the square hole rather than take the time to reshape the hole, or researchers forbid...add a few MORE differently shaped holes into the farmer peg board. Instead, those of us who dare to practice farming outside of the boundaries of "traditional" farming are often left without adequate educational resources to guide and encourage us. No wonder we don't know what grade we're in.