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Questions to Ask When Looking for a Beef Farm in Pennsylvania

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Kelsie Odhner
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Questions to Ask When Looking for a Beef Farm in Pennsylvania

When you look forward to sourcing high-quality meat, the first thing you should search for is a good beef farm. Buying your meat directly from the farmer helps you acquire information on how the cattle are raised and how their meat qualifies in comparison to others. Beef farms in Pennsylvania are renowned for their attention to quality, and here are some questions you may ask before purchasing beef.

 What Do The Animals Feed On The Pastures?

 Grass-fed cattle graze on the pastures and have access to grass instead of being fed grain commercially produced in factories. According to the USDA, they are allowed to forage for their food.

 A good pasture should have grain crops, grass, brassica, and legumes growing on them, along with a wide variety of grass and shrubs. You could ask if the animals are fed grass throughout or fed grains to bulk up in the last three months.

How is the Grass Fertilized?

To make the grass healthy enough for the cattle, the farm has to fertilize it. Local grass-fed beef in Pennsylvania is known for its superior taste, and the cattle are usually not fed grass that has been sprayed with chemical insecticides.

 However, just because the cattle can graze on pastures does not necessarily imply that no chemicals are used. Hence, if you are specifically looking for organic meat, you should make sure that no chemical pesticides are used on the grass that is used to feed the cows.

Do The Animals Feed On Silage?

 Silage is a method of preserving pasture plants by using fermentation. You can ask the farm about the plants they use and how they raise. Farmers use corn for silage, and that is cut from the pre-grain stage.

 The corn is considered grass at this stage, but you can inquire if the cornfield is sprayed with non-organic herbicide and if the corn is GMO-free. The corn contains no starch at the pre-grain stage, differentiating the corn diet from the grass-fed diet. 

 What Supplements Does The Farm Give The Animals?

 Cows can be given supplements from time to time to maintain their nutrient levels. Still, you have to make sure that the farm only uses supplements from the list provided by the American Grassfed Association. The supplements add the extra mineral to their diet, and the cattle are healthier, resulting in tastier local grass-fed beef in Pennsylvania.

 How are the Animals Confined?

Ideally, the cows should have access to pasture continuously during the growing season. However, they cannot just stay outside the entire time or at night. Please find out about the place where they keep the cattle when they have to be indoors. Does it have adequate ventilation? How the cow waste is disposed and is it adequately protected against the elements of nature?

Most all the beef farms in Pennsylvania follow the protocols to bring you the best grass-fed beef variant. Asking a few questions will help you zero in on the best farm to get a constant supply of high-quality meat.

 

 

 

 

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Kelsie Odhner