Cattle are ruminants whose multiple stomachs are capable of digesting plant cellulose and transforming it into proteins such as meat. All cattle eat fodder for most of their lives, whether grazing on pasture in summer or as food in winter when the fields are covered in snow.
Conventional and grass-fed beef: same origin, different methods
Conventional and grass-fed beef have the same origin. Both have the same or different breeds of cow and bull as parents. In Quebec, the majority of beef herds are made up of crossbred cows and purebred beef bulls. Unlike dairy cattle breeds bred primarily for milk production, beef breeds are bred for meat.
Cattle production in the Outaouais
The Outaouais has 368 farms whose main source of agricultural revenue is beef cattle. For most of these farms, calving begins in February and ends in May. Calves spend the first few months of their lives enjoying their mother’s milk and pasture grass. It will be called veau d’embouche (feeder calves), a term that means calves fattened in meadows.
Conventional feeder calf rearing
In conventional rearing, feeder calves are separated from their mothers in the autumn, between 7 and 10 months of age, to be sold. At that point, they weigh between 500 and 800 pounds (225 kg to 360 kg). This is a long way from the desired finishing weight of around 1475 lbs (670 kg). This weight is reached in feedlots, where feeder calves become steers.
Feeding steers in feedlots
Steers spend up to 8 months in a feedlot before being sent to a slaughterhouse. Throughout their stay in the feedlot, they have access to fresh food and water. This food is served as a total mixed ration, meaning that all the feed is put into a mixer to ensure that each bite taken by a steer has the same nutritional value.
The steer finishing period
The period preceding the marketing and processing of steers is called the finishing period. It lasts from three to four months and is used to gradually adjust the diet to introduce grains such as corn, soy and cereals. Introducing grains into the feed ration helps to produce more marbled, higher-quality meat.
Grass-fed cattle
Grass-fed cattle are raised on pasture with their mothers, then fed hay and haylage (fermented grass) from birth to slaughter. With less weight gain, grass-fed beef takes longer to reach market weight, which can make it more expensive than beef raised in traditional feedlots.
The quality and differences of grass-fed beef
Meat from grass-fed beef is slightly leaner and may have a higher omega-3 content. However, grass-fed beef will not be graded A, AA, AAA. It will simply be downgraded, among other things, because of fat color, carcass size and also because it won’t be as marbled.
Different destinations for conventional and grass-fed beef
While mature conventional beef will leave the feedlot for a large slaughterhouse, where it will be transformed into a multitude of beef cuts for distribution in large grocery banners, grass-fed beef will generally go to a local slaughterhouse before returning to its producer to be sold as a niche product on the farm.
Linda Larocque, agr.
The 5 main beef breeds in Québec
| Breeds | Characteristics |
| Angus | No horns, red or black coat, fertile, easy calving, very maternal, good dairy, longevity and marbled meat. |
| Charolais | Presence or absence of horns, generally white or cream coat, rapid growth and muscle development, good meat yield at slaughter. |
| Hereford | Presence of horns or not, reddish-brown coat, but white head, chest, belly and extremities of legs and tail, very docile, high hardiness, good fertility, good longevity. |
| Limousin | Presence of horns or not, coat varies from golden wheat to dark red, good fertility and calving ease, good growth and weight gain, excellent beef conformation and meat yield. |
| Simmental | With or without horns, coat varies from light brown to dark red with generally white head and tail tip, good fertility and dairy aptitude, rapid growth, superior muscle development and high slaughter weight. |
References:
Producteurs de Bovins du Québec Website
Comprendre l’alimentation au fourrage et aux grains, Bœuf Canadien, Juin 2016