There are a lot of labels on meat these days, and they don't all mean what they sound like. Here's what the common ones usually mean, and exactly what we do on our farm.

Grass-fed
What it usually means: The animal ate grass at some point. Almost all cattle start out on grass, so "grass-fed" alone doesn't tell you how the animal was finished.
What we do: Both of our beef options are raised on grass and hay. The difference is how they're finished.

Grass-finished (100% grass-fed)
What it usually means: The animal ate only grass and forage its whole life, right up to harvest, with no grain at the end.
What we do: Our grass-fed beef is 100% grass-fed and grass-finished. It eats grass and hay from birth to harvest, and never grain.

Grain-finished
What it usually means: Cattle are fed grain for the last few months before harvest, often in a feedlot.
What we do: Our grain-finished cattle eat grass and hay until about 850 lbs. Then we add a grain supplement for the final 120 days, while they stay out on pasture. The grain is Northwest Beef Blend, which we make ourselves.

Pasture-raised
What it usually means: The animals spend their lives outdoors on pasture rather than in confinement. How much time and space that involves varies from farm to farm.
What we do: All of our cattle live on our pastures and graze in rotation, so they always have fresh grass.

No added hormones
What it usually means: The animal wasn't given growth-promoting hormones, which are common in conventional beef. You'll see "no added hormones" because all meat naturally contains some hormones.
What we do: We never give our cattle growth hormones.

Antibiotics
What it usually means: "Raised without antibiotics" means the animal was never given any. Some programs that use this claim sell or remove sick animals rather than treat them.
What we do: We never use antibiotics routinely. If an animal gets sick, we treat it, just like we would our own kids, and we always follow the FDA withdrawal period so the medicine is out of its system before harvest.

Organic
What it usually means: "Organic" is a regulated label that requires certification.
What we do: We're not certified organic. Our pastures get no synthetic fertilizer, and our cattle eat grass, hay and our own grain blend.

Natural
What it usually means: On meat, "natural" generally refers to how the meat is processed (minimally, with no artificial ingredients), not how the animal was raised.
What we do: We'd rather tell you exactly how our animals are raised. That's what this page is for.

Local
What it usually means: There's no set definition, so it can mean anything from the same county to the same region.
What we do: Our cattle are raised on our farm in Ridgefield, WA, harvested close by at our sister company, Columbia Meats, and cut and wrapped at our own butcher shop, McPhee's Butcher Block. Nothing goes to waste: the parts we don't use are composted and returned to our pastures.

Still have questions? Call us at 360-309-9299 or email info@mcpheefamilyfarms.com. We're happy to talk beef.