Pasture Raised Meat | Organic Prairie

Meat Raised Right on our Pastures.

Cattle are literally born to eat grass. Pasture-fed cattle are healthier than those that are strictly grain-fed and kept in confinement. To bring you the cleanest meat possible, we provide our animals with as much time outside as possible, where they can freely forage and feed on plenty of fresh organic grass. Our own production standards require that cattle have access to well-managed pasture as a significant portion of their feed whenever it is in season. Pasture-based farming is also better for farmers and the environment.

Not all pasture-based farming is the same.

Organic Prairie uses a modern method known as Managed Intensive Rotational Grazing (MIRG), which offers significant benefits over both confinement and old-style grazing methods. In MIRG, animals are moved from paddock to paddock based on the condition of the grass. This allows the farmer to avoid overgrazing, while giving livestock access to pasture at the peak of nutrition.

Organic Prairie cows grazing in a pasture.

Benefits to the environment

Pasture-based farming lets the animals do the work. They harvest and feed themselves and fertilize their pastures, overseen by the farmer in a carefully-managed system. The net result is significantly less fossil-fuel consumption, less erosion, less air and water pollution and greater soil fertility.

Studies show that, compared to plowed cropland, pasture can bind up many more tons of carbon dioxide in the organic matter of soils. This is an important factor in the reduction of greenhouse gases, meaning that increased amounts of land in pasture may even help to slow global warming.

Farmer walking across a pasture with cows in the background.

Benefits to the Farmer

"When they come to pasture farming, it is such a relief for farmers. They get rid of all these problems: crop failure, pesticide failure, huge debt." — Bill Murphy, Pasture Expert

Pasture-based farming can free farmers from the large, expensive machinery used to grow feed crops. Plus they don't have the waste disposal and disease issues that come with confinement feeding. Their farms become safer places for children to be around the animals and help with farm work.