Once upon a time, I was a city girl.
I ate well, I cared about health, but beef was just… beef. I’d walk into a supermarket or butcher, pick what looked nice, and that was that. I had no idea there were different types of beef, not cuts, but how the animal was raised.
Living on a beef farm changed everything.
Grain Fed vs Grass Fed, and the part most people don’t know
Most people know the basic difference: grain fed or grass fed. But within “grass fed”, there’s a whole world of variation.
Grain-fed cattle typically spend months in feedlots. Small spaces, limited movement, and a diet designed purely for fast weight gain. It gets them to market faster, but it’s not natural and it’s certainly not gentle on the animal or the environment. (1)
Grass fed means they only eat grass for their whole life, right?
Grass Fed Doesn’t Always Mean Grass Finished
This surprises people.
In Australia, cattle only need to be fed grass for as little as three months to be legally labelled grass fed. That means an animal can spend the majority of its life in a feedlot and still carry that label. Some cattle start on grass but are moved to feedlots or grain-fed on farm when the pasture runs out, spending nine months on grass and three months on grain, and still be labelled grass fed.
That’s why many farmers in the U.S. use the term grass fed and finished, and why you’re increasingly seeing that distinction here in Australia too.
At Belvedere Valley, grass fed and finished is exactly what we do. Our cattle eat grass for their entire life, fresh pasture or hay we grow ourselves.
(With one small exception: our future Mummas get a tiny treat now and then to help them trust us. Think of it like giving a child a small bag of lollies on Friday, not candy for every meal.)
(And when the time comes for our cattle to be processed, we believe that matters too. In the days leading up to processing, our cattle are gently walked to our on-farm micro abattoir and rewarded with a special farm treat along the way. By the time processing day arrives, it’s simply another quiet walk they already know. Low stress from first breath to last, because we believe every part of an animal’s life deserves the same care.)
Why We Don’t Grain Feed
Grain feeding can speed up growth, but it doesn’t give the animal a natural, low-stress life. And most grain isn’t grown regeneratively, meaning chemicals, tilling, and soil disturbance are common.
Grass-fed and finished beef has documented health benefits over grain fed too, but that’s a blog for another day.
Organic, Regenerative, and Regenerative Organic, What’s the Difference?
But even once you know the cattle were grass fed and finished, there’s still more to the story. There’s organic grass fed, regeneratively grass fed, and then there’s regenerative organic, what we practice at Belvedere Valley. There’s no formal certification for that in Australia yet, but the principles are clear.
For us it means no chemicals, pesticides, or herbicides, minimal tillage, protecting our waterways, and farming in a way that restores the soil rather than depletes it. Even “organic” pesticides can harm soil microbiology, and regenerative farming avoids that wherever possible.
Because at the end of the day, we believe farming should work with nature, not fight it.
So What Does This Mean for You?
When you buy beef, ask questions. Read the label. Ask your butcher. Find out how the animal was raised, what it ate, and how the land was farmed. The difference matters, for the animal, for your health, and for the planet.
And if you want beef that ticks every box, regeneratively farmed, grass fed and finished, and with the added extraordinary benefits of Wagyu, well, you know where to find us.
If you care about climate change but feel powerless, this is one of the simplest ways to make a real impact. Regeneratively grazed cattle help put carbon back into the soil.
Better for the cows. Better for you. Better for the planet.
As we say at Belvedere Valley: Save the planet, one steak at a time.
We hope you get to enjoy grassfed regeneratively farmed beef!
