ANKENY ACRES

All Natural Grass Finished Beef:  Our beef is raised solely on grass, alfalfa and clover.

 

Our Product:  Our cattle are raised totally on grass, alfalfa and clover.  We help them finish by supplementing with natural flax oil that is rich in Omega 3.  Our beef is processed at 20-24 months of age.  For optimum tenderness we 'dry age' it for 10-14 days.  All cuts are vacuum-packed, ready for your freezer.  The meat is sold in combination packages of 50 lb. increments or a half or whole beef.

 

Beef feeding history:  In today's world there is a growing demand for clean, untainted, health food products.

 

Over the years beef has been perceived as a questionable food.  It has been associated with various health problems that we suffer from in the United States, including cancer and heart health.  Therefore, beef has been evaluated and researched for sometime and the facts show that eating beef is not the problem; it is what we feed the animals that is the problem.  Beef animals are vegetarian by nature.  They are not designed to eat starches from cereal grains.  It wasn't until the early 1900's in the United States that farms started feeding grain to cattle to maximize weight gain.  Grain feeding began because of the abundant and inexpensive grain grown on midwestern farms that needed to be utilized.  Farmers soon found that cattle grew faster and marbled quicker with less expense.  This began the grain fed, feed-lot beef business that dominates today's food market.

 

Why grass finished beef? Grass fed animals bring good healthy eating to the table.  First, cattle eating an all grass/forage diet have as much as 66% less fat and calories than grain fed feed-lot cattle.  This is comparable to skinless chicken and venison.  Research also shows that eating grass fed beef will lower LDL (bad) cholesterol.  When cattle eat only grass or lagooms they are naturally fortifed with Omega 3 fatty acid, one of the most talked about components for a healthy heart and brain.  Grass fed animals have been known to carry as much as 500 times more Omega 3 (the good fats) than their grain fed counterparts.

 

Another bonus is the potent cancer fighting agent CLA (conjugated linoleic acid).  CLA works hand in hand with the Omega 3 fatty acids.  Grass finished beef carries a much higher level of vitamin E and twice the cancer fighting betacarotene antioxidants than its' grain fed counter.  You can do all of the natural raising you want, but when you enter grain (Omega 6) into the equation you destroy the Omega 3 fatty acid value of the meat.