What Do Grass-Fed Cows Actually Eat? (40+ Plants On Our Pastures)

One of the questions we get most often: what do grass-fed cows actually eat?

The short answer is not just "grass." A real, well-managed pasture is closer to a 40+ plant salad bar that changes through the season. Before we get to the plant list, here's a customer review that gets at the why.

Check out this review we just got from Customer of the Week, Amber.....

We could not be happier with our mini beef box 😊 literally the best steaks we've EVER had. Just some salt and pepper and no oils or anything needed to prepare them.

We're figuring out how to get a bigger share next time! We had some store bought steaks after and were SO disappointed 😞 your beef quality spoiled us FOREVER! We'll be buying again ASAP!

Thank you for caring about quality of life for your animals and for quality in feeding our families!

This is a typical reaction for a new customer.

You throw that first steak on the grill and are immediately transported, in the words of the great and wise Guy Fieri, straight to Flavortown.

Folks cannot believe that we're able to produce beef so consistently flavorful.

Why our cows taste different starts with where they live

The reason for this is simple. We raise our cattle on lush pastures in the ideal location. New York (and the whole northeast) have the ideal climate, soil and plants for creating delicious 100% Grass Fed Beef.

The other half of the equation is how we graze. Here's how regenerative grazing builds soil, and better beef along with it.

What do grass-fed cows eat? 40+ plants we've identified in our pastures

Here is a partial list of the grasses, legumes, forbs, and browse found in our pastures throughout the grazing season. Some are in every field. Some are rare. Some grow consistently. Some peak during different parts of the year.

That is 40+ species and there are certainly many more that I missed.

But the key is the diversity. THIS is the real diet cattle are meant to be eating. This is what keeps them healthy and strong and stunningly nutrient dense.

Come winter, the salad bar becomes hay we make off these same fields. And hay timing matters more than you'd think.

Why pasture diversity changes flavor (and what grocery store cattle actually eat)

Of course eating like this is going to produce a MASSIVELY different flavor profile than the beef you can get at the store. Those cattle are being finished either on a bland diet composed mostly of calorie-dense grains, or (if they are grass-fed) scrubby pastures.

Growing grass on prime agricultural soils and feeding it directly to cows remains shockingly rare.....

(And even the farms that do graze cattle on real pasture almost always still spray those pastures with glyphosate, which got a fresh dose of legal cover this year. Here's the Supreme Court Bayer-Monsanto ruling for the context on why that matters.)

(Ours are never sprayed. If you're wondering is there glyphosate in your beef, that post has the full answer.)

And because we do things the right way, and spare no expense, we make sure that every single animal that heads to the butcher is perfectly finished. Which is why our cattle grade Prime over 25% of the time (higher than the grain-fed industry average), and Choice basically always.

One more step that turns great pasture into great steak: dry-aging

Then we have our expert butchers dry-age the beef for a full 2 weeks so that it loses about 5% water weight, concentrating flavor and ensuring that it cooks perfectly (instead of steaming itself like the "wet-aged" stuff from the store).

This means there is absolutely no compromise on nutrient-density, flavor, marbling, or cookability. You and your family get the best there is.

This is why our customers come back year after year, and why I'm able to churn out a few emails every week riffing on effusive customer feedback (despite the fact that we're a small farm with only so many customers).

The beef is just that good.

If you want to taste what 40+ plants do to a steak

The fastest way to feel the difference is to reserve a Half Beef Share (comes with a free chest freezer). We are already booking shares for July and orders always pick up as customers try to squeeze in their haul to catch peak Grilling Season.

If you want the longer version of the why before you commit, here's what 'grass-fed' vs. 'grass-finished' actually means, and why New York grass-fed beef is the best.

P.S. Not sure what size is right for you? Take our Beef Share Quiz to get a personal recommendation. Everyone loves a quiz.