Our Farm Philosophy

Boutwell Beef

Cows are herbivores. Middle School biology students are tested on that fact. As adults we have been trained to ignore it. Cows have four stomachs designed to ferment and process grasses. Their stomachs are not designed to handle concentrated, repetitive diets of starchy foods like corn. When they are trained to eat this way, the chemistry of their stomach is changed which creates problems for the cow and for people.

Antibiotics and Feedlot Cows. Heavy starch diets are a cause of unhealthy cows at the feedlot. Concentrated starchy diets fatten cows up quickly (just like they do us). But this concentrated startch also leads to a growth of e-coli bacteria in cows and makes them sick. At a feedlot, cows stand around thousands of other tightly confined cows in the same situation. Feedlot cows must be fed lots of antibiotics to survive the experience. The majority of antibiotics used today are in confined animal feeding operations otherwise known as CAFO's.

Cow Habitats - When cows are allowed to live in their natural habitat (on open pastures) they are healthier. This allows them to move about and find a fresh spaces to eat, sit (ruminate) and live.

Historically, cows would wander into late season grass fields that had gone to seed and eat the standing hay (late grass) and the seed heads (grains). Corn, wheat, oats, rye are all "grasses" that have gone to seed. Cows eating seed grains in this way were perfectly natural because the grains were consumed as a part of a complex diet of forages. This is very different than the concentrated rations today. If you are a medical or university researcher, professor or student interested in doing nutritional testing in this area, please contact us at education@boutwellfarms.com .

Say Yes to Yellow Fat!

The signature of grass-fed, pastured product is soft yellow fat.

Pure white, hard fat is the worst type.

More Good Stuff

200 - 400% more Omega 3 Fatty Acids

300-500% more CLA

400% more Vitamin E

200% more ProVitamin A/ Beta Carotene

Less Bad Stuff

73% less calories and fat

66% less cholesterol

Less saturated fat

Less ecoli risk

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Cow Salads and Pasture Polycultures - Just like humans, cows benefit most from a polyculture of fresh veggies. If we humans eat only one veggie all the time, our health will show it. If we eat NO veggies and only starch our health will really show it. We need a good mix of items to create the proper nutritional balance. The same is true with cows. Modern pastures are designed to grow only one grass during a season and use chemicals to get rid of everything else. Not good. Cows need a blend of different grasses on their plates just like we do. This creates a salad mix for cattle and gives them a variety of different nutrients. Healthier cows produce healtheir beef.

A Grass-Fed Label- This should mean that a cow has only eaten grass and legumes its entire life. Studies have proved that this is the most nutrient-dense beef. It also requires skill to perfect. Many have been disappointed when a cow was pulled off pasture and labeled grass fed. There is planning, art and skill required to achieve great tasting beef. Beef should be tender, juicy and full of flavor. It must taste good, no matter how good it is for you. Boutwell Farms goes to great effort to make sure you are getting tasty beef with the most nutrition.

Boutwell Farms

Grass-Fed Beef