Why grass-fed?

Grass-fed meat doesn’t just taste better, it’s better for you!

Our assurance of 100% grass-fed beef and lamb means that our cattle and sheep are never fed grain. Not even once! In the summer, they are enjoying what grows in our diverse pastures: species of perennial grasses like orchard grass, alfalfa, sedge, and more! They forage leaves from low-hanging branches and brush, crabapples, nuts, and legume pods. In the winter when the grass stops growing, we feed them selective cuts of hay produced by our trusted neighbors from the previous summer.

Because of this healthy diet, grass-fed beef is lower in total fat content. It also gives their fat a buttery yellow color that is packed with flavor compared to the pale white fat of a grain-fed animal. Grass-fed beef is higher in omega-3 fatty acids, which can help lower unhealthy LDL cholesterol, and higher in an omega-6 fatty acid called conjugated linolenic acid (CLA). This means that grass-fed beef contains more unsaturated fats than its grain-fed counterpart. Unsaturated fats do not raise LDL cholesterol like saturated fat. Grass-fed beef is also higher in vitamin E, an antioxidant, than conventionally raised beef.

So, what does all this science mean? It implies that grass-fed meat provides an essential source of protein, healthy fat, and vitamins for a well-rounded diet, especially compared to its conventionally raised grain-fed counterpart. At PHF, we have a commitment to producing an affordable, healthy source of meat for our greater Pittsburgh community. Despite the higher cost of input to raise grass-fed meat, we keep our prices as low as possible to remain accessible to as many people as we can.

We believe everybody has the right to know how their food is raised and the inputs that go into it. Come chat with us at our Bloomfield Saturday Market booth or take a tour of the farm to get to know your food even better!

 Frequently Asked Questions

  • Unlike ruminants (animals like sheep and cows), pigs cannot survive on only grass forage. They do not have the same 4-compartment stomach that ruminants evolved to break down and ferment tough cellulose fibers to get to life-sustaining protein. A pig’s diet can be supplemented by grass, but in their nature, they are rooting animals, meaning they dig up the earth to find their ideal forage (nuts, grubs, roots, tubers.) Our pasture-raised pigs are encouraged to practice this behavior as much as they can. We plan it into our rotational grazing system so our pigs root up the ground where it will most benefit from it, and are supplemented with naturally grown grain-based feed for a complete diet. This is why you never see “grass-fed pork” for sale in the grocery store! (If you do, think twice about what they are claiming.)

  • Like pigs, chickens cannot survive on a diet of grass alone. We have our hens on pasture all year, and move them to a fresh lot consistently while the grass is growing. They leave behind amazing fertilizer in their manure and forage bugs in the grass. They fill up on all natural grain feed so they can keep producing their delicious eggs!

  • Sustainable agriculture is so exciting! Isn’t it amazing to learn that it’s happening right in your back yard? To learn more about living in harmony through agricultural practices, we recommend reading books by Indigenous authors like Tending the Wild by M. Kat Anderson, who breaks down Traditional Ecological Knowledge — the original “sustainable agriculture.”

    Always feel free to shoot us a message, book a tour, stay at the tiny house, or just say hey to connect to your local farmers today!