West Valley Beef
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West Valley Beef
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Member:
West Valley Beef--Grass-Fed, Naturally Raised And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be satisfied ---Deut 11:15 Family OwnedWest Valley Beef is located in the fertile Snoqualmie Valley in Duvall, Washington. It is managed by Chuck and Bobbi Lindemulder. Chuck was born and raised in the Snoqualmie Valley, and Bobbi has lived there since 1974. We have seen many changes during our life here in Duvall. One thing we both feel strongly about is maintaining the family farm and supporting local agriculture. Until 2000, West Valley Beef was Lindemulder Dairy, where for over 60 years contented milk cows roamed the fields. Due to environmental constraints and lack of sustainability in the dairy industry, we have converted the dairy farm into a beef business. We are a third generation farming family with a strong belief in maintaining local agriculture and farming in Western Washington. Farming is our passion, and it is our goal to produce good quality beef and to educate people about farming and the importance of maintaining the family farm and the environment. We are members of the American Grass-fed Beef Association and are also a certified Salmon Safe farm. We do the best we can for fish, wildlife and clean water to help the environment. We've been inspected by a third party certifier and have achieved our Salmon Safe designation for environmental stewardship! Protecting our land and all life that uses it is a priority or ours. Please visit www.Salmonsafe.org or www.Stewardshippartners.org to learn about this certification process. They were absolutely fantastic to work with! Our BeefOur cattle are mainly a cross of Hereford and Angus cattle. This allows us to focus on beefy, quick growing animals that are docile and good mothers. Our animals are treated humanely, and are raised in a calm environment. The steers grow quickly on the grass-based system and are finished at 17-19 months, or about 1100 lbs. Unlike pen-raised or feedlot finished beef, our cattle graze over 100 acres of lush grass throughout their life. They are raised on good quality grass and are provided free choice vitamin/mineral supplements. During the growing season, the cattle are rotated throughout an intensively managed pasture system to keep the fields productive and healthy. During the winter they are fed hay grown on the farm. At no time are the animals fed grain or concentrates. We also rarely use any antibiotics or other types of treatments because our animals have so much room to roam. This keeps the herd stress free and healthy. We also don’t use or feed steroids, growth hormones, or animal by-products. Feedlot beef differ in that they are confined to large pens with bare ground, no vegetation and are fed mainly concentrated feeds such as grains, bi-products, and fillers. Why Grass-Fed?There are definite health advantages to eating grass-fed beef. First, the meat from pastured ruminants is better for your health than conventional meat. It is lower in total fat, in fact, grass-fed meat has about the same fat content as skinless chicken or wild deer or elk![1] When meat is this lean, it is also lower in calories. A steak from a grass-finished steer has almost 100 fewer calories than a steak from a grain-finished steer. Also, beef from grass-fed animals can actually lower your LDL cholesterol levels. [2] Secondly, meat from grass-fed cattle is higher in omega-3 fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), and vitamin E than meat from grain-fed cattle. Unlike confined animals that are fed synthetic minerals and vitamins, pasture-raised animals have a better mineral status due to eating natural vegetation. Omega-3 fatty acids are most abundant in seafood and certain nuts and seeds such as flaxseeds, but are also found in animals raised on pasture. Animals shipped to feedlots and fed grain decrease the level of omega-3s in their system. Omega-3s are essential for your brain function, and play a vital role in every cell and system in your body. They are also the most heart friendly fats. People who have ample amounts of Omega-3s in their diet are less likely to have high blood pressure. Remarkably, those with high Omega-3 levels in their diet are 50% less likely to suffer from a heart attack. [3] Omega-3s may also reduce your risk of cancer. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is the “good fat” in our diet. Meat and dairy products from grass-fed ruminants are the richest known source of CLA. When ruminants are raised on fresh pasture, their products (meat, milk, and milk products) contain from three to five times more CLA than products from animals fed concentrated diets! CLA may be one of our most potent defenses against cancer, and it is estimated that you may be able to lower your risk of cancer simply by eating products from animals raised on pasture! [5] In humans, vitamin E is linked to a lower risk of heart disease and cancer. This potent antioxidant may also have anti-aging properties. Most Americans are deficient in vitamin E. Meat from pastured cattle has been shown to be four times higher in vitamin E than the meat from feedlot cattle and, amazingly, almost twice as high as meat from feedlot cattle given vitamin E supplements. [4] It has also been shown that eating grass-fed or pasture-raised beef, results in a lower chance of being infected with the E. coli bacteria [4], thus making pasture-raised meat safer for the consumer than pen raised or feedlot beef. References 1. Koizumi, I., Y. Suzuki, et al. (1991). "Studies on the fatty acid composition of intramuscular lipids of cattle, pigs and birds." J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo) 37(6): 545-54. 2. Davidson, M. H., D. Hunninghake, et al. (1999) Arch Intern Med 159(12): 1331-8. The conclusion of this study: "... diets containing primarily lean red meat or lean white meat produced similar reductions in LDL cholesterol and elevations in HDL cholesterol, which were maintained throughout the 36 weeks of treatment." 3. Siscovick, D. S., T. E. Raghunathan, et al. (1995). "Dietary Intake and Cell Membrane Levels of Long-Chain n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and the Risk of Primary Cardiac Arrest." JAMA 274(17): 1363-1367. 4. Robinson, Jo. (2000). “Why Grassfed is Best! The surprising Benefits of Grassfed Meat, Eggs, and Dairy Products”. www.Eatwild.com 5. 11. Dhiman, T. R., G. R. Anand, et al. (1999). "Conjugated linoleic acid content of milk from cows fed different diets." J Dairy Sci 82(10): 2146-56. Interestingly, when the pasture was machine-harvested and then fed to the animals as hay, the cows produced far less CLA than when they were grazing on that pasture, even though the hay was made from the very same grass. The fat that the animals use to produce CLA is oxidized during the wilting, drying process. For maximum CLA, animals need to be grazing living pasture.
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Last modified: 12/28/06 |
Certified:
Salmon Safe www.salmonsafe.org