Regenerative Beef: Why Buying Direct Is the Only Way to Get Ours
If you have searched for regenerative beef, you have noticed it is easier to find the term than the real thing. I am Jeff Mundorf, fifth generation on our family's Iowa farm near Red Oak, and here is exactly what regenerative means on our ground, and why buying direct is the only way this beef reaches your table.
What regenerative means here
On our farm it means cattle are always moving and the land is always resting. Pairs winter and calve on our own cornstalk and bean-stubble fields, planted to cereal rye cover crops. In spring they move to perennial pasture, rotated through paddocks growing five grass and four legume varieties, where calves graze alongside their dams. The next summer they finish on corn plus annual pasture. Nothing sits still and nothing gets grazed to the ground. Our Angus is pasture raised, grass fed and grain finished.
Why rotational grazing pays for itself
This is good land management first. Moving cattle through paddocks improves both the volume and quality of forage, so we can carry more. The rest periods let plants push deeper roots, and the legumes we interseed generate nitrogen on their own, replacing commercial fertilizer that gets more expensive every year. Grazing cover crops through winter cuts our hay bill too.
No hormones, no additives, by choice
We deliberately do not use growth hormone implants or feed additives, because they change how cattle digest and grow. Ours finish the old way, on pasture and grain, without anything pushing them faster than they naturally would. That slower, more natural approach is the whole point.
Why there is no commodity market for beef raised this way
Here is the honest reason we sell direct: no commodity outlet pays fairly for beef raised the way ours is. Through conventional channels these cattle would be graded and priced like ordinary grain-fed beef. Selling directly to you is the only way this gets valued for what it is. If you want a freezer of it, a whole cow is the way, or read whether a quarter is worth it.
Frequently asked questions
What does regenerative beef mean at Mundorf Heritage Beef?
Rotational grazing across pasture and cover crops, deep-rooted forage from rest periods, and nitrogen-fixing legumes that reduce commercial fertilizer, year-round.
Are hormones or additives used on your cattle?
No. We deliberately avoid growth hormone implants and feed additives because they change how cattle digest and grow.
Why can't I find beef raised this way at the grocery store?
Commodity markets grade and price it like conventional grain-fed beef. Selling direct is the only way we can be paid fairly for raising cattle this way.
Keep reading
About the author. Jeff Mundorf is the fifth generation raising cattle on his family's seventh-generation Iowa farm near Red Oak, founded in 1873. He studied Meat Science and Animal Science at Colorado State University.