Beef Marketing Program

About our Program

Although New York State and most of the Northeast have not historically been known as major beef producing areas, our geography and climate are well suited for growing grass and ruminant animals like cattle and sheep.  Since 1950 over 5000 dairy farms have gone out of business. As a result there is a tremendous amount of fallow land available for grazing beef and producing winter forages (over 3 million acres in New York State alone).  Many new livestock farmers and former dairy farmers are taking advantage of this regional ability to grow grass and are producing quality animals for consumption.  CADE connects consumers with local and regional beef producers.

Beef 101

Grasses evolved with ruminants, and ruminants evolved with grasses.  Grasses learned to adapt to large herds of grazing animals moving through and eating the swards of grass available.  Grasses evolved to have 80-90% of their mass underground and came to rely upon those animals moving through and eating their tops poking out of the ground.  Eating the grass encourages rhizome and stolon development so the grass sends out surface and subsurface roots and develops a thicker sod.  As the grass grows, the root system below the ground grows with the grass to provide the water and nutrients.  When a ruminant comes along and eats that blade of grass the grass no longer requires all of that water and nutrition and the root dies back to the siae necessare to perform lifes functions, leaving decaying roots to contribute to the soils organic matter.  Without animals to graze the grasses landowners must cut their fields to maintain these grasses.  This is done either through making hay and forages or through brush cutting and bush hogging.  

Dairy is historically prevalent in New York and New England because our areas could grow grass well.  Grasses can be divided into cool season grasses and warm season grasses

Beef Marketing Program Rack Card

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