The terms “grassfed” and “grass-finished” are nuanced marketing terms, and the definition can vary widely across brands and producers. A product can be labeled “grassfed” even if that was not the entire picture.
Third-party certifications such as our Animal Welfare Approved and Certified Grassfed ensure that our animals are raised with the highest standard of care, and Certified Grassfed is the only label claim in the US and Canada that guarantees the animals consume only forages throughout their lives. Why is this important?
In the beef industry, most cattle begin their lives in pasture or range settings, but 95% are sent to feedlots for the “finishing” stage, or the last few months of their lives. This allows for rapid weight gain and a larger carcass size, but this may come at the expense of animal health, and affects the nutritional profile of the beef.
By advertising our cattle as 100% grassfed and finished, we emphasize that we work diligently to provide a high-nutrition diet solely from forage throughout the growing and finishing stages. This process takes us 24-30 months to properly finish our animals at 1100 pounds, compared to 16 months and 1600 pounds for a typical feedlot animal.
We rarely have animals that require antibiotic intervention, but when treatment is necessary, we administer it responsibly. Our Animal Welfare Approved certification mandates that we treat animals when needed. We never want to be in a position where we withhold humane treatment. Additionally, we never use and will never use growth hormones or implants.
Under our certifications, we must adhere to a veterinarian-supported health plan for our herd. Therefore, necessary antibiotics and vaccines are permitted to alleviate and ideally prevent suffering.
Our calves receive a seven-way clostridial vaccination at 6 and 8 months of age, then no more. This is intended to prevent blackleg, a fatal infection from bacteria present in the soil. Breeding cows are vaccinated annually. We do not administer annual vaccines to our stocker group (beef production animals). We also double the certification-mandated withdrawal period, or time it takes antibiotics or vaccines to leave the animal’s body.
We do not use fertilizers or herbicides for weed control or fertilization in any of our routine cattle pastures. Instead, we rely on our management practices to promote soil health and diversity. Occasionally, our cow herd is used as a management tool in our savannas, meadows, and field conversion areas, which may have had herbicides applied at some point. We monitor and plan for this carefully, adhering to appropriate withdrawal periods before allowing livestock access to these areas, as required by our Animal Welfare Approved certification.
Yes, we have an Angus/South Poll cross herd of approximately 550 head. We operated a closed, registered Aberdeen Angus herd for nearly 15 years, and in 2023 began introducing South Poll genetics for heat tolerance, mothering ability, and hybrid vigor. All the animals we sell are bred, born, and raised under our management on our pastures.
While all our cattle live on the farm, we maintain separate groups as needed: bulls, cows and heifers, stockers, and finishers. Our breeding females give birth once a year in the fall, and keep their calves with them for about 10 months, when the weaned calves join our stocker group.
We never sell beef from someone else’s farm under our label. The Kinloch Farm name ensures that our beef comes from our historic genetics and regenerative farming practices, traits that distinguish us in the region.
In the interest of transparency, traceability, and community, we welcome discussions about our farming practices and invite the public to witness them firsthand at our annual open house.
Grass and locally grown hay! We take advantage of the abundant tall fescue (an introduced cool season grass) in our pastures. Our farm team engages in a practice called “stockpiling,” in which the fescue is left standing in the field, ungrazed until needed.
Here, we typically leave the stockpiled fescue alone from around August 15 to November or the first frost, which enhances its nutritional value for the cattle. The hard frost also kills the endophyte fungus that fescue hosts.
This fungus can lead to toxicity issues in the growing season, but the vast diversity of plants that our cattle graze creates a dilution effect. It also provides the fescue with resistance to drought, disease, and insects.
When we graze through our stockpiled fescue, we feed hay, strategically, utilizing a couple of different methods, including bale grazing. We can feed hay at any time, but currently we supplement with hay for 45-60 days per year.
Our Farm Store offers a complete selection of our grassfed and finished beef, along with a range of our own Kinloch Farm products that reflect our commitment to utilizing the whole animal.
For customers interested in buying in bulk, we offer whole, half, and quarter shares, as well as a variety of bundles.
If you’re unable to visit our Farm Store, select items are available online. We provide shipping via UPS Ground, and we also offer wholesale opportunities to select professionals.
To raise Kinloch Farm 100% grassfed and finished beef, we oversee the entire process, from pasture to plate, conception to consumption, resulting in a product that stands alone.
We combine historic cattle genetics that excel on grass with careful grazing planning and regenerative management, creating flavor, texture, and fat in our beef that conveys the terroir of our Virginia grassland ecosystem.
Our cattle thrive within our context, developing marbling and finish based entirely on forage. An observant and diligent approach leads to an eating experience that is truly unique.
Drawing a direct line from practices to quality can be challenging, but with more testing and data, we are getting closer.
Regenerative practices like adaptive grazing allow us to place our animals in the right location at the right time and for the right reason. Our cattle consume a diverse diet of grasses, forbs, wildflowers, native warm-season grasses, and more in a dynamic landscape we continually improve, using cattle as a living tool.
Ongoing scientific research has determined that the diversity of cattle forage has a direct effect on the nutritional profile of the beef. Diligent grazing management in a 100% grassfed & finished operation results in a product with higher concentrations of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients than beef raised in conventional (grain-feeding) systems.
As responsible land stewards, we are committed to raising our cattle in a way that continuously improves soil quality, forages, water retention, wildlife habitat, and carbon cycling. Ecological Outcome Verification audits ensure we meet these metrics.
We are proud to farm in a manner that has a verifiable positive impact on ecosystem health, allowing us to produce food that may benefit human health.