Here at Our Cow, we can say with 100% certainty that our beef is among the absolute best quality in Australia.
We know this because:
1. Our Cow meat is graded in the Top 25% of beef eating quality in Australia*
2. Our Cow’s average beef rating sits significantly higher than the Australian MSA rating in 2021*
3. We only work with farmers that we’ve personally vetted to ensure they work and live within Our Cow’s highest standards for animal health and wellbeing. These standards are derived from a nationally recognised framework^ that encompass the five key domains for animal welfare, being nutrition, environment, health, behaviour, and mental state
We’re very proud to report that we’re not only meeting, but well and truly exceeding the Australian standards for beef quality. This has been achieved through our unrelenting decision to only work with farmers who share the same high standards as us for their grass fed beef cattle, and the sustainable futures of their properties.
Our Cow’s beef quality grading, compared to the Australian average
The average MSA rating in Australia in 2021 is 57.69*. Comparatively, the rating of Our Cow’s meat is just under 61, from all naturally grass fed producers; sitting significantly higher than average. This demonstrates the high quality of Our Cow’s product, compared to that readily available in Aussie supermarkets.
In other words, all of our cattle sit in the top 25% of beef cattle eating quality in Australia, which takes into account high grain fed animals and wagyu producing animals across the country. This is a statistic we’re incredibly proud of, but are not surprised by, when you consider the quality of farmers we choose to work with.
The use of synthetic hormones in grain fed cattle
According to the MLA Australian Beef Eating Quality Insights 2021 Report, 60% of MSA graded cattle were grain fed from a feedlot, rather than grass fed, and half of those animals graded had been implanted with Hormonal Growth Promotants (HGP)*. HGP is a synthetic hormone used to increase an animal’s weight unnaturally quickly (faster than it could be increased naturally through regular feeding), and is used to increase weight gain and production benefits in cattle for sale.
According to this article on the use of HGP in cattle, “On average, daily weight gain can be improved by 10-30%, and feed conversion efficiency can be improved by 5-8%, when compared to non-HGP treated animals.” Additionally, MSA consumer sensory testing has validated that HGP treatment has a negative impact on eating quality, partly due to an increase in enzymes which inhibit ageing*. This means that while HGP-treated animals tend to produce a higher sale price due to their increased weight, it’s been proven that the taste and quality of the beef these animals produce is reduced.
It’s easy to understand why HGP use is so widespread in grain fed cattle in Australia today, however, it also demonstrates why it is more expensive, and takes longer, to produce a naturally grass fed animal, versus its grain fed counterpart. This is why our meat, sourced only from grass-fed producers who don’t use synthetic hormones, can sometimes be more expensive than our supermarket counterparts.
It’s gratifying for us here at Our Cow to see these results supporting what we already know; that we source the best, healthiest, grass-fed and ethically raised animals in the country.
Traceability from our Australian Farmers to your dinner plate
The majority of Australian beef is shipped overseas, and what’s left is what you'll find on the supermarket shelves. This makes it impossible for you, the customer, to have any real idea where your beef came from, or how many different facilities and animals were involved in its production.
Farmers who supply to large feedlots also aren’t able to know where their product ends up, or how their product is received; there’s simply too many links in the chain between their farm and their customer’s plate. When you consider that Australia genuinely produces some of the best quality beef in the world, it’s a shame to know that us Aussies generally don’t get to benefit from that production.
At Our Cow, we’re proud to provide a direct link between our farmers and our customers, so that every customer knows exactly where their meat is coming from, and can even have a direct relationship with the farming family that raised it!
We wanted to give our customers a means of directly supporting our Aussie farmers through their food choices, so that their dollars are going directly to families just like theirs, rather than to a large corporation where farmers and customers are just another number.
Similarly, our farmers are able to experience an incredible sense of pride, enjoyment, responsibility and obligation to their customers and to us. They must ensure their cattle are the best possible quality so that their customers, knowing exactly where it came from, aren’t let down and want to keep coming back for more.
In this day and age, the ability of our farmers to be so directly and intimately connected to their customers is a real privilege, and is never taken for granted.
Top 25% of eating quality in all of Australia
As you can see, here at Our Cow we’ve built our business’s reputation on the premise that we provide the best quality meat possible in Australia. The farmers we choose to work with, the way they treat their animals to ensure they’re well cared for, fed and nourished, exemplifies our mission and philosophy. However, it’s heartening to see that what we already know about our business is further proven by the data, with Our Cow meat independently graded in the Top 25% of eating quality in all of Australia.
With our promise of only working with purely grass-fed, sustainable, non-HGP farmers, we know that our promise of exceptional quality is met, every time. You really can’t beat Our Cow for quality.
Add some of our top notch grass fed and finished beef to your next order by Building your Box today.
*Meat & Livestock Australia: 2021 Australian Beef Eating Quality Insights Report
^Australian Beef Sustainability Report: 2022 Annual Update
