I was at the Governor’s Ag Conference in Dover, Delaware recently. My column runs in the Delmarva Farmer. Bruce, the publisher, asked me … well, here’s how he put it:

“A debate is raging here about which tastes better, grass or grain fed beef. What do you think?”

My first thought was, ‘does the continuing use of my column in his paper depend on my answer?!’

As I recall, they served chicken at the noon luncheon, so I didn’t get a chance to surreptitiously overhear his comments about beef. To parse the question, he did not say grass fat or grain fat beef. Had that been the case I could have passed along the observations of meat guru Dr. Gary Smith at CSU, who said, “People crave 3 things: salt, chocolate and fat.”

I’m not sure how he determined that. Did he lock three diabetics with congestive heart failure in a room? Keep them off feed for 24 hours then lay out platters of salt and pepper, chocolate and vanilla, and fat and tofu to see which disappeared first?

Or did he take a random grouping of Farm House fraternity boys, put them in a locker and waft the scent of fat, chocolate and salt by them to see which made them drool? Maybe use BBQ sauce, woman’s perfume, and new car smell as controls?

But obviously, grain or grass fat is not the issue. What needs to be addressed is grass vs. grain. First, grass is cheaper where it rains. You don’t have to haul it to the cattle. You haul the cattle to the grass, which immediately brings up fencing. Barb wire, hog wire, electric, wooden, plastic, rail or pipe. Inedible fencing material would be the best choice because if it were wood, we’d complicate the problem by having to consider the taste of pine-fenced cattle vs. cedar vs. osage orange which might flavor the meat.

Regarding grain fed cattle, the grains include corn vs. all the others. Corn fed beef is supposed to have a yellow fat. It looks better with some meals than barley or wheat-fed cattle, which have a white fat.

So, it comes down to comparing, clashing, or complementary-colored side dishes. Sweet potatoes, for instance, and pinto beans go better with white wheat fed beef; peas and pickled beets enhance yellow corn fed beef.

In conclusion, the key word in this question is “raging.” I saw no overt signs of raging when I was there. But I do know that the one place I do not want to be is in the middle of anything raging. Be it a fire, a pancake breakfast or a controversy wherein beef is in the taste buds of the beholder.

Sorry, Bruce. I guess I chickened out. Would that be free range or wheat fed chicken? PD