What "grain-finished" actually means for your plate

Grading and marbling are decided long before an animal reaches the butchery. In the final finishing phase, cattle move onto a grain-based ration formulated for fat deposition within the muscle — the marbling that carries flavour and keeps a cut tender under heat.

We track this phase the same way we track everything else: average daily gain, feed conversion ratio, and body condition score, animal by animal, pen by pen. The result is a grade you can rely on order after order, not a lucky batch.