Boyden Farm beef is a naturally-grown product with no hormones used and no growth-promoting antibiotics. Boyden Farm finishes their cattle on feed grown at Boyden Farm. This feed is organically-grown or in transition to be organic; without using herbicides, pesticides or synthetic fertilizer.

At this time, Boyden Farm is shifting the finishing process or final feeding of its beef to strictly grass fed. Grass-fed cattle provides for a healthier beef product that most consumers are craving. Grass feeding also provides Boyden Farm with a more sustainable approach to its crop raising. Boyden Farm uses what Mark calls a Sweet Grass Finish which is a special blend of grasses planted each spring such as Sorghum/Sudan Hybrids. These grasses are high in natural sugars. The sugars in turn provide the cattle a high energy grass diet which produces a quality finished beef that we strive for.

The difference between the sweet grass finish and ordinary grass finish is that ordinary grass-fed beef is inconsistent for the growth of the animal. This causes difficulty in producing a well finished beef product for each animal. The animals lack the levels of energy needed to create a well marbled and flavored product. The sweet grass feeding system will be in full use by autumn 2010. Mark has been monitoring the use of the grasses and is preparing to plant the necessary crops at this time.

Since 2005, Boyden Farm Beef has been grass and pasture fed until the last stages of finishing where the cattle received a grass/corn/soy bean mix. This mix gave the energy necessary to create the well marbled, well flavored beef product from the start. The general consumer has always had variable thoughts and feelings as to this finishing process, therefore the change to our sweet grass system.