Three cows. One pasture. Every number.

Three grass-finished cows from one of our Montana ranches, tested by Edacious (ISO/IEC 17025 accredited, ANAB), results released August 25, 2026. Values per 100 g raw ground beef unless noted. Averages are three animals; single-animal detail is further down.

Fat balance

The omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is a widely used marker of what a cow ate; grass-finished beef generally runs lower than grain-finished. The reference averages are from the largest study of commercial beef to date (253 grass-fed and 84 grain-fed ribeyes, 108 producers).

Fat-soluble vitamins and the grass in the fat

Minerals

Selenium is one of two markers where the three-animal average sits below the USDA reference (the other is niacin, −13%). Shown on purpose. It still clears the FDA "rich in" threshold at a 112 g serving. Tags mark the FDA nutrient content claims Edacious flags as eligible. USDA reference values are the USDA Ground Beef entries shown on the Edacious Compare page, converted from its 112 g serving to 100 g.

What the FDA lets us say

Nutrient content claims the Edacious Claims Guide marks eligible for our ground beef at a 112 g serving. "Rich in" means 20 percent or more of the Daily Value per serving; "good source" means 10 percent or more. Values are per serving.

Claims follow FDA thresholds in 21 CFR 101.54 and 101.61 as applied by Edacious. Edacious notes that claim eligibility is based on the samples submitted; more samples across seasons make a claim more defensible.

Does age show up? Three animals, one per age

The question we sent to the lab: does a decade on grass build nutrition a younger animal hasn't had time for? Read these as three data points, not a trend.

The working theory on flavor

The older animals tasted noticeably different. On the ribeye fat panel, three markers moved together from the youngest to the older two. Some published studies tie these shifts to beef flavor; others find no link. Consistent with what we tasted, not proof of why. Three animals, one per age, so age cannot be separated from individual variation.

The full report

Every measured value, per 100 g raw, for each of the three animals. Animal one is the 3-year-old, animal two the 5-year-old, animal three the 10-year-old. Both older animals carried the tenderness markers on a DNA test run before harvest. <LOQ means below the lab's limit of quantitation.

Ground beef

Values per 100 g raw ground beef, 100 percent beef, no other ingredients.

Ribeye

Tested with the fat cap on, so per-100 g vitamin and mineral figures run lower than a trimmed steak would.

Carotenoids

Run on a composite of the three animals for each cut, mcg per 100 g.

FDA claims, ground beef

At the 112 g serving used in the Edacious Claims Guide. Also eligible: "low sodium" (77 mg per serving). Rich in protein, niacin, vitamin B6, zinc and selenium. Good source of riboflavin, pantothenic acid, phosphorus and iron. 39 eligible nutrient content claims.

Limits of this batch

Three animals from one pasture, one per age; differences between animals cannot be separated from age. Ribeye tested fat cap on. Carotenoids measured on composites. USDA comparisons use the reference as presented on the Edacious platform. Composition only; nothing here is a claim about what this beef does in a person.

Methods

Samples collected July 24, 2026 from three animals harvested at a local butcher and submitted through the Grass Roots Farmers' Cooperative account at Edacious, PBC (ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited by ANAB). Each sample analyzed raw, as received, across 108 measurements: proximates, fatty acid profile, vitamins, minerals and heavy metals, plus carotenoids on composites. Results released August 25, 2026. "Rich in" and "good source" follow FDA thresholds (21 CFR 101.54). Download the numbers: batch-one-data.tsv.