Lawless and cattle appropriate

Under natural conditions, cattle graze across pastures and cover several kilometers per day. As social animals, they live together in herds and the mother animals lead their calves, which feed on the milk and the pasture. 

In the countries of the southern hemisphere where GVFI buys beef, the animals are kept permanently on large pastures. Due to the permanent pasture keeping, the climatic conditions around the animals cannot be influenced as in stable keeping, but the animals have adapted optimally to the given environmental conditions over the years. For this reason, breeds that have a proportion of Bos indicus genetics are used in the rather hotter regions, while in the rather cooler regions European fattening breeds can be fattened purebred. That the animals feel comfortable in their husbandry environment is shown, among other things, by their healthy musculoskeletal system and very good daily gains. In addition to the choice of the optimal breed, the pastures are prepared in such a way that there are areas for the different needs of the mother animals depending on their reproductive stage, but also pastures with energy- and protein-rich pasture plants for the fattening animals. For one fattening animal, a grazing area of about 1.5 hectares is calculated. All animals on the pastures have permanent access to water from large natural or artificial drinking troughs, which have an open surface that allows the cattle to drink in a manner appropriate to their species.

The high-quality beef that GVFI buys comes from grass-fed animals that have been fattened in grazing systems. This type of animal husbandry is agricultural practice in the countries of production, but is not legally prescribed and regulated in mm, cm and m2. However, through a combination of genetics, pasture, professional care and know-how, it is one of the most species-appropriate ways to keep cattle for beef production.