Why Fall Is the Best Time for Grass-Finished Beef | Cunningham Pastured Meats

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October 2, 2026

There’s something special about beef harvested in late summer and early fall.

After months of grazing, our finishing cattle have spent the entire growing season putting on weight, building muscle, and taking advantage of the grasses and forages growing on our pastures. By the time fall arrives, many of our cattle are beautifully filled out and reaching the stage of finish we have been patiently working toward all year.

For us, this is when the art of grass finishing really comes into play.

It Starts With the Pasture

Exceptional beef begins long before the animal reaches the butcher.

Our cattle spend their lives on pasture, grazing a diverse mix of forage. Our ranch pastures include wild meadow grasses, clover, and non-GMO alfalfa, and we do not use chemical fertilizers or herbicides on our ranch.

Rather than feeding cattle a grain-based finishing ration, we allow them to develop on pasture and finish entirely on grass and forage. This is what we mean when we say our beef is 100% grass-fed and grass-finished.

The USDA's definition of a grass-fed claim for ruminants centers on forage as the animal's feed source throughout its lifetime, with the exception of milk before weaning.

We believe that diverse, healthy pasture is one of the foundations of great beef.

And late summer and early fall can be a particularly exciting time to see the results.

Why We Love Fall-Finished Beef

By fall, our cattle have had an entire summer to graze and grow.

They aren't being rushed toward a finish. Instead, we watch their body condition, how they are filling out, the quality of the pasture, and the individual characteristics of each animal.

The goal isn't simply to make an animal heavier.

We're looking for that point where the animal has developed the combination of muscle, marbling, tenderness, and overall finish that makes exceptional beef.

That's why grass finishing is more like making a fine wine than following a simple recipe.

You can't rush it.

You can't treat every animal exactly the same.

And you have to know when the time is right.

Grass Finishing Takes Experience

One of the misconceptions about grass-finished beef is that you simply put cattle on grass and wait.

There's much more to it than that.

Finishing cattle well on grass requires an understanding of the animal, the land, the season, and how those things work together. Weather can change pasture conditions. Different cattle mature at different rates. And the quality and availability of forage changes throughout the year.

That means we spend a lot of time watching.

We watch the cattle.

We watch the pasture.

We watch their body condition.

And we learn to recognize when an animal has reached its ideal finish.

That's something we've developed through years of raising cattle and paying close attention to what produces the kind of beef we want to put on our own family's table.

Why Choose Grass-Finished Beef?

Grass-finished beef is different from conventional grain-finished beef—not just in how the cattle are raised, but also in the resulting nutritional profile.

Research comparing beef production systems has found that grass-finished beef can have higher concentrations of certain nutrients and fatty acids, including omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), although the differences vary depending on factors such as breed, age, diet, and management.

For us, though, the bigger picture matters most.

We want our cattle to spend their lives doing what cattle are naturally designed to do: grazing, walking, and living on pasture.

We want healthy soil supporting healthy pasture.

We want healthy cattle.

And we want to turn that into beef our family is proud to feed our own family.

From Our Family's Ranch to Your Family's Table

Cunningham Pastured Meats began with our family's ranch and a desire to provide the kind of beef we wanted to feed our own family.

Today, we raise 100% grass-fed and grass-finished beef, along with pasture-raised pork and chicken. Our beef is raised on pasture without grain, added hormones, or antibiotics.

Our ranch is in eastern Oregon, and our meat is processed, packaged, and shipped from Caldwell, Idaho. For families outside the Boise area, we now offer frozen home delivery throughout the United States, with 1-day or 2-day Ground shipping available in eligible areas and Overnight shipping to other locations.

That means you don't have to live down the road from our ranch to fill your freezer with beef from our family.

Whether you're in Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Montana, or elsewhere in the West, you can order directly from Cunningham Pastured Meats and have our pasture-raised meats shipped to your door.

Fall Is a Great Time to Fill Your Freezer

Fall is when we get especially excited about the beef coming into our freezers.

These cattle have spent an entire summer grazing, growing, and thriving on pasture. They've had time to develop naturally, and we've had time to watch and wait for them to reach the right stage of finish.

We believe that patience makes a difference.

The best beef isn't rushed.

It's raised carefully, finished thoughtfully, and harvested when the animal is ready.

If you've been looking for 100% grass-fed, grass-finished beef delivered to your home, we'd love for you to give Cunningham Pastured Meats a try.

Shop Grass-Finished Beef

Build your own freezer with steaks, ground beef, roasts, burgers, and more from our family ranch.

Full 2026: Series on The Big Grass Fire "It Starts with a Spark!"

Neighbors Helping Neighbors: Standing Together During the Big Grass Fire July 25th-27th 2026. When wildfires threaten our communities, they don’t stop to ask whose land they’re on. They move quickly, changing lives in a matter of hours. But in rural communities like ours, something else moves just as quickly—neighbors stepping up to help neighbors. As the Big Grass Fire continues to impact parts of Idaho and Oregon, Sean Cunningham of Cunningham Pastured Meats has joined countless ranchers, volunteers, firefighters, and first responders working tirelessly to support those directly affected. But, in spite of the effort to mitigate the damages, the devastation is real to life and property. While the Cunningham ranch has not been directly impacted by the fire, Sean has been spending long days assisting neighboring ranchers whose grazing lands, livestock, fences, and livelihoods have been threatened. Whether helping protect cattle, building fire lines, moving equipment, or supporting firefighting efforts wherever needed, the work reflects something deeply rooted in ranching culture: when one neighbor is hurting, everyone shows up. With but a brief reunion with Sean after his 3 days of fire service. As you can imagine, while Sean is all smiles to finally be home for some much-needed rest, tears were shed by the littles in his reunion with the family! As many of you know, Liz and Sean, while still only in their late 30s, have seven children and one on the way. To date, Liz and Sean have spent days apart, each taking on the role in their own capacity against the fires. Sean on the dozer in the field and Liz capturing the story in a digital war to garner the attention of news agencies like KTVB7, the Lt. Governor's office, the White House, electric company CEOs and others for much needed assistance and support for the communities who are now at the mercy of a rogue grass fire, The Big Grass Fire and simultaneous fires stretching thousands of acres throughout the Jordan Valley and beyond. That spirit of service and capitalizing on each person's strengths to wage the war against the fires is nothing new to ranchers. Across the West, ranchers have long been among the first to respond when wildfire strikes. Their knowledge of the land, equipment, water sources, and terrain often makes them invaluable partners alongside local, state, and federal fire crews. Many volunteer through Rangeland Fire Protection Associations, organizations that have become an essential part of wildfire response throughout Oregon and Idaho. These partnerships help firefighters respond more quickly while protecting communities, grazing lands, wildlife habitat, and homes. For ranching families, these fires aren’t simply headlines—they’re deeply personal. A single fire can erase years of stewardship, destroy fencing, eliminate forage needed to feed cattle, and disrupt generations of hard work. Yet even in the face of tremendous loss, ranchers continue helping one another because that’s simply what neighbors do. We are incredibly grateful to every firefighter, volunteer, dispatcher, law enforcement officer, ranch family, and community member working around the clock to protect lives and property. Their courage and commitment remind us that the strength of rural communities isn’t measured only by the land we steward—it’s measured by the people willing to stand together when it matters most. Please continue keeping the families directly affected by these fires in your thoughts and prayers. Recovery will take time, but our communities have always been built on resilience, compassion, and a willingness to lend a hand. As of Wednesday July 29, 2026 at 8 am the non-official update includes official agencies holding the line with the yellow circles area in the image below a wild card. With potential winds pushing north again, critical barriers may not be enough to hold the fire from encroaching on Silver City. The blue circled area on a post seen here with images is the most difficult to manage, with juniper trees, canyons, and rock formations making it difficult terrain to navigate intervention and support. See more details and images here From all of us at Cunningham Pastured Meats and Cliff’s Country Market, thank you to everyone serving on the front lines and behind the scenes. We are honored to stand alongside a community that continues to embody the very best of what it means to be neighbors helping neighbors. We continue to remain steadfast in prayer in the midst of a very active and devastating fire season.🔥Behind the Fire Line July 28 Yesterday, Sean came home long enough to grab a few hours of sleep. By sunrise, he was headed back to the fire. As the Big Grass Fire continued to spread across the rugged country surrounding Jordan Valley, every hour mattered. While air tankers and helicopters often grab the headlines, much of the work happens on the ground—behind the controls of heavy equipment. This time, Sean's office wasn't a pickup. It was a bulldozer. 🔥Farmers Wear Many Hats A donated dozer has become one of the most valuable tools on this fire, helping create what firefighters call fire lines—strips of bare ground that give crews a fighting chance to stop the flames before they race into new country. Out here, there aren't many roads. The canyons are steep. The terrain is unforgiving. So before firefighters can defend the land, someone has to build the path they'll fight from. That's where ranchers like Sean step in.🔥Dusty, Demaninding work! Many of the local Jordan Valley ranchers wear more than one hat. One day they're moving cattle. The next, they're climbing into unfamiliar heavy equipment, figuring out the controls in minutes, and working alongside firefighters to protect neighbors, livestock, wildlife, and open rangeland. It's demanding work. It's dusty. It's dangerous. And it's often done without anyone ever seeing it. Thankfully, this bulldozer has an enclosed cab with air conditioning—a welcome upgrade from many of the older machines that leave operators exposed to smoke, heat, and flying debris during long shifts.🔥Communities don't face disasters alone! One thing has become incredibly clear throughout this fire: Communities don't face disasters alone, they come together! Neighbors have donated equipment. Volunteers have stepped forward. Local ranchers have answered the call. Everyone is doing whatever they can to help. Now, we wait for the calvary to come to our assistance. My role as a digital warriror, is a continued effort to push emails to the governor's office, spread the word of our mayor of Jordan Valley as she makes herself heard on social media in a plea for help. I make posts that are intentional and tagged to the White House seeking attention to what looks to be a dangerous situation brewing in the fires that surround us. And, I share our neighboring rancher's stories as the fire consumes the land and much needed grazing property. 🔥🔥🔥 While Sean continues serving on the fire line, our team back at the Cunningham Pastured Meats continues packing every order from our warehouse at Cliff's Country Market in Caldwell, Idaho. Every order you place helps keep our family business moving while our ranch family helps serve the community. Thank you for standing with us. It means more than you know. Watch Sean's interview with KTVB news.