Kearney, Neb. ? Television journalist Bill Kurtis says that after he bought some tallgrass prairie land in his native Kansas, he looked for a way to pay for it.

“I liked the land more than the cattle,” Kurtis said Friday in Kearney. “I like the thought of preserving the tallgrass prairie … so you look around for ways to pay for it.”

Nonetheless, he said, his business options included agritourism and cattle.

Kurtis, who hosts the A&E Network shows “Cold Case Files” and “American Justice,” was in Kearney for the 2006 Grass Genetics Showcase and Conference as a producer and marketer of grass-fed beef.

His interest in raising beef with no hormones, no antibiotics, no feedlots and no grain began after he and a cousin bought the Red Buffalo Ranch near Sedan, Kan., not far from his childhood home in Independence.

The 10,000 acres sit at the south end of east-central Kansas’ Flint Hills, which is believed to be the largest continuous stretch of tallgrass prairie in the world.

He and others have noticed the explosion in demand for grass-fed beef. “We are ahead of the curve of what I believe will be one of the greatest revolutions in our food industry,” Kurtis said, describing the demand as a revolt against overprocessed foods.

The number of grass-fed-beef producers has grown from about 40 seven years ago to about 1,000 today, according to an estimate from the American Grassfed Association.

Grass-fed beef is a leaner meat; fat tends to form around the muscle. With corn-fed beef, the fat streaks the muscle in marblelike patterns.

The grass-fed cattle meat is higher in omega-3s – fatty acids that are believed to benefit the heart – and lower in saturated fat and cholesterol.

All beef cattle graze on grass at the beginning of their lives. The difference generally is that grass-fed beef herds graze in pastures, while conventional cattle spend the last three or four months of their lives being fattened with corn, corn products or other grains in feedlots.

Once Kurtis decided to produce grass-fed beef, he tried to organize a co-op of like-minded producers. He failed, he said, because while ranchers know how to raise cattle, they don’t know much about marketing them.

Then he founded Tallgrass Beef Co. LLC last year, putting his familiar TV face and name and his marketing talents to work in a different venue.

“How many ranchers can get on the ‘Today’ show?” he asked.

He also employed specialists in grass-fed beef genetics and nutrition.

Kurtis said the best business and the best meat starts with the best cattle. So he’s gone back to original British breeds, searching for the right genetic combination for the best flavor, tenderness and nutrition.

He hopes to harvest about 1,000 head this year, 10,000 next year and 25,000 head by 2008.

He said he’s been targeting restaurants and chefs known for using fresh and organic products because “they become believers and real salesmen.”