Free range is making money because of the added value of appeasing one’s conscious that the cows were happily grazing up until their slaughter.
Taste tests confirm (at least with me) that grass fed has far less flavor than corn fed.
But sacrificing flavor for peace of mind is apparently good enough for certain segments of the cattle industry to make a go of it.
I’m told by people who’ve studied such things that one reason grass-fed beef often has less flavor or comes out tough is because they’re often butchered before they should be. There’s a spot where the neck meets the chest on a steer that will look nice and full when it’s ready to be butchered. If it looks loose and flappy it needs to fatten more.
2nd hand information, so take that for what it’s worth.