Michael and Karen O’Mara raise Animal Welfare Approved beef cattle on Harvest Hills Farm in Hanover, IL. Harvest Hills Farm was established in 2004 on 107 acres in Jo Daviess County. The pre-glacial terrain and rolling hills of the county make it a uniquely suitable place for the grassfed herd, as well as a selection of wine grapes the O’Maras grow.

Dan and Joanne Nelson raise Animal Welfare Approved pigs on their family farm, DanJo Farms, in Moberly, Missouri. The Nelsons first started farming professionally in 1997 on a small farm in Utah. In 2002 they moved to Stockton, Missouri, and in 2006, settled into 80 acres in Moberly.

Greg Shafer originally decided to start his farm selling goat milk because his step-son Jake is allergic to cow and soy milk. With this motivation and after extensive research into dairy farming and the health benefits of goat milk, he purchased his first five animals. Since then demand has grown through grassroots networking and now he proudly discusses his sixteen goats and ten cows, including four new calves this year.

Robert Yoder raises Animal Welfare Approved beef cattle and laying chickens at Yoder’s Natural Farm in Bloomfield, IA. Here in the hills of Davis County, Robert manages his farm with the philosophy that “nature knows best.” Robert uses an integrated method of farming that mimics nature’s natural succession in the food chain. Cattle and chickens graze freely on open pastures–building soil fertility, reducing the rate of erosion, and living out their lives in the way that nature intended.

Tom Martin has known since age four that he wanted to be a farmer. His childhood memories of farming with his father have inspired his dedication to the land and his animals, and to leaving both in even better condition for the next generation. “There’s a different way to do things these days that is healthy and productive,” Tom says. “Raising our cattle on pasture is one of the things I can do to make sure that my sons will be able to farm healthy land with healthy animals.”

As a small boy on his grandfather’s mushroom farm, with only a few goats, chickens, and pigs, Scott Hasselmann began dreaming of a farm of his own. Today he lives a two hour drive from the city and raises grassfed laying hens, pigs, cattle, and a dozen sheep with his wife Nena and their two children Georgie and Alexia.

Bob and Barb Corio are the proud owners of the Dakota Harvest Farm, located in Jefferson, South Dakota, where they raise pasture-fed Dorper sheep. The 160-acre family farm provides plenty of room for the lambs, who are born and raised naturally with their mothers on the pastures, to roam and enjoy the fresh air, sunshine, and clean water that the southeastern South Dakota landscape affords.

The MJ Ranch, owned by Mel and Joyce Williams since 1994, is 520 acres of beautiful rolling hills just north of Lawrence, Kansas. Angus cattle, bred for tenderness and marbling, have been born and raised here since 1995 when Mel “retired”. Mel purchased a small herd of cows from the family farm, the same place he was raised. Joyce had also helped on his parents’ family farm since their marriage in 1960. The MJ Ranch now consists of approximately 160 cattle most of the year, which includes the cows, bulls, and calves, in different stages of growth.

Farmer Alvin Thomas, Jr. raises Limousine cattle on his farm Triple T Cattle Company in McCune, Kansas.

Kevin and Cherie Schenker raise Animal Welfare Approved beef cattle on their family farm in McCune, Kansas. The Schenkers are committed to providing a stress-free and humane environment for their animals: their cows graze freely on several hundred acres of prairie and grassland, and in the winter are fed hay made from fresh, native grasses.