Organic Pastures is a fourth generation, family owned and operated, vertically integrated organic farming operation. Their Grade A dairy is 100% organic and 100% pasture-based. Mark, Aaron, and Kaleigh McAfee, who work respectively as Founder and CEO, Operations Manager, and Marketing Manager, value the high quality of milk that comes from a humanely managed herd. Organic Pastures cows are never confined to feedlots and always graze freely on abundant grass pastures.

Joel Mendenhall of Mendenhall Cattle Company raises Animal Welfare Approved beef cattle on the oak-lined meadows of Palomar Mountain in southern California. As Joel explains, “The choice to eat grassfed beef is a choice to improve the welfare of the animals; decrease air, land and water pollution; aid family ranchers in their quest to provide a better product; and feed your family a superior, delicious and more nutritious food.”

TomKat ranch is dedicated to the health and preservation of their land and community. Located in the lush, rolling hills of Pescadero and San Gregorio, just a few miles inland from the Pacific Ocean, TomKat cattle are raised according to the highest welfare standards. Their animals have free access to natural forages, and consume a 100% perennial grass diet.

Rob and Michelle Stokes raise Animal Welfare Approved goats, hogs, and laying hens at Circle O Livestock LLC in Vale, OR. Rob and Michelle believe in working closely with their animals and the environment to create a sustainable enterprise. Handling animals with respect and compassion, while using a poly culture approach in their ranching practices, is the model they feel makes the most sense. By running a diversified operation and practicing rotational grazing, they make the best use of their land while maintaining and improving soil health.

Louisa and Bob Wooton of Kauai Kunana Dairy produce fresh Hawaiian farmstead goat cheese. They have been raising goats in Hawaii since 1979 and making goat cheese for the past decade. “We are the only dairy on the island of Kauai,” Louisa Wooton says proudly. “Kauai Kunana Dairy is a true family farm. We built everything on the farm ourselves, including the house. Our eldest son Ryan and his wife Sarah are our partners.”

Increased food security is one of the guiding principles behind Eden Earthworks, run by Dr. Neena Roumell. Roumell is originally from Detroit and worked with low-income mothers there, who were given vouchers through the WIC program to buy fresh produce. “In Detroit,” Roumell noted, “there were over 300 community gardens, but there were none on this side of the Big Island when I arrived here. Hawaii is just starting to build its network of food production and farmstands, and I didn’t want lower income people to be left out. I looked at food models that concentrated on boosting income and nutritional intake and Eden Earthworks was formed.”

Hawaii Lowline Cattle Company is proud to be part of the resurgence in Hawaii of raising and finishing cattle locally, on pasture. The farm was started by Rick and Haleakala Sakata and Dwayne and Tammie Cypriano, both of Ahualoa, Hawaii. Dwayne Cypriano, an independent rancher who formerly worked in cow-calf operations (keeping a breeding herd of cows and weaning calves for the feedlot system), and Rick Sakata saw an opportunity to do their part to advance Hawaii’s food self-sufficiency by building a herd of Lowline Angus cattle on their ranches. “Lowlines are Angus beef cattle in a compact, smaller frame size. They originated in Australia, where the beef is known for its excellent taste, texture and tenderness characteristics,” Sakata explained. “We were looking for two things when establishing our herd: cattle that were docile and cattle that were well-suited to beef production on grass, and that more efficiently converted grass to meat than today’s larger breeds. Because of their moderate size, two Lowlines can use the pasture space of one of today’s larger breeds, providing more beef per acre of grass and making the land more productive. That’s very important on an island with limited pasture space.”

Joann Hutton, a fourth generation cattle rancher, was six years old when she got her first heifer and she’s had cattle ever since. In the 1990s she took holistic management classes and in 2000 began raising grassfed beef. In 2005, she purchased land east of the Cascade Mountains, where she raises Horned Hereford cattle. Her herd has a small amount of Shorthorn and Angus genetics and some of the same blood lines from her first Horned Hereford cattle. She keeps her own cattle for replacements and only buys bulls for breeding.

Boondockers Farm, operated by Evan Gregoire and Rachel Kornstein, is located in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Evan and Rachel operate the small organic farm using biodynamic methods, water conservation, minimal till methods, and pasture rotation. They also “grow” most of the fertilizer they use with the help of the farm’s animal residents. All of the animals raised on Boondockers Farm are endangered breeds, and Evan and Rachel are passionate about moving these breeds out of their endangered status.

Terry and Laurie Carlson, along with their grandson Brian and 38 dairy goats, work as a team, making raw milk aged cheeses on a seasonal basis. It’s a small-scale farm in the Willamette Valley of western Oregon. The family sells at farmers markets, outlets in Portland, and at an on-site farmstand.