A new video features lush pastures, grubby farmers, and happy cows showing off the benefits of pasture-based animal agriculture.  Produced by the Real Organic Project, a “a farmer-led movement created to distinguish soil-grown and pasture-raised products under USDA organic,” the video Raising Animals on Pasture highlights the animal welfare, nutritional, and environmental advantages of animals on pasture.

As our recent piece on the Grassland 2.0 campaign discusses, well-managed grasslands demonstrate how place-based agriculture can enhance the health of the soil by pairing pasture vegetation species to localized soil conditions, promoting a diverse soil microbiome to support nutritious pastures with deep, healthy root structures.  Plus, these organic pastures promote biodiversity of pollinators, birds, and other wildlife and help capture and sequester carbon.

Raising Animals on Pastures includes interviews with several Real Organic Project farmers raising dairy cows and layer chickens. The farmers obviously believe access to pasture and the outdoors makes for a higher-quality product and a premium price. While no one has figured out how to ask cows how they are feeling, we can attest to the nutritional quality at least.  Our research on the nutritional quality of organic grassmilk has shown a dramatic increase in health omega fatty acids compared to conventional milk.

This is just the latest piece that points to some real, solid alternatives to the status quo in agriculture.  We promise to keep bringing you these stories of hope, especially in these challenging times.