We have met and spoken with Amber Faur many times. As a group, Pastoral Plate has ordered and eaten a few hundred of her chickens. “Superb!” “Real Food.” “So this is what chickens taste like!” About Amber and Son: (The following information is taken from their website.) Amber and Son Farm is a small family run farm located in Sebastopol California. We raise only heritage breed, pasture raised, all natural poultry for local consumers. For us, its about raising animals the way they were meant to live and having a wonderful time doing it. Our farm is built on community and family and we consider ourselves privileged to provide our birds to you..

Wow!! That’s how we feel about  this fabulous egg-producing farm. Wise Acres is on the cutting edge of extremely well-run, small egg farms. The farm is completely organic. Ryan Boyd built all the mobile hens houses himself and they can be easily moved around the farm. The hens are free and happy and when Raina approaches, they sing out. This is a wonderful farm.

From their website: “Jeanne and Al continue the commitment to sustainable farming established by Jeanne’s grandfather over a century ago – the animals are pasture-fed and range free, grazing in large (200 – 300 acre) pastures, given no antibiotics or hormones and handled using low-stress, humane methods. McCormack Ranch consists of 3,700 acres and lies in the historic Montezuma Hills along the Sacramento River. The ranch produces dry land wheat and barley in rotation with grass-fed sheep and grass-fed Boer goats. Jeanne and Al are dedicated to educating people about local food production, conservation and sustainability.”

(From their website) Stemple Creek Ranch is a family owned and operated cattle ranch in Marin County, California. We raise our animals on our own pasture land just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean. Our beef and lamb is all natural and grass-fed, and we are confident you will enjoy and appreciate it as much as we do. We invite you to Taste What You’ve Been Missing.

Carinelli’s is a dairy farm that also raises and sells beef. I visited the ranch during the first week of May. It is meticulously operated according to dairy rules and regulations. The beef is grass-fed and very well cared for.

From their website: “Pete, Kasie, Hanna and Claire Langley along with our very large extended family are raising welfare compasionate Pigs, cattle and chickens, with the hogs being our main focus. Our hogs are raised on natural ground with access to shelter. We use our hogs as rototillers to turn up the soil prior to planting our pesticide free gardens. After our family has harvested what we can use the hogs are turned back into the gardens to clean up whats left and to re-fertilize for next years planting.”