Links

The following links to websites, organizations or articles offer value information about grassfarming, food and related topics:

STOCKMAN GRASSFARMER.COM is the official website of The Stockman GrassFarmer, Allan Nation's monthly periodical about the science and art of raising ruminants on pasture. This magazine is the "glue" that keeps the far-flung grassfarming community together. I'll be writing about the nutritional benefits of grassfarming in future issues. stockmangrassfarmer.com

THE ABCs OF PASTURE GRAZING by Ben Bartlett, Michigan State University is an 11-page article providing information on why well-managed pastures are "Always the Best Crop for the environment, for the grazing animal, and for you." It is a part of the L P E S (Livestock and Poultry Environmental Stewardship) Small Farms Fact Sheet series.

AGRICOLA is an extensive government database of books and articles about agriculture. agricola.nal.usda.gov/

ALTERNATIVE FARMING, an annotated database from the Animal Welfare Institute. What a goldmine! At this site you'll find information about marketing grassfed products, full-text articles about farming alternatives, advice on how to promote the welfare of farm animals... Many hours of invaluable information. www.awionline.org/farm/alt-farming.html

The (AGA) AMERICAN GRASSFED ASSOCIATION focuses on all species of pasture-raised animals. The group is involved in communication, education, research and marketing. AGA has annual conferences, regular newsletters, and frequent e-news. One of its goals is to safeguard the term "grassfed" so that it really means grassfed. Producers, professionals, and private memberships are available. Contact AGA by calling 877-77-GRASS or visiting www.americangrassfed.org

The AMERICAN PASTURED POULTRY PRODUCERS' ASSOCIATION (APPA) is a nonprofit educational and networking organization dedicated to encouraging the production, processing, and marketing of poultry raised on pasture... APPPA's world vision is to see pastured poultry adopted as the model for environmentally, emotionally, and economically sensible poultry production. This vision includes decentralized food systems, farmstead-sized processing, and as much interaction as possible between producer and consumer." Great people! apppa.org

The ANIMAL WELFARE APPROVED program audits and certifies family farms that use high-welfare farming methods. Animals on AWA farms are raised on pasture or range with the “most stringent” standards, according to the World Society for the Protection of Animals. AWA is the only USDA-recognized label that prohibits feedlots, cages and crates. Their website includes a search tool to find where their farmers' products are available for purchase, as well as a blog about food, agriculture and farm animal welfare. and definitions of many common--and not so common--food labels: Food Labeling for Dummies. www.animalwelfareapproved.org.

CHICKEN FEED: GRASS-FED CHICKENS & PASTURED POULTRY. This is a succinct but thorough introduction to raising chickens on pasture. The site has a good overview of the advantages and disadvantages of the four main methods—pasture pens, "chicken tractors," free-ranging, and day-ranging. www.lionsgrip.com/pastured.html

The EAT WELL GUIDE is a free online directory of family farms, restaurants, markets and other outlets of fresh, locally-grown food throughout the United States and Canada.. www.eatwellguide.org/

FACTORYFARMS.ORG. The focus of this website is to "eliminate factory farming in favor of a sustainable food production system which is healthful and humane, economically viable and environmentally sound." www.factoryfarm.org

FOOD ROUTES connects you with local farmers throughout the United States who produce the freshest, tastiest food around. In addition, Food Routes provides information about local markets, and CSAs. They've got the bases covered. The site is also an excellent resource for information about the benefits of choosing locally produced, sustainably grown food. www.foodroutes.org/

GRASS FED BEEF is a cooperative project between California State University, Chico College of Agriculture and University of California Cooperative Extension. Its purpose is to provide a scientific review of the literature available on grass-fed beef, to provide information on how to develop a label for niche marketing of beef products, to provide recipes for cooking grass fed prooducts, and to provide updates of grassfed beef research. www.csuchico.edu/agr/grassfedbeef/mission.html

GRASS-BASED FARMING: A DEMO DAIRY PROJECT. An article about grass-based dairies, published in Agriculture Research magazine, a publication of the Agricultural Research Service. www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/oct99/dairy1099.htm

GRASSFARMER.COM is a comprehensive electronic information site on dairy grazing and grass-based farming systems . Visitors will be able to tour farming operations in the United States, Canada and New Zealand to see how grazers manage livestock on grass. This is also the web site of Cove Mt. Farm, a seasonal grass dairy operated by the American Farmland Trust to demonstrate the economic and environmental benefits of grassfarming. grassfarmer.com

HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL is a comprehensive educational website with over 150 pages of information about Holistic Management. This site includes a secure server to order products, as well as a regularly updated events calendar. You can learn about holistic management principles either from the detailed descriptions or from the many on-line articles available to you free. www.holisticmanagement.org

HUMANE FARM ANIMAL CARE (HFAC). Since its inception in 2003, HFAC's mission has been to improve the welfare of farm animals by providing viable, credible, duly-monitored standards for humane food production and ensuring consumers that certified products meet these standards. This has been accomplished through the Certified Humane Raised and Handled® certification and labeling program. Over the last 6 years, HFAC's "Certified Humane" program has expanded from 143,000 animals raised under the standards to over 22 million animals in 2008 alone. www.certifiedhumane.org

The INSTITUTE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH and EDUCATION (IERE) is a non-profit organization dedicated to fact-based environmental decision making. IERE has a sustainable agriculture program based on farm environmental management systems that measure performance based on Life Cycle Assessment. IERE has offices in Vashon, Washington and Davenport, IA.  iere.org

LONGEVITY & HEALTH IN ANCIENT PALEOLITHIC vs. NEOLITHIC PEOPLES : Not what you may have been told. This article by Ward Nicholson summarizes research into the downturn in health that accompanied the agricultural revolution. www.beyondveg.com/nicholson-w/angel-1984/angel-1984-1a.shtml

The MEATRIX is a wonderful, animated cartoon about the differences between pig farms and hog factories. If you haven't seen this yet, you're missing out. www.themeatrix.com/

NATIONAL CENTER FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY INFORMATION'S PUB MED. Go here to read abstracts of the medical studies cited in this website and in the Comments and Endnotes section of Why Grassfed is Best! If you want the complete papers, you'll have to retrieve them at a medical library. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/

NATURAL BEEF: CONSUMER ACCEPTABILITY, MARKET DEVELOPMENT & ECONOMICS. Thinking of becoming a grassfarmer? This University of California Sustainable Research and Education (SARE) sponsored study gives you a realistic look at some of the factors involved. One of the conclusions of this study is that "transportation was the most sensitive item in the expenditures. The major consideration in grass-fed beef is location: the location of the nearest USDA-inspected processing plant, and the location of the target market. Thus, strategically locating the grass-fattening operations near a processing plant and the target market greatly reduces the operational costs."  www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/grants/reports/nader/Intro.HTM

PASTURE FOR DAIRY CATTLE: CHALLENGES and OPPORTUNITIES. This article by Donna M. Amaral-Phillips, Roger W. Hemken, Jimmy C. Henning, and Larry W. Turner gives a comprehensive overview of grass-based dairy nutrition. www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/asc/asc151/asc151.htm