Begun in 2005 by Mike and Deb Hansen in central Wisconsin, Good Earth Farms includes five operations that sell nearly all of their certified organic meat through the internet. Products include grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork and chickens and turkeys. Founding farmers Mike and Deb partnered with four other family farms, including two Amish producers, to divide labor and organically raise meat animals.

The official mission statement for Good Earth Farms is “to produce the highest quality organic grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork and pasture-raised poultry and make it available at a reasonable price to all who seek it.”

Good Earth Farms case study
Good Earth Farms Research Brief

These publications are part of a series of case studies and Research Briefs examining values-based food supply chains—strategic business alliances formed between primarily midsize farms/ranches and their supply chain partners. Values-based food supply chains distribute significant volumes of high-quality, differentiated food products and share the rewards equitably. Farmers and ranchers function as strategic partners rather than easily replaced input suppliers. All participants in these business alliances recognize that creating maximum value for the product depends on significant interdependence, collaboration and mutual support. These supply chains attach importance to both the values embedded in the production of the food products AND the values that characterize the business relationships.