How Vital Farms’ network of family farms is helping consumers track their eggs from the pasture to the plate

Vital Farms lets consumers see where their eggs come from. Vital Farms Consumers want to know where their food comes from, and that includes eggs. Vital Farms is dedicated to advancing and promoting traceability in food production.

The company offers consumers the chance to see firsthand how their hens are raised. Vital Farms is built around the mission  to improve the lives of people, animals, and the planet by bringing ethical food to the table. But consumers are more curious than ever about how that food gets to their table.

Allowing consumers a peek at the farm, with the chance to see a 360-degree video of  “the girls” (how Vital Farms affection aly refers to their hens), is just one of the ways the company is advancing progress and promoting traceability in food production. Vital Farms works with more than 300 family farms that are located along the Pasture Belt, the part of the US that stretches from Oklahoma to the Carolinas, with many farmers in Arkansas and Missouri. The region’s temperate climate enables more than 3.

4 million hens to roam on over 8,400 acres of pasture outdoors year-round. Anthony and Seth Wells hanging out with the “girls” on their family farm. Vital FarmsIf consumers want to know where their eggs were laid, Vital Farms lets them get a glimpse at those pastures and farms.

By plugging in the farm name listed on the side panel of their egg carton, egg buyers can see a 360-degree video of the farm. They may even get to witness “the girls” roaming outside and enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. “We set our paddocks up so there are plenty of trees for the girls to play in,” Anthony from Wells Family Farms said.

Picking the right farmsBut it takes a little more than committing to pasture-raised hens to work with Vital Farms. The company selects their family farmers as carefully as they do their eggs for the consumer. The farmer selection and onboarding process begins with an application and a meeting.

The Vital Farms team then surveys the farmland to ensure that it meets its environmental and animal welfare standards. Once a farmer becomes part of the Vital Farms network of family farms, they must attend Egg School, a comprehensive training program that focuses on farm management and hen handling, nutrition, and pasture rotation. The farmers also get their own farm support coordinator and team dedicated to supporting them, and the health of their flock and the land.

Trevor is just one of the farmers who works with Vital Farms. Vital FarmsMost importantly, farmers must share in Vital Farms’ mission to build an ethical food system and treat their hens like the important stakeholders they are.  Farmers usually reach out to Vital Farms through word-of-mouth, which the company believes reflects its positive reputation in the community.

As a result, Vital Farms is recognized as a company that supports family farms and the farmer families who farm them. “I enjoy that it’s a family affair — my wife and kids get to help out, and I work with my parents, too,” Trevor from Bough Family Farms said. The dedicated Vital Farms’ farm support team offers vet support, weekly phone calls, and made 2,900 in-person visits to farmers in 2021, which is part of what makes traceability possible.

That’s because supporting all their shareholders, including farmers, is at the crux of their mission. Gary and Eric from Double Eagle Farms. Vital Farms”Farming can be a game of trying your best and hoping it all goes well.

But at the end of the day, they’re animals and not machines,” Eric from Double Eagle Farms said. “We had some challenges with our first flock — we were new to raising hens, and there was a learning curve to it all. I was on the phone with my farmer support coordinator almost every single day, asking for advice.

“Vital Farms strives to build an ethical system using innovation, intention, progress, and transparency. Whether giving the girls year-round outdoor access, supporting family farmers, allowing anyone to trace their eggs back to the farm, or setting the record straight in the egg aisle, they’re working hard to live up to their motto that they are “keeping it bullsh*t free”. Learn more about Vital Farms, their farmers, crew members, and the girls.

This post was created by Insider Studios with Vital Farms. Read the original article on Insider.