A directory built on purpose.
Independent, operator-run, and built to be the resource we wished existed when we started looking for real pasture-raised beef.
Why this exists
“Pasture-raised” isn’t legally defined for beef in the United States. That means the label on the package can mean grass-fed-and-finished cattle living their whole lives on open pasture — or it can mean cattle that touched grass for a few weeks before a grain finish in a feedlot. Same word. Different animal. Different farm.
The directories that exist today either rank for the search and offer a wall of unstructured text from the early 2000s, or they exist as side projects of certifying bodies and only list their own members. There’s no single, well-edited, source-attributed map of who actually raises beef on pasture in this country.
That’s what this is trying to be.
Who runs it
One person: Spencer Vail, based in Utah. That’s the entire team in V1. If you email hello@pastureraisedbeef.com you are emailing a human who will read it and respond.
Producers are aggregated from publicly available directories (Eatwild, Grass Fed Junction) and presented with source attribution. The full editorial standard — what we check and what we don’t do yet — lives at /methodology.
Spencer Vail — founder and editor. Solo operator based in Utah. Built the directory after spending too long trying to find honest, source-attributed information about real pasture-raised beef producers.
All editorial decisions, scraping pipelines, verification work, and journal writing pass through one inbox — the hello@pastureraisedbeef.com address above. The collective “PRB Editors” byline used elsewhere on the site refers to this same desk; it stays collective to leave room for additional editors as the publication grows.
How it's funded
Out of pocket, by the operator. There is no investor, no advisory board, no grant. In V1 there are no paid listings, no affiliate links, no banner ads, and no data sales — that’s a description of how the project works today, not a forever promise.
A sustainable revenue model is on the V2 roadmap. Likely shapes: producers paying to claim and enhance their own page with custom photography and a deeper profile; clearly labeled featured placements; lead routing for producers who want it. What won’t change with any of that: the editor’s note isn’t bought, paid placements are visibly labeled as such, and producers can always remove their listing entirely. The full editorial baseline lives on the methodology page.
Reach a human.
Questions about a listing, press, partnership inquiries, tips on producers we’ve missed, polite corrections to anything on the site — all welcome.
hello@pastureraisedbeef.com