What does pasture raised eggs mean to our farm?

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January 20, 2026

Pasture raised has become a greenwashed term.

So you've probably seen the Vital Farms drama blowing up all over social media. Everyone's arguing about omega-3s and flaxseed and PUFAs.

But honestly? That's not what bugs me about this whole thing.

What bugs me is that "pasture raised" has become this meaningless marketing term that can mean basically whatever a company wants it to mean.

There's no real standard

Here's the deal: "pasture raised" isn't actually regulated by the government for chickens. But there is a 3rd party certification program called The Certified Humane that has a few rules when it comes to pasture raised eggs, they require:

108 square feet per bird outside
At least 6 hours outside per day
"Year-round access to pasture" (weather permitting)

What it means for us

Look, I can't tell you what "pasture raised" means at Vital Farms or any other big company with farms all over the country. I genuinely don't know. Do they? Has anyone from corporate actually been to farm #247 in North Carolina?

What I CAN tell you is exactly what it means at Miller's. We have 3 egg farmers and they all follow the same standards and farming practices.

Our chickens are outside basically all day, every day... except in winter. Let's be real, chickens don't prefer the cold. And they surely do not lay as much in the wintertime. If we made them go out in the winter time, they'd turn into chick-sicles.

They like to hang out in the barns near the heat lamps in the winter and our farmers use wood chips and straw for bedding, so the hens can stir through. They have an affinity for pecking! The farmers place buckets of whole grains (natural weed seeds), on the floor everyday to encourage them to pick through the bedding, just like foraging outside...like a form of exercising for their brain!

During spring through fall though? They're living outside in mobile coops 24/7. They literally never leave the pastures. And when they're out there, they're safe. One of our farmers even has a guard dog to handle any predators trying to crash the party. No hawks are turning our hens into chicken nuggets on our watch.

They're on actual pasture. Not a dirt lot. Not a sad little fenced area next to a warehouse. Fresh grass that we rotate them through every few days so they always have bugs to scratch up and greens to peck at.

They roost in their mobile coops or under the coops at night, where they're safe from predators. That's it.

When I say "fully pasture raised," I mean the birds spend most of their waking hours outside with the exception of wintertime doing chicken stuff. Foraging. Dust bathing. Arguing with each other over a beetle. You know, living their best lives.

Our chickens have 108 square feet + to roam, that's per bird when on pasture.
During the wintertime, one of our farmers has barns that are 2784 sq. ft. with 1,200 birds, that comes to 2.32 sq. ft. per bird. While this does not seem like much space to do the chicken dance, it's way more then most barns.
They are not vaccinated or given any antibiotics!
Fed absolutely no GMO's!
They are fed a corn & soy free feed in addition to what they forage.

Check out the pictures below to see our mobile coops out on pasture.⬇️⬇️

Why any of this matters

Because it actually changes the egg. Farming practices matter!

Chickens on real pasture eat bugs, grass, seeds, and whatever else they can find. They get real sunlight. They move around. And yeah, the eggs taste different. Better nutrition. Speaking of nutrition, you can check out our egg test results blog post here.

Chickens that are technically "pasture raised" because they have access to a concrete pad for 6 hours a day? They're basically just barn chickens with better marketing.

How to actually know what you are getting?

If you're buying from a local farm, just ask them:

How long are your chickens outside each day? Ours are out all day during the spring-fall. If we get rain they can take shelter in the mobile coops on the pastures, same with the summertime. If it's too hot the chickens can hide in the mobile coops and in the tall grasses to stay cool. If there is a predator they can go in the coops or underneath them and hide.
Do you move them to fresh pasture? How often? The mobile coops are moved at least 3-4x a week depending on the pastures. We don't want the pasture to be to be overrun and the soil to be dead so we rotate them. We do this for not only soil health, but for the chickens health too.
How do you protect them hawks and other predators? One of our farmers has a guard dog named daisy, but most commonly our farmers use fences that are able to keep the chickens in and predators out, the high grasses also help to!
What do they do in the wintertime? The chickens don't prefer the cold so they'd rather stay in the barn with the heat lamps. We could leave the doors open but at 5 degrees F the cold air blowing in will freeze all of their water, and with no water egg production will go down.
Do you treat your pastures with any chemicals? At Miller's our pastures are chemical free, no spray and completely biodiverse! There are weeds and high grasses everywhere. Grasses like like clover, alfalfa, dandelion, amaranth and much more! Lots of insects and worms too! Our pastures are pretty biodiverse. Some even share the pasture with the local purple martins, tree and barn swallows. (They help control the flies!)
What do you supplement in their feed? The chickens are fed GMO-free, corn-free, and soy-free feed. The feed contains a specially formulated blend of oats, rolled wheat, peas, alfalfa hay leaves, barley, fishmeal, sesame meal, raw liquid goat whey, vitamins, minerals, and probiotics.(You can view the exact ingredient breakdown here)
**And if you are looking to buy this feed you can purchase it here! (This is our previous marketing managers side biz!)🙂

movable-fences-to-protect-from-predators-and-keep-the-chickens-in.png

Any farmer who's actually doing this stuff will be PUMPED to talk about it. They love showing people around and educating them on regenerative farming and all the nitty gritty.

If you're buying eggs from a grocery store brand... you're trusting their marketing department. Maybe they're legit. Maybe they've got a thousand farms they've never visited and are just hoping for the best. Don't worry though, I go out and check on the chickens occasionally and get a little dirty here and there. Like a wellness checkup, but much louder!

What's your opinion on "pasture raised" and what it means?

I'd love to hear from you. Comment below - no account required, start typing for the guest option to appear 😊

If you want to check out our corn & soy free eggs click here!

Reference: https://certifiedhumane.org/wp...

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From farm to fork: Understanding the value of sustainable pork

Raising Pork the Old-Fashioned Way: Miller's Bio Farm's Commitment to Quality At Miller's Bio Farm, we're not trying to reinvent the wheel, we're bringing back the farming practices that sustained communities for generations. As an Amish farm, we understand that good stewardship of the land and animals isn't just about business; it's about honoring creation and providing wholesome food for families. When you buy pork from us, you're getting more than just meat. You're getting the result of careful, intentional farming that puts the well-being of our animals, our land, and your family first. Let's be honest: most grocery store pork comes wrapped in pretty words like "natural" and "humanely raised," but these labels often don't mean much. It's easy to put nice words on a package, much harder to actually do the work of raising animals properly. We'd like to show you how we do things differently here at Miller's Bio Farm. What Makes Our Pork Different Good pork starts with good practices. For us, that means healthy soil, happy animals, responsible harvesting, and thoughtful management of everything that happens on our farm. Here's what that looks like in practice: Pasture-Raised the Way Nature Intended Pigs aren't meant to spend their lives standing on concrete in windowless buildings. They're curious, intelligent animals that need fresh air, sunshine, and room to express their natural behaviors, rooting in the dirt, foraging for food, and socializing with other pigs. On our farm, hogs live outdoors on pasture in the woods where they can do exactly that. We move them regularly to fresh ground, which keeps them healthy and gives the land time to rest and regenerate. This practice, sometimes called rotational grazing is farming wisdom that's been passed down for centuries. When pigs root and forage on fresh pasture, they're naturally fertilizing the soil and helping plants grow back stronger. The land becomes more fertile season after season, storing carbon and building topsoil instead of depleting it. No chemical fertilizers needed, just pigs doing what pigs do best. This kind of farming takes more work than confining animals in one place, but it produces better results for everyone involved: healthier pigs, healthier land, and better tasting pork. Raising Animals with Respect Our approach to animal care reflects our values as an Amish farming community. We believe animals deserve to be treated with dignity and respect throughout their lives. Processing with Care When harvest time comes, we work with a small processor who shares our commitment to humane treatment. Our animals are handled calmly and respectfully, with immediate stunning to ensure they feel no distress. This isn't just the right thing to do, it also affects meat quality. Animals that are stressed at slaughter produce tougher, less flavorful meat. Properly handled animals yield tender, delicious pork that you can taste the difference in. Studies also confirm what traditional farmers have long known: animals raised on pasture produce meat with better nutritional profiles, including higher omega-3 fatty acids and more vitamins. Wholesome Feed, No Shortcuts We raise heritage breed pigs, traditional breeds known for their hardiness and flavor. These animals thrive on pasture with supplemental non-GMO grain, and they don't need antibiotics or growth hormones to stay healthy. In industrial pork production, antibiotics are mixed into feed daily to prevent disease in overcrowded conditions. This practice is creating drug-resistant bacteria that threaten public health, a problem we don't contribute to. Our pigs build strong immune systems naturally through good nutrition, clean living conditions, and low-stress environments. It's the way farming worked for centuries before shortcuts became the norm. Caring for God's Creation As stewards of the land, we take seriously our responsibility to leave it better than we found it. That's not just good farming, it's part of our calling. Building Soil, Not Destroying It Industrial agriculture depletes soil through intensive tilling, chemical dependence, and continuous monoculture cropping. This approach might boost short-term production, but it's not sustainable. We farm differently. Our rotational grazing actually improves soil health year after year. As pigs move across pasture, they naturally incorporate organic matter into the ground. Rest periods allow plants to regrow with deeper roots, which prevents erosion and captures carbon from the atmosphere. The result is living, fertile soil teeming with beneficial microorganisms soil that produces nutritious forage without synthetic inputs. Handling Waste Responsibly Large scale pig operations often store waste in enormous lagoons that leak pollutants into water supplies and release harmful gases into the air. These systems create environmental and health problems for surrounding communities. Our approach couldn't be more different. Because our pigs are spread across pasture and woodlands in manageable groups, their manure distributes naturally as valuable fertilizer rather than concentrating into a waste problem. When winter weather requires us to bring pigs into shelter, we bed them deeply with straw or wood shavings. This creates a composting effect that safely breaks down manure without environmental contamination. We also plant diverse pasture species specifically chosen to absorb nutrients and maintain ecological balance. Not all pigs like to go in the open shelter in the winter time and that's perfectly fine with us! The Real Story Behind Your Pork Chop Many people wonder which type of meat is most environmentally friendly. The truth is, it's not so much about whether you're eating pork, beef, or chicken, it's about how that animal was raised. Take beef as an example. You've probably heard that cattle are terrible for the environment. That criticism applies to feedlot operations where thousands of cattle are confined in small spaces and fed grain-heavy diets. But cattle raised properly on well managed pasture actually improve the land and sequester carbon. The animal itself isn't the problem; the farming method is. The same principle applies to pork. Factory farmed pork has serious environmental and ethical problems. Pasture raised pork from a regenerative farm like ours is a completely different product. One challenge specific to pork is that pigs need grain as part of their diet, they can't survive on grass alone like cattle can. This means sustainable pork production requires access to sustainably grown grain, ideally non-GMO corn and soybeans from farmers practicing regenerative agriculture. On our farm, we're committed to sourcing feed from responsible growers who share our values of soil health, biodiversity, and chemical free farming. What You're Really Buying When you purchase pork from Miller's Bio Farm, you're not just buying bacon or pork chops. You're supporting a way of farming that's been proven over generations, one that respects animals, regenerates land, and produces genuinely nutritious food. We're proud to raise pork the right way, even though it's more work. Because at the end of the day, that's what good stewardship looks like. And that's something worth bringing home to your table. Check out our: ✔️Corn & Soy Free ✔️ Vaccine, Drug, GMO-Free ✔️Heritage Breeds ✔️Woodland Raised PORK COLLECTION HERE: https://millersbiofarm.com/sto...

What does pasture raised eggs mean to our farm?

Pasture raised has become a greenwashed term.

There's no real standard

What it means for us

Why any of this matters

How to actually know what you are getting?

What's your opinion on "pasture raised" and what it means?

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From farm to fork: Understanding the value of sustainable pork

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Miller's Bio Farm, 523 Valley Road, Quarryville, PA 17566