Highland Hills Ranch

He is very interested and says he has been wanting to stop doing the farmers markets so often and move instead into the CSA model. In fact, he said he is very close to partnering up with Nigel of Eatwell Farm, a vegetable CSA with 570 members. (I belong to Eatwell's CSA.) Ted is kind of perfect from my perspective: he has been ranching just seven years but is really passionate about what he is doing. His animals (130 longhaired Scotch Highland cattle, 40 Tamworth pigs, 80 sheep, and some laying hens) are 100% grassfed, in the pasture full time, no antibiotics, not even artificially inseminated. He is old-school, about as environmentally friendly as you can get. He also slaughters year-round, which not everyone around here does. And although I have not tried his beef yet, I have bought his pork and lamb in the past and it was knock-down delicious. So, I'm continuing to talk to him about whether this would be a good fit.

• 2005 SF Chronicle article by Carol Ness

• Highland Hills website

More to come when I have time to type up my notes from several extended conversations