Jason & Kristina Walker @ Starwalker Organic Farms

Pioneering Regenerative Pig Production and Certified Processing

On this episode, Kyle and Anthony speak with Jason & Kristina Walker, the Founders and Owners of Starwalker Organic Farms. They raise pigs, cattle and chicken on their 3,000-acre Regenerative Organic Certified® farm located in Northern California. The family also owns and operates a certified organic processing facility with slaughter, cut, and value-added operations serving their farm and many others in the community. The Starwalker Organic Farms brand sells regenerative organic meat products wholesale and direct-to-consumer. Their branded CPG products, like beef and pork jerky, can also be found at retail stores and their ROC™ beef jerky recently launched nationwide at Sprouts. 

Three Generations Of Regeneration

Jason is the third generation to lead Starwalker Farms. He grew up on the farm, which primarily produced organic row crops with some animal integration under his parent’s management. Jason and Kristina, high school sweethearts, returned to the farm twelve years ago, ready to take the farm into a new era. Upon their return, Jason and Kristina reintroduced livestock, which includes chickens, pigs, and cows. They raise both Scottish Highland cows, which provide delightful marketing content as well as high-end, rich meat, and Angus cattle to more efficiently meet beef demand. Today, the 3,000-acre farm is roughly divided evenly between rangeland, irrigated cropland, and irrigated pasture. 

"Ultimately, our goal is for this land to be here for generations." – Jason

Raising The World’s First Regenerative Organic Certified® Pork

Starwalker Organic Farms is the first brand to sell Regenerative Organic Certified® pork. While regenerative practices have always been in line with their farming values, Kristina shares how she was inspired to launch a ROC™ product after ReGen Brand’s episode with Kettle & Fire. 

"The biggest learning curve? Raising pigs outdoors while meeting Organic, ROC™ and GAP standards — it’s a logistical puzzle. Pigs are tough on the land, so we have to constantly move them, plant cover crops where they’ve been, and set up permanent water troughs while rotating feeders. It’s a lot of moving pieces, but it’s the right way to do it." – Kristina

Managing 4,000 pigs on pasture and implementing regenerative practices is no easy feat. For Starwalker, practices include producing regenerative feed and rotational grazing for the pigs. The pigs are moved across the terrain and cover crops are planted in their wake to restore soil integrity, particularly after being disrupted by digging pigs. Managing rotational grazing of pigs is challenging, necessitating strategic planning and infrastructure including permanent water troughs and mobile feeders. The Walkers demonstrate that regenerative pig production is feasible and are encouraging other farms in their area to follow suit through a partner producer program.

The Necessity & Opportunity In Processing

One major obstacle in Jason and Kristina’s journey was the absence of organic-certified processing and co-packing facilities. This meant transporting animals 4-7 hours for processing, hindering business growth and increasing animal stress. It also meant selling organic jerky as conventional since the law requires processors and co-packers to be certified organic in order to label the product as such. 

In 2023, Jason and Kristina started planning to build their own processing plant and luckily, wound up acquiring an existing plant within 30 minutes of their farm. Owning their own processing and packing center allowed them to take on larger contracts, expand their product line, and offer processing and value-added services to other farms in the area. 

"We were driving 4-7 hours just to get our animals processed. It was hanging up our business. Now, we’ve got our own facility, and we’re not just helping ourselves – we’re opening doors for others to go ROC™ too." – Jason

Overall, the importance of certified organic processing facilities (and more regional meat processors in general), cannot be highlighted enough. They support the entire local meat industry, improve animal welfare by reducing transport times, and importantly, enable brands to carry their premium claims through to the final product. 

“This is like one of those non-sexy barriers that I don't think gets enough attention. The lack of processing infrastructure and the impediment it creates for brands who are trying to do the right thing. Why would you go through all of the work to become ROC™certified if you can't sell your products with a ROC™ label?” – Kyle

More Acres, Higher Throughput, & New SKUs

Looking ahead, Starwalker Organic Farms will focus on scaling production, diversifying product offerings, and identifying the optimal mix of sales channels. One new channel Kristina is excited about is offering their branded meats at the fresh counter of a major retailer in Texas. She and Jason also see significant potential in foodservice and wholesale markets, where higher margins and fewer logistical hurdles offer a more efficient business model. They also hope to see more partners, such as deli meat companies, interested in marketing their products with the ROC™ certification. On the innovation front, they will be launching snack sticks and exploring new items like cooking tallow, pork rinds, and cracklings. 

50% Market Share For Regen

Jason believes that growing the market for regenerative products requires more buy-in and support from retailers and distributors. He sees brands taking on the battle to build their own solutions but feels the transition would be significantly catalyzed by more collaboration and help from retailers and distributors.

"How can we get the distributors and the retailers onboard and create some sort of infrastructure together? Right now, they support regen when it’s convenient and fits in their current model, but we need them to put some real skin in the game." – Jason

This ReGen Recap was written by Katey Finnegan

You can check out the full episode with Kyle and Anthony HERE

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