Wales, North Dakota Early visionaries in the sustainable agriculture movement, the Jacobsons operate a diversified organic farm and ranch operation including a wool shearing, processing, and marketing business.

Amado, AZ · Harvest spring lettuce, wander a corn maze, pick pumpkins, flock with the sheep in the petting zoo. Whatever the season, Agua Linda Farm in Amado, Arizona, offers a buffet of reasons to keep coming back to the farm throughout the year. And that's just how owner Stewart Loew likes it. "We always have something available to pick, eat or experience," says Stewart. "We provide a slice of farm life, an opportunity to have fun in a new setting for an afternoon."

Salmon, Idaho · Grass fed beef may appear hip today, given all the current public awareness and media attention on the livestock industry, heightened by Mad Cow disease scares. But garner an understanding of Glenn nand Caryl Elzinga's lifestyle and approach to ranching at Alderspring Ranch and one realizes this isn't a business based on a short-lived fad. "With care, livestock, wildlife and botanical diversity are compatible," explains Caryl.

Marionville, Missouri . In 1996, Rick Hopkins was just about at breaking point with his 100-acre Missouri beef farm on the flat foothills of the Ozark Mountains . He was raising 40 head of adult cattle on a small plot of unmanaged pasture, supplementing their diet with 300 bails of hay per year and weaning calves on grain. As per the advice of extension agents, he gave his animals antibiotics at the first sign of a runny nose, anti-worm medication twice a year, and three to four vaccinations at birth, followed by annual booster shots.

Caledonia, IL · About 75 miles from the booming metropolis of Chicago, Angelic Organics grows a dizzying array of vegetables and herbs on about 25 acres of the entire 90-acre farm. Their fresh vegetables and herbs are sold directly to over 1,000 customers who buy Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares in their farming operations each year, making them among the largest -- if not the largest -- of such operations in the United States, grossing more than $575,000 annually.

Covert, Michigan  · From Arellano's Fresh Fruit Market stand, the 50 acres of apples, peaches, blueberries and a diverse selection of other fruits and vegetables entices even the most casual drive-by passengers, many en route to vacation homes or recreational activities on Lake Michigan just two miles from the 60 acre farm. Their jammed-packed farm stand is a well-served reward for their interest in continuing their Mexican farming traditions and those of the previous owner-farmer.

With a vision of how to make their farm a more "interesting and profitable place to live" and with the help of a moderate grant, the Aspelunds are recreating their farm sustainably with pigs, poultry, apple trees, and plum trees.

Winchester, Kentucky · Amongst the gently rolling hills of Winchester, Kentucky, just 15 miles outside of Lexington, is the 556 acre Avalon Farm, with beef cattle in the pasture, a greenhouse set aside for raising quail, twenty acres devoted to vegetable crops, and about twenty acres planted in tobacco. Facing a steep mortgage payment, owners Shiela and Joe McCord Jr. are exploring all available options to mitigate revenue losses from their once lucrative tobacco crop. Refusing to give in, they set sail into aquaculture in 1997 -- their latest diversification effort -- now raising tilapia whitefish and freshwater shrimp, or prawn, in six half-acre ponds added to the farm.

Bayfront Harvest Festival focuses on urban-rural partnerships with mission of bringing "producers and consumers together to develop a healthy and sustainable local food system."

Avid gardeners since childhood, Kathy Botten and Ruth Capp founded BC Gardens, an organic vegetable, herb, and flower garden, in 1998.