Anne Malleau, VP of Agriculture & Animal, Welfare Programs, Open Farm

Please tell us about your position at Open Farm and your experience in agriculture and animal welfare.

I am the Vice President of Agriculture & Animal Welfare Programs at Open Farm, a role intentionally designed to connect two areas that are often treated separately: agriculture and animal welfare. At Open Farm, we believe they are inherently connected as healthy ecosystems and high animal welfare standards go hand in hand. I have the privilege of working on our Mission & Impact team, whose focus is to ensure our mission comes to life across the organization and that measurable impact is embedded in everything we do. My work centers on building and maintaining a supply chain grounded in responsible farming practices, transparency, and continuous improvement.

With more than 20 years of experience in animal welfare and agriculture, I work closely with farmers and ranchers to identify partners who already meet Open Farm’s high standards or are committed to transitioning toward them. This allows us to grow responsibly as a business while staying true to our values. A key part of my role also involves supporting the integration of regenerative agriculture principles into the ingredients we source for our recipes. This includes helping suppliers adopt farming practices that enhance soil health, foster biodiversity, and align with our broader mission to do some good.

What inspired Open Farm to partner with Land to Market, and how does this collaboration strengthen your sustainability and sourcing strategy?

When we made our regenerative agriculture commitment in 2023-to help advance one million acres of farmland under regenerative management—we knew it was important to approach it with the same level of transparency as our animal welfare work. From day one, Open Farm has partnered with trusted third-party certification programs to verify our animal welfare standards and substantiate the claims we make on our products. That model has been essential in building accountability and trust within our supply chain and with our consumers.

Since that approach has worked so well for animal welfare, we decided to apply the same principle to regenerative agriculture when we launched our first regenerative product. To support the launch of our Freeze-Dried Raw Regeneratively Sourced Lamb Lung Treat, we partnered with Land to Market, a leading third-party program that uses an outcome-based verification process to measure each farm’s environmental impact across areas such as soil health, carbon storage, water, and biodiversity.

Land to Market’s verification program provides farmers and ranchers with valuable data to guide management decisions, while giving brands like Open Farm confidence that our sourcing supports measurable improvements in ecosystem health and resilience. It’s an important step in our ongoing work to make regenerative practices a core part of how we source ingredients and build relationships with our partners.

How does regenerative verification work in practice, and what makes it different from other sustainability certifications?

Land to Market verification recognizes that every farm is unique and begins its journey from a different starting point. That’s an important distinction, understanding where a farm is starting helps determine what progress looks like over time. Because change can take time and is often influenced by climate and geography, some indicators are measured annually, while others may be assessed every three to five years. These ongoing evaluations track outcomes such as soil health, water systems, biodiversity, and vegetation growth.

What sets Land to Market apart from other third-party certifications or verifications is that it doesn’t assess compliance against a fixed checklist, it measures outcomes. Instead of verifying whether a farm is following specific practices, it verifies whether those practices are leading to measurable improvements in ecosystem health. This outcome-based approach gives farmers real data to understand how their management practices are influencing their land, livestock, and surrounding ecosystems and gives partners like Open Farm confidence that our sourcing is supporting regeneration that can be proven over time.

From an economic standpoint, how can verified regenerative practices create measurable value for both producers and brands?

There are certainly market forces that influence a farm or ranch’s economic position, however, regenerative verification can create tangible value in several ways. For farmers and ranchers, these practices can make operations more efficient by improving soil health and reducing the need for costly inputs over time. For brands, verified or certified ingredients show that their sourcing dollars are directly supporting farms using regenerative methods. This creates transparency and helps demonstrate real progress. It also gives both producers and brands a way to connect with consumers in a positive way, showing how their choices support healthier land, animals, and communities.

What challenges do you see in scaling regenerative agriculture across different markets and supply chains, and how is Open Farm addressing them?

There are a few important challenges to acknowledge with regenerative agriculture. On the farm side, verification is highly specific, each farm starts from a different place and follows its own path to adopting regenerative principles. That means a one-size-fits-all approach simply doesn’t work. Farmers need ongoing support and access to expertise as they test and refine different practices to find what works best for their land and conditions.

From a brand perspective, one of the biggest challenges is that formal third-party programs are still scaling themselves. As a result, some companies have developed their own frameworks, which can create confusion for consumers if those frameworks aren’t aligned with third-party verified or certified standards. While it’s encouraging to see growing interest in regenerative agriculture across many sectors, it’s important that programs remain clear, consistent, and credible.

At Open Farm, we’ve developed internal criteria to guide how we define and support regenerative agriculture, but this framework is designed to complement, not replace, third-party verification or certification. For any product where we make a regenerative claim, we rely on independent third-party programs such as Land to Market. This approach allows us to maintain consistency and integrity while also supporting innovation and experimentation within our supply chain.

Collaboration is also essential. In animal agriculture, where different industries use different parts of the animal, partnerships across sectors can help align incentives and resources. Working together in this way can turn regenerative agriculture from a niche initiative into mainstream practice.

Looking ahead, what plans and goals do you and the company have for the next few years?

We remain laser-focused on supporting regenerative agriculture throughout our supply chain. Our goal is to honor our commitment to help advance one million acres of farmland under regenerative management by 2030 and to explore how we can continue to grow the initiative beyond that milestone. As we move forward, we’ll keep building partnerships with farmers and suppliers who share our values, supporting innovation on the ground, and helping bring more regenerative ingredients into our products. This work is central to our mission to do some good, and we see it as an ongoing journey rather than a finish line.