Fourth-generation pig farmer Paul Willis never planned to return to his family’s farm in north-central Iowa after completing a psychology degree at the University of Iowa and joining the Peace Corps. But when his stepfather asked if he could help with the harvest in 1974, he obliged—and never left.

Now, Willis not only operates the Willis Free Range Pig Farm in Thornton, Iowa, but is also the founder and manager of Niman Ranch, a network of 500 farmers who specialize in raising animals without antibiotics, growth hormones, or gestation crates.

“To me, being able to raise pigs in an environment where they can exhibit their natural behaviors seemed like the right thing to do,” says Willis. “I believe my educational experiences allowed me to embrace something that was not mainstream.”

Pork distributed under the Niman Ranch label is available nationwide through outlets including Whole Foods and Chipotle and locally at the New Pioneer Co-op in Iowa City and Coralville. The meat’s flavor and tenderness has been lauded by Martha Stewart and Alice Waters, as well as other top chefs.

Willis says the company’s cooperative model has helped keep many family farms afloat.

“It wouldn’t work if the meat didn’t sell itself,” he says, adding that half the company’s farmers reside in Iowa. “What we do is truly economic development—our farmers live in their communities, and the money they are paid is spent in those communities.”

Willis isn’t the only agricultural advocate in his family. His daughter Sarah coordinates the Niman Ranch Hog Farmers Appreciation Dinner held each August in Des Moines. The event honors the more than 500 independent pig farmers who supply Niman Ranch.

“The dinner is like a family reunion for the farmers who might otherwise not see each other for a long time,” says Sarah Willis, who earned an art degree from the UI in 1992. “They also get a chance to see and taste how chefs prepare their product.”

In addition to thanking the farmers for their efforts, the celebration has another aim: to foster a connection between premier chefs and family farms that are raising pigs naturally—outdoors on pasture or deeply bedded pens and without the use of antibiotics, growth hormones, or gestation crates. The day before the dinner, the chefs are bused 100 miles north of the state’s capital to the Willis family farm in Thornton, where they tour the company’s original free-range pig farm.

Willis says the farm tour is one of the chefs’ most anticipated events on their Iowa itinerary.

“I love feeling like I am part of a really positive company doing really positive things,” says Sarah Willis, noting that Niman Ranch recently established a scholarship program for rural students who want to study sustainable and environmental farming practices. “There is a disconnect between the majority of people and their food source—even in Iowa. Farmers make up less than 2 percent of the population. We want to open up opportunities for farmers, reverse urban migration, and get a more thriving rural landscape.”

Although promoting the family farm and orchestrating a large celebration meal for hundreds of farmers and their guests may seem a far cry from expressing oneself through art, Sarah Willis insists otherwise.

“There’s definitely a connection between art and farming—both require that you use your hands to create something from raw materials,” says Willis, who treasures her time at the UI and still paints in her free time. “My education has had an impact on my perspective and on my values. The things I learned have enriched my life, and that will last forever.”