Meet Maeve Smith, our inaugural Bill Ferguson Farm Transitions Fellow. This role honors the late Bill Ferguson, an Alabama chicken farmer who did something extraordinary: he walked away from the contract growing system and transformed his operation into Riley Creek Farms, a sustainable crop production model that’s thriving today under his family’s leadership.
Bill showed us what’s possible when farmers are given real alternatives. Now Maeve is going to help us scale that vision.
Here’s what makes this moment significant: thousands of contract chicken farmers across the country are trapped in a system that leaves them with crushing debt, zero autonomy, and operations they can’t control. They want out. They just need a pathway.
That’s where Maeve comes in. With her background in environmental studies, food systems work, and hands-on farm management training from the Center of Arkansas Farms and Food Systems, she’s uniquely positioned to meet farmers where they are—not with judgment, but with practical solutions and genuine support.
This is what transformation looks like 🌱
It’s not about telling farmers they’re doing something wrong. It’s about showing them there’s a better way forward—one that gives them financial independence, environmental sustainability, and the dignity of building something on their own terms.
Every farmer who transitions out of animal agriculture becomes a powerful example for others. They prove that change is possible, profitable, and aligned with the values most of us already hold: compassion, sustainability, and community resilience.
We’re not waiting for the food system to fix itself. We’re actively building the infrastructure that makes change inevitable.
If you know a farmer who’s been thinking about transitioning, or if you’re curious about how this work actually happens on the ground, please email farmtransitions@animaloutlook.org. This is just the beginning.
Welcome to the team, Maeve. 💪
Animal Outlook is creating real alternatives for farmers ready to leave industrial animal agriculture. Learn more about our Farm Transitions Program here.