Welcome to Rootstock

Hello, and welcome to the new Rootstock.

Why “new”? Well, the truth is, we’ve been around for a while. Five years, to be exact.

But now we’re all grown up, and we can’t wait to bring you even more stories about the amazing humans who are working together to address issues that matter to organic food and farming today. Things like pesticides, children’s health, the environment, sustainability and renewable power, farmland preservation, air and water quality, and much, much more.

Here at Rootstock, we welcome sharp people who are passionate about creating healthy food systems, healthy communities, and a healthy planet.

What is 'Rootstock' anyway?

By definition, a rootstock is the root and lower portion of a healthy plant or tree onto which another variety of plant is grafted. This is a common horticultural practice with roses and apple trees, for instance, which are prone to root diseases. But when you graft a healthy stem onto a healthy, naturally disease resistant rootstock, you end up with a whole, healthy plant!

To us here at Organic Valley, the idea of “rootstock” is really special. Our mission to preserve family farming culture through organic agriculture is our rootstock. Our co-op is 30 years old now, and that mission has never changed, no matter what business decisions, marketing campaigns, product lineups, photography styles, or how many farmer-owners we “graft” onto it. Over the years, our cooperative business has evolved and grown aboveground while our rootstock — our mission — has always remained stable and healthy.

The name has a bit of history for us as well. We first launched Rootstock as a print publication way back when, around 17 years ago. That magazine was our first foray into telling meaningful stories about what’s happening in the organic world and digging into issues that matter to us. Many of those topics are still important today.

We are proud and excited to bring Rootstock to more people, and we hope you enjoy what you discover here. Rootstock is a place for respectful conversations, learning, and taking actions that matter — whether small or large.

We’re glad you’re here.