Over the years, we have accumulated a number of animal welfare and land stewardship certifications.
However, while we meet the standards of these organizations, our holistic and regenerative management practices go beyond labels. We believe that conscious consumers can benefit from seeing how we raise our animals with their own eyes. This is why we built on-farm lodging, an on-farm restaurant, and we host farm tours and events.
We are proud of the way our farm operates, benefiting land, animals, and people. Y’all come and see us.
In the meantime, here is a quick rundown of our certifications and labels.
American Grassfed
What is certified: Our cattle, goats, sheep, and hogs
In 1995, we decided the right thing to do for our cattle herd would be to transition to a grassfed pastured program. We later added additional ruminant species, and now our cattle, goats and sheep are certified grassfed by the American Grassfed Association (AGA). AGA defines grassfed animals as “those that have eaten nothing but grass and forage from weaning to harvest, have not been raised in confinement, and have never been fed antibiotics or growth hormones. In addition, all AGA-Certified Producers are American family farms and their livestock is born and raised in the U.S.”
Savory Network
What is certified: Our land
The Savory Institute promotes large-scale restoration of the world’s grasslands through holistic management. We have been named a Savory Institute Training Hub, an honor given to 12 organizations domestically (and 47 organizations across the globe) to provide education and support on regenerative farming to other land managers. We believe that sustainability isn’t enough; agriculture has to be regenerative. Practicing the Serengeti Grazing Model, we rotate complimentary animal species side-by-side through our pastures. All species naturally fertilize the land, and our soil is a living organic medium that teems with life.
Certified Ecological Outcome Verification
What is certified: Every animal species we sell, including our cattle, sheep, goats, poultry (chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, guineas), pigs, rabbits, and eggs
The EOV certification from the Savory Institute measures and trends key indicators of ecosystem function, such as soil health and biodiversity, which in the aggregate indicate positive or negative trends in the overall health of a landscape. EOV differs from many other certification programs because it uses outcome-based benchmarks, rather than practice-based benchmarks.
Non-GMO Project Verified
What is certified: Our poultry (chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, guineas), eggs, pigs, and rabbits
Most of the corn and soybeans grown in the U.S. are produced using genetically-modified seeds, which means a majority of poultry, pig, and rabbit feed includes GMOs. For years we struggled to find a feed mill that could consistently supply enough non-GMO feed for our farm. In May 2016, we became verified by the Non-GMO Project, a non-profit organization offering third party verification and labeling for non-GMO food and products.
Certified Humane
What is certified: Our cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and eggs
Certified Humane is the label of Humane Farm Animal Care, an international non-profit certification organization that works to improve the lives of farm animals by driving consumer demand for kinder and more responsible farm animal practices. Third party auditors ensure farms meet standards that ensure animals are raised in an environment where they can engage in natural, innate behaviors. For example, chickens are able to flap their wings and dust bathe, and pigs have the space to move around and root.
USDA Organic
What is certified: Land in our vegetable garden and orchard
The federal government oversees the USDA Organic program, certifying products produced without synthetic ingredients, synthetic pesticides, growth hormones, or genetic engineering. Currently, only the produce from our vegetable garden and orchard is Certified Organic. We believe that the way we raise our animals goes well beyond the organic certification, and we explain our decision not to have USDA Organic labeling for our meat in this blog post.
