Stuart Family Farm in Bridgewater, CT, uses sustainable agriculture methods to produce Certified Grassfed by AGW beef
Stuart Family Farm is the first farming business in Connecticut to be Certified Grassfed by A Greener World (AGW) for beef cattle. This is the only certification and logo in the U.S. and Canada that guarantees food products come from animals fed a 100 percent grass and forage diet, raised outdoors on pasture or range for their entire lives, and managed according to Certified AWA’s leading welfare and environmental standards on an independent family farm. While other grassfed labels exist, none has fully met consumer expectations when it comes to a grassfed and forage diet, environmental management, and farm animal welfare – until now.
Bill Stuart and his family have raised beef cattle for over four generations, and the 250 Red Angus cattle roam across 800 acres of rotationally grazed land. Although the farm has been certified by AWA since 2008 for their high-welfare and environmental management practices, the Stuart family was eager to gain Certified Grassfed by AGW status for their beef cattle.
Bill Stuart of Stuart Family Farm says, “Most of our clients say their biggest concern when purchasing meat is not only taste, but how the animal was raised. At Stuart Family Farm, we diligently utilize sound and high-welfare animal husbandry practices. It is one thing for us to tell customers ourselves, but to have the trusted Certified Grassfed by AGW logo to prove it is huge.”
According to recent research, demand for grassfed beef has increased by 25-30 percent every year over the last decade. But while demand for grassfed meat is sky-rocketing, not all grassfed certifications are meeting consumer expectations – and some continue to permit highly questionable practices. Some meat currently marketed as grassfed could come from animals confined on dirt feedlots for long periods outside the growing season, or where growth hormones and subtherapeutic antibiotics are used – just as long as they were fed cut grass or forage.
AGW’s new Certified Grassfed label is the only grassfed program in North America to guarantee:
- Ruminant animals raised outdoors on pasture for their entire lives, with an entirely grass and forage diet
- Animals raised according to the highest animal welfare and environmental standards in the U.S. and Canada
- High-welfare handling, transport, and slaughter of animals–including an annual review of slaughter facilities
Certified Grassfed by AGW is an optional, additional accreditation for farmers meeting Animal Welfare Approved (Certified AWA) standards of production. Certified AWA has been lauded by Consumer Reports as the only “highly meaningful” label for farm animal welfare, outdoor access and sustainability.
AGW Director of Outreach Emily Moose says, “No other grassfed label can match the breadth, integrity, and transparency offered by AGW’s practical and achievable Certified Grassfed standards and certification procedures. We’re proud to support farmers and ranchers like Stuart Family Farm and to help them promote their high-quality grassfed meat and sustainable farming practices to the public.”
For more information about the Certified Grassfed by AGW label visit http://animalwelfareapproved.org/standards/grassfed/.