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 the highest welfare and environmental standards on an independent family farm.
Fouch Farm is the third farming business in California to be Certified Grassfed by AWA. 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. Fouch Farm joins Magruder Ranch in Potter Valley and Scott River Ranch in Etna to become the third farm in the state to be Certified Grassfed by AWA.
Jesse and Hannah Fouch run a beef cattle operation in California where some might say they are trying to do the impossible: Produce quality products while improving their environment at the same time. They take a holistic approach to ranching, which includes their efforts to make their family farm financially and environmentally sustainability, as well as their commitment to raising traditional cattle breeds. Their Dexter beef cattle graze in harmony with the land and are given the lowest stress living environment possible.
Hannah Fouch of Fouch Farm says,
“We’re excited to be Certified Grassfed by AWA because having such a respected organization backing up our claims will only make our product stronger. AWA’s standards are aligned with our farm’s philosophy and the staff has always been helpful and personal. Our cattle are raised on pasture from start to finish. At no point in their lives do they stand on concrete and eat corn. Cattle are designed to thrive on grass and we follow nature’s intentions.”
As consumers wake up to the damaging impact that intensive farming is having on our health, the environment, and animal welfare, many are seeking truly sustainable alternatives–including grassfed meat. 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. Under the USDA Grassfed label, for example, farmers can confine their cattle on dirt feedlots for long periods outside the growing season, or use growth hormones and subtherapeutic antibiotics, and yet still market the beef as grassfed–just as long as they feed the animals cut grass or forage.
AWA’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
AWA Director of Communications Emily Lancaster Moose says,
“No other grassfed label can match the breadth, integrity, and transparency offered by AWA’s practical and achievable Certified Grassfed standards and certification procedures. We’re proud to support farmers and ranchers like Fouch Farm and to help them promote their high-quality grassfed meat and sustainable farming practices to the public.”
To learn more about Fouch Farms and their Certified Grassfed by AWA beef, visitwww.fouchfarms.com or contact Jesse and Hannah at hannah@fouchfarms.com or 209-966-7315.
For more information about the Certified Grassfed by AWA label, read AWA’s Certified Grassfed FAQs or visit AnimalWelfareApproved.org/standards /awa-grassfed.