Ecoterra is the first egg producer in Chile to promote the welfare of laying hens.
Ecoterra, a farm in Paine, Santiago, Chile that produces eggs, is the first farm in Chile to join the Certified Humane® program.
Launched in 2011, Ecoterra had a goal of changing industrialized agricultural systems in Chile to systems more in harmony with animals and the environment.
“Our goal is, and always has been, to create harmony between what the earth gives us and the way we produce our eggs, going back to what is natural for the animals and sustainable for the environment and integrating our local communities in the process,” says Founder and President Pablo Andres Albarrán Lama.
Albarráns parents were in banking and industry, so he says he’s “a first-generation farmer who simply loves animals and the environment.” He studied agricultural engineering at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica in Santiago, Chile, before finishing his degree at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. His thesis was on free-range systems and was the foundation for the animal welfare and environmental farm model he would eventually set up under the Ecoterra brand.
Founder and President Pablo Andres Albarrán Lama launched Ecoterra (“Eco” representing “ecology” and “terra” representing “earth”) with the goal of raising “free-range hens as close to nature as possible.”
After college, Albarrán returned to Chile, leased nine acres of land and 2,000 laying hens, and launched Ecoterra (“Eco” representing “ecology” and “terra” representing “earth”) with the goal of raising “free-range hens as close to nature as possible,” says Albarran. “We recognize animal behaviors and do a lot to make the hens happy. We have perches and scratching areas on pasture and in the barn. Our hens are free from cages and can develop their natural behaviors inside and outside of the henhouse. They are outside on pasture all day where they can dig, flap their wings, dustbathe, sleep, perch, and rest. Their vegetable diet is supplemented with insects that they find in our broad meadow plants.”
Within a few years, Albarrán realized the animal welfare system he set up on his farm was suddenly in high demand in the marketplace. “I could see the market was changing and people were starting to care about farm animals and their humane treatment,” says Albarrán.
But some of the eggs on the market were not meeting the high welfare standards he was implementing on his farm. “They were using words like “cage-free,” but they were not backed by any set of standards,” he said.
Ecoterra hens are outside on pasture all day where they can dig, flap their wings, dustbathe, sleep, perch, and rest. Their vegetable diet is supplemented with insects that they find in Ecoterra’s broad meadow plants.
Consumers can download the Certified Humane® app, which is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French, to find nearby stores that sell Certified Humane® products. For more information on HFAC and the Certified Humane® label, visit www.certifiedhumane.org.
As the first egg producer in Chile to promote the welfare of laying hens, Albarrán wanted his animal welfare system to mean something to consumers. “With so many supermarket chains and competitors, we were looking for a certification program that explained to the consumer what we were doing for the animals,” said Albarrán. “I saw the Certified Humane label on products in Brazil, Canada and the U.S. and learned about it. I realized through its standards and inspection process that the label would verify for the consumer the animal welfare work that we do every day.”
Ecoterra eggs can be found in more than 500 grocery stores in Chile, including Wal-Mart, as well as restaurants, hotels and via e-commerce.
Under their additional fair trade certification, they also work in alliance with local farms that produce eggs under the same Ecoterra system and same Certified Humane standards to help local farmers make a more sustainable living. “Something a small farmer could not do on their own,” says Albarrán. “We’re helping them become entrepreneurs who can become sustainable environmentally and economically, and we’re helping them implement animal welfare standards on their farms as well.”
Consumers can download the Certified Humane® app, which is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French, to find nearby stores that sell Certified Humane® products. For more information on HFAC and the Certified Humane® label, visit www.certifiedhumane.org.
Holy Cow irrigates their farm with rain water, grows grass from seed, and plants four different types of clover for their cows. “It’s sweet, high in protein and the cows love it,” Janelle says.
Janelle and Roy Moses raise Certified Humane® grass-fed beef on a 128-acre farm in Wapato, Washington. Their family farm, Holy Cow Grass-Fed Beef, has 180 cattle and is operated solely by the couple and “some good neighbors who help us out a few times a year.”
“When I call to my cows, they all turn around and ‘moo’ at me,” says Janelle. “All you have to do is open the gate and they come running into the new pasture. Our vet says we have some really laid back cows.”
Janelle and Roy come from a family of farmers. Janelle’s farm background extends back more than 200 years. Her dad was a row crop farmer, her grandparents raised chickens, and her grandmother milked cows and raised pigs. “My dad used to say ‘dirt runs in our veins,’” she said.
Roy was a North Dakota farm boy whose family raised crops via dryland farming – an agricultural technique that taps into the moisture stored in soil to grow crops, rather than using irrigation or rainfall. Dryland farming was a staple of agriculture for millennia in the American West, before dams, aquifers and irrigation systems.
Even though they came from a family of farmers, Janelle and Roy didn’t start Holy Cow Grass-fed beef until the couple was in their 50s. That’s when they bought the 128-acre farm and decided that farming would be a good retirement plan.
When Janelle told her dad they were going to produce Angus/Limousin grass-fed beef, her dad said, “Holy cow, grass-fed beef?” recalled Janelle. “He was amazed and thrilled I was following in his footsteps and the ‘holy cow’ stuck.”
The couple irrigates their farm with rain water, grows grass from seed, and plants four different types of clover for their cows. “It’s sweet, high in protein and the cows love it,” Janelle says.
The cows can spend the night on the back pasture where there is lots of fresh grass to eat or visit the dry pasture where the Moses’ set out hay and extra food. They collect the waste from the dry pasture area to make fertilizer for their grass crops.
They have 4 high marbling angus bulls and 100 heifers who can roam the entire farm to breed naturally. When the heifers give birth, the calves are tagged pink and blue, depending on their sex. The calves are allowed to remain with their mother until the next calf arrives, which occurs 9 months later. “We try to keep them together as much as possible,” says Janelle. “We help them ween off their mom around 7 months, so she has a break from nursing. But the calf remains with her until the second calf arrives and her focus is on the new calf. Then and only then do we separate them.”
The Moses’ says they chose the Certified Humane Raised and Handled® certification to demonstrate to their customers their commitment to animal welfare. Everything is grown naturally and chemical-free. They plant native grasses, grow grass seed for the cows, and raised grass-fed and grass-finished beef on prime farm land, which they rotate for optimal grazing for the animals.
Most people raise beef on hillsides or grazing land, but they have the kind of fertile crop land soils that makes is ideal for the high quality grass the animals enjoy.
The couple believes “there is a right and wrong way to treat animals,” said Janelle. “It makes sense to keep your animals happy and healthy, free of stress and eating high-quality diets. The Certified Humane® program goes hand-in-hand with our animal welfare policies. Because we are inspected every year, we receive feedback and know we’re doing a good job on raising our animals humanely.”
Certified Humane® Holy Cow Grass Fed beef is available from their website at holycowgrassfed.com for residents in California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho residents.
Gryphon Ranch, a 469-acre cattle ranch in the Pinal mountains of Globe, Arizona, operated by Jim and Carol Ptak, is now part of Humane Farm Animal Care’s Certified Humane program.
The couple got their start in cattle farming in 2011 when their 101-acre hay farm in Washington state had leftover hay from the previous season. “At that point, you only have two choices,” says Carol, “You take it out to the barn and burn it or buy something that eats it. We purchased our first two Scottish Highland steers that year.”
Scottish Highland cattle, a hardy breed of cattle developed in Scotland to thrive in rocky terrains, look like yaks, but graze like goats. The couple only intended to buy just two steers, but a neighbor who raised Scottish Highland cattle failed to secure sufficient feed for his fold one winter. They ended up boarding his cattle for six months. In exchange for the help, the couple received two cow/calf pairs, both cows turned out to be pregnant. The Ptaks went from two to 10 cattle pretty quickly.
As their cattle farm grew, they made a trip to Arizona and realized the milder and less humid climate might be a better fit for their family. They bought a ranch in Globe, Arizona, brought the Gryphon Ranch name and their 19 Scottish Highland Cattle in May 2014. The animals made the trip easily and adapted quickly to their new surroundings.
But the Ptak’s had their own adapting to do. The couple had lived in rural areas before, but never this remote. Their Arizona ranch was two miles off the main road at the end of rocky canyon where nobody passes through. They had to learn to live off the grid. They had solar power, but the existing system had a catastrophic failure shortly after moving in. They had a water heater fail and water lines rupture. Half their home heating system went down in the first month of the first winter and the other half failed before the end of that first winter. They also learned to not leave any open doors during the summer into the house because local animals liked to come in and visit, from tarantulas to rattlesnakes.
“Our first year was a big education for us,” says Carol. “The animals adapted just fine though. They love the hilly terrain.”
Animal welfare is a key component of Gryphon Ranch’s operations. The couple interacts with the cattle twice a day to ensure everyone in the herd is healthy and happy. They even groom and brush the cattle’s long coats.
So when the Ptak’s learned about the Certified Humane Raised and Handled® program, they liked the superior animal welfare standards and felt it would be a good fit for their approach to animal care.
“We’re all about the sustainability and humane treatment of animals,” says Carol. “With all the animal rights groups trying to get rid of farm animals, we believe that one can still eat meat and be humane. We wanted to join the program as a way to distinguish ourselves in the marketplace and show our customers that beef can be raised in a humane manner. Certified Humane is a way of bringing these standards to the industry.”
The Ptak’s allow their cattle to naturally forage, breed and interact over the nearly 1,200 grazing acres. Because of the remote location of the ranch, they have a “closed herd” – animals that never do or will come into contact with other cattle – so they don’t have to vaccinate them. They are raised without antibiotics, corn, and no GMOs.
Because the cattle graze like goats, there is significantly less impact on the ecology around them too. The cattle’s grazing habits remove the flammable underbrush and open up areas for additional grass to grow, which in turn is better for the cattle as well as the local wildlife like deer, javelin and rabbit.
The Ptaks work the ranch on their own, so can maintain a close eye on the animals. “Our home is centrally located on the property so we can hear what’s going on all the time,” says Carol.
Like many Certified Humane farms, Gryphon Ranch encourages customers to visit the ranch and see how their cattle is raised. “We spoil them,” says Carol. “Having good animal welfare means not only happy animals, but also the best product for our customers.”
Their breeding stock is all registered with the American Highland Cattle Association. Because Gryphon Ranch does not send their cattle to a slaughterhouse (instead hiring someone to come to the property to handle this), federal law only allows them to sell direct to the consumer.
Check out the Certified Humane “Where to Buy” page at certifiedhumane.org/shop or download the free Certified Humane App, by going to the App store for IPhone or Google Play for androids.
Le-Fort’s Organic Crops now cares for more than 350 laying hens under Humane Farm Animal Care’s Animal Care Standards.
Roberto Le-Fort and Dolores Howard operate Le-Fort’s Organic Crops, a Certified Humane® farm, in Creston, California, near the city of San Luis Obispo in the Central Coast region of California.
Their organic farm grows vegetables, fruits and herbs and raises free-range chickens, some of which are heritage breeds, for their eggs.
Raised in Chile on his grandmother’s farm, Roberto received his degree in agricultural technology from Escuela Agricola San Fernando Chile. While working as an agricultural advising consultant for an agricultural extension program and INACAP, a technology institute in Chile, he made the decision to come to the U.S. He arrived in Hawaii, where he picked coffee, and then moved to California where he delivered pizzas until he could afford the down payment for the farm in 1997.
Dolores worked as a professor of English as a Second Language and Spanish at Santa Barbara City College. The couple met in 2011, and Dolores added farmer to her resume. At the time, the farm only had 25 chickens.
Roberto’s degree included courses in animal husbandry and the two wanted to expand their laying hen operation and provide the best and most humane life for chickens on the farm
When they heard about Humane Farm Animal Care’s Certified Humane Raised and Handled® program, they decided to implement the Animal Care Standards on their farm. In order to meet those standards, they applied for and received a small Fund-A-Farmer grant to make the necessary changes.
“We didn’t have to do too much,” said Dolores. “We handle the chickens well. We just needed more nests, more perches, and more shade for them. We got our rulers out and started making the improvements for the chickens.”
In addition, the couple also installed patio misters and planted cottonwood trees on the property to keep the hens cool and provide natural shade.
Le-Fort’s Organic Crops now cares for more than 350 laying hens under Humane Farm Animal Care’s Animal Care Standards. “We’re not doing this to increase egg sales,” said Dolores “We’re doing this to provide the best possible life for our chickens. Interestingly, though, people at the farmer’s markets tell us that they think our care improves the quality and taste of the eggs.”
Dolores and Roberto manage the entire farm themselves with occasional help from family, friends and temporary help. But the biggest helper might be Honey, a lab mix who showed up on their farm as a puppy in 2010.
“Honey thinks the chickens are her babies and really watches over them,” says Dolores. “She protects the chickens, barking and chasing away any predators, like raccoons, that she might hear around the chicken coop at night. She can find a chicken that has strayed away.”
Of course, the chickens don’t just lay eggs; they also help with the vitality of the farm. With the drought in California, the Le-Forts needed a way to nourish the soil for their vegetable and herbs, and the chickens have become “a serious partner in their drought-intensive composting effort,” said Dolores. “Sandy soil loses water quickly. Chicken poop helps us amend the soil to keep everything growing. And with 350 laying hens, we have plenty of that to clean up.”
The couple says the best thing about becoming Certified Humane® is that “we know we are treating our chickens fairly and giving them the best life possible in return for the eggs that they provide for us,” Dolores said. “We got expert advice on how to do what’s best for our animals. That doesn’t replace loving and caring for them, because that can guide you too, but we’re grateful that Certified Humane® has shown us what laying hens need on the farm to be healthy.”
Calgary, Alberta, Canada Tony Entz of Lone Pine Colony and L.P. Farm Fresh Chicken in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, first saw the Certified Humane® label on products in Sobeys and Safeway.
“I looked it up on the website when I got home,” he recalled. “I read through the standards and thought, we do that, and we do that, and we do that. That’s when I thought, ‘We need to become Certified Humane®.’ You can care for your animals as much as you like, but if no one knows you are doing it, then it won’t motivate people who care about animals to check out your product.”
Tony lives and works with his dad, Peter, on Lone Pine Colony, a Hutterite colony that originated in 1999.
Hutterites are a communal people dating back to the 1500s, originating in Germany, Russia and the Czech Republic. When they migrated to North America, many headed to Canada in 1918, where generations still live in hundreds of scattered colonies. A small number of families live and work together on these Hutterite colonies, where they raise livestock and produce manufactured goods to sell for the benefit of the community.
”Everyone owns everything and everyone helps each other,” said Tony.
400 years of family farming
Tony started helping on the farm when he was just 8-years-old. “When I wasn’t in school, it was the highlight of my day to help care for the animals on the farm,” he says.
Today, Tony and his dad, Peter, handle the day-to-day operations of the 8,000-acre farm in the Lone Pine Colony. They manage 4,000 to 9,000 chickens, depending on the time of year.
Between April and October, Lone Pine Colony raises their birds outside, “in fresh air and sunshine,” said Tony. When the cold weather arrives, the birds are moved inside to heated and well-ventilated barns.
“We have to keep the birds nice and dry during the winter,” said Tony. “It’s much more work taking care of them inside compared to outside. So we are happy to let the birds outside again as soon as it warms up in the spring.”
Becoming Certified Humane®
Lone Pine Colony raises chickens without antibiotics or hormones, which meets Certified Humane’s® standards of animal care. They are also fed a homegrown grain with no animal or soy proteins.
Per Certified Humane® standards, Tony says they added recreational enhancements for the birds, like bales of hay, so they can exhibit some natural behaviors.
“I know they like it,” said Tony. “As soon as we put the bales of hay in the yard, several jumped right up on it. It’s just natural for them to sit on something.”
Tony says farming is hard work, but pleasurable work. “It’s always fun, if you like what you do,” he says. “I like working with animals, and I like working with customers and getting feedback on our products. It makes me feel good to hear people like our products.”
Lone Pine Colony produces L.P. Farm Fresh Chicken products, which are available in local stores in Calgary, Alberta. They ship some of their products to other Canadian Provinces.
To find a store near you that sells Certified Humane® products, visit our Where to Shop page or download Certified Humane’s®free mobile App.
Founded by the Tillman-Brown Family in June of 2011, Firefly Farms is a 135-acre farm in North Stonington, Connecticut. The family is committed to raising heritage chickens, pigs and cattle in a natural and humane environment.
Firefly Farms has grown from an original herd of five piglets to a diverse number of hogs – Mulefoots, a Red Wattle, Guinea Hogs, and Tri-Heritage. They have a growing herd of Randall Lineback cattle and a flock of Dorking chickens. Each of their breeds is either critically endangered or threatened according to The Livestock Conservancy. None of their breeds numbers more than 1,000 in the world.
“It may seem to be a conflict that we raise these rare animals for meat, but the reason that they’re endangered is that they lost popularity in favor of other breeds when factory farming became prevalent,” said Allena Tillman-Brown. “To bring them back from endangered, we need to give them renewed purpose and raise them for their original intent, food. This makes every animal we raise precious and critical to the overall survival of the breed.”
Firefly Farm animals are all pasture or forest raised. In addition to their supplemented diets, they are allowed to forage for food and are kept in environments natural to their species.
“Our pigs live in large groups in the woods, foraging, sleeping in piles, and enjoying the very essence of being a pig,” said Allena. “Our piglets stay with their mothers until they are naturally weaned, as do our calves. Our cows have a variety of pastures to suit their needs and the chickens have chicken tractors (movable chicken coops without floors) that are moved twice daily to give them access to fresh grass. Except for protective fences, our animals get to live as their ancestors did.”
Firefly Farms also uses rotational grazing, which keeps the animals moving so no one area is negatively impacted by their presence and the animals always benefit from having fresh grazing land to explore.
“A certified forester who specializes in woodland restoration showed us where to create new pasture and how to improve the overall health of the existing forest,” said Allena. “Our pigs have done a wonderful job removing scrub brush and invasive species so native flora and fauna can return. They love to be turned out on new pasture with all the joys of finding new areas to root and wallow.”
Firefly Farms first learned about Certified Humane® from Craig Floyd of Footstep Farm, the first Certified Humane® farm in Connecticut. Dugan Tillman-Brown, Firefly’s farm manager, realized he had already been naturally implementing many of Certified Humane® standards to provide the farm’s animals a stress-free environment.
“It seemed like a natural next step to become Certified Humane®,” said Dugan. “Humane Farm Animal Care’s goals and our goals are one and the same.”
As of January 2015, all four family members work for Firefly Farms in various capacities. Van Brown handles the bookkeeping and correspondences, Beth Tillman works with Dugan Tillman-Brown on Firefly Farms; and Allena Tillman-Brown handles marketing and events.
All of them, however, have been boar wranglers, mother hens to various babies, and educators for people interested in learning about how to operate a family farm that keeps the health and well-being of the animals as their number one priority.
“Just because these animals are raised for food, doesn’t mean we do not love them, care for them, and play with them,” said Allena. “We are with them at birth and walk alongside them to the end. Our mission is to make sure each animal has quality of life here.”
Located on a total of 400 acres in Honokaa, Hawaii, the Hawaii Lowline Cattle Company was started by Rick and Haleakala Sakata and Dwayne and Tammie Cypriano in 2005.
The two families run every aspect of the farm themselves, from farm animal care to administrative and marketing duties. They want to advance Hawaii’s food self-sufficiency by building a herd of Lowline Angus cattle on their ranch. According to Sakata, Hawaii Lowline Cattle Company is part of a resurgence in Hawaii of raising and finishing cattle locally and on pasture land. Their farm raises the only registered Lowlines in the state of Hawaii.
Originating in Australia, Lowlines are Angus beef cattle that are only about half the typical “Angus” size – 500 pounds for heifers and 550 pounds for steers. “Two Lowlines can use the pasture space of one of today’s larger breeds, providing more beef per acre of grass and making the land more productive,” said Sakata. “That’s very important on an island with limited pasture space.”
Hawaii Lowline Cattle Company purchased their first Lowlines from the mainland in 2008. They choose to fly the cattle to Hawaii rather than ship them in a seven-day journey across the ocean, “to reduce travel stress, even though it was more expensive,” said Sakata.
Hawaii Lowline Cattle Company raises cattle in a stress-free environment. The bulls and cows are out on the farm’s grass pastures all year-round, eating a natural diet of grass and forage, thanks to Hawaii’s mild climate. They are never fed on feedlots. The farm also rotates pastures to reduce over grazing and to maintain the quality of grass in each paddock.
“We really love doing this and care about the animals living naturally on the land,” said Sakata. “They are very gentle and so require gentle handling. We don’t need horses to corral them; they pretty much come when we call them.”
As more and more people learn about Certified Grass-Fed Beef, “it became important for us to let consumers know what that means in terms of how the animals are raised,” said Sakata. “Becoming Certified Humane was a natural next step. Their standards align with our beliefs and practices and assures the consumer of our commitment to animal welfare.”
Hawaii Lowline Cattle Company Certified Grassfed Beef is only sold in Hawaii. They also are certified by the American Grassfed Association and by Animal Welfare Approved.
“Our first island born calf was born in 2008,” Sakata says proudly. “A true Hawaiian.”
Founded in 1994 in São Paulo state, Korin is a Brazilian company that follows the Natural Agriculture principles, a model proposed by Mokiti Okada (Japan, 1882 – 1955). Okada’s philosophical approaches led the company to create a distinguished production system looking at the worldwide trends of progressive food production such as the producer and consumers´ health, environmental preservation, and social responsibility. As a result, Korin was the first company in Brazil to establish a large scale production of broilers and layers free of antibiotics, free of growth promoters, chemicals and animal by product ingredients in the birds´ diet.
In addition to the Antibiotic free (AF) broilers, the company is the largest Brazilian organic chicken producer, also delivering free-range broilers and eggs.
This progressive production system has a range of meaningful differences. Starting from the most basic handlings related to the farmers and their farms, to the final consumers due to choices motivated by tangible and intangible values.
In order to be able to have such successful production systems, the animals´ immunologic system must be in excellent conditions. Therefore, it is essential to preserve the animals’ welfare. For this reason, the welfare practices have always been part of the production process of the company. As animal welfare has been better known and more systematized, the company pursued the certification system aiming to let consumers know the special practices that make Korin eggs and chickens so special.
Hence, in 2009 Korin became the first company to reach the animal welfare certification through the implantation of the Farm and Animal Welfare Council – FAWA, established by Ecocert Brasil® in Brazil. Since then, Korin has earned the Certified Humane Brasil® certification and proudly displays the certification label on its products.
Luiz Carlos Demattê Filho, DVM, responsible for the certification program in the company.
According to Luiz Carlos Demattê Filho, Korin´s industrial director, one of the most substantial reasons to encourage the animal welfare introduction in production systems of various countries is the worldwide ongoing restrictions to antibiotics use in animal production. Thus, food companies are being guided by consumer preferences to improve production practices due to the strong connection between the non-use of those substances and human well-being issues. The following chart explains this relation:
Relation between the antibiotics use restriction and the welfare level. Source: Luiz Carlos Demattê Filho and Dayana Cristina de Oliveira Pereira.
Another important point that contributed to the prosperity of differentiation initiatives pointed out by Demattê is the “new” consumer profile that has been acquiring a greater awareness of ethics and issues related to food security.
Certified Humane seal highlighted in product’s package.
Being a pioneer in alternative poultry production, the company generates and validates new technologies. To reach such status, Korin has a partnership in research and technological development with Mokiti Okada Research Center – (CPMO in Portuguese), an institution associated to Mokiti Okada Foundation in Brazil.
CPMO laboratories, partial view.
One of the CPMO´s research lines involves research activities related to Environment and Animal Welfare. The partnership outcomes have been contributing greatly to the enhancement of welfare issues and consequently to the improvement of the company production rates. The performed experiments are published in national and international scientific papers. They are framed as a way to promote and incentive other initiatives focused on animal welfare, human health and sustainability of production units.
For information on where to find other Certified Humane® products in your area, visit the “Shop” page of HFAC’s website.
Stiebrs Farms began as the American dream of Latvian immigrants Jan and Zelma Stiebrs, who purchased 100 hens with the idea of selling fresh eggs in 1953. Now one of the Northwest’s premier cage-free and organic egg producers, the Yelm, Washington-based company distributes its eggs throughout the Northwest.
The business is still family-run by Jan’s and Zelma’s son Jon, his wife Dianna, and their three children, Kiasa, Yany and Ania. Their three grandchildren, Hailey, Abby and Jacob are the fourth generation of Stiebrs to join the growing business.
Jon learned the business as a young boy, when he helped his father sell their first eggs door to door to neighbors and friends. The business gradually expanded into retail outlets in Tacoma, Washington, and was soon earning enough to sustain the family. When Jan and Zelma retired in 1978, Jon and Dianna took over the business.
In September 2006, Stiebrs Farms became the first egg producer in the Washington state to meet the qualifications to use the Certified Humane® label.
“It has always been important to us to provide only the freshest, highest-quality eggs to our customers. The Certified Humane label assures our customers that we care not only about the quality of our eggs, but about the well-being of our hens,” says Kiasa (Stiebrs) Kuykendall. “Our hens live in large community houses where they’re free to perch, dust, nest and socialize proudly. They receive fresh well water and a special blend of vegetarian feed. Our organic hens enjoy grassy outdoor yards.”
Organic feed for the animals is milled onsite at Stiebrs Farms’ certified organic feed mill. The eggs are certified organic by the Washington State Department of Agriculture.
Stiebrs now has 70 employees to help manage the business, gather eggs by hand and care for the animals. The company owns its own processing plant where eggs are sorted and packaged. Stiebrs manages its own marketing, sales and distribution, and has five delivery trucks that make daily rounds throughout Washington and Northern Oregon.
To learn more, visit their website at: Stiebrs Farms
For information on where to find other Certified Humane® products in your area, visit the “Shop” page of HFAC’s website.
White Oak Pastures, a 1000-acre farm in Early County, Georgia, was founded by James Edward Harris in 1866 following his Civil War service as a Captain. He and the 100 sharecroppers who worked on the farm raised crops, cows and pigs. Every Saturday, a cow and several pigs were harvested to feed his family and the workers.
By the early part of the 20th century, when James’s son, Will, ran the farm, White Oak Pastures was harvesting cows and pigs every morning, six days a week. The meat was loaded on a mule-drawn wagon and hauled three miles up a dirt road to the town of Bluffton, where it was delivered to four general stores, a hotel and a boarding house.
Will Harris III, the fifth generation of Harisses to run the farm, says, “Our farm was the entity that produced local food for families that lived on the farm and the surrounding communities.” But that changed after World War II, when the Harrises joined the agriculturalindustrial revolution and began raising only calves, using growth-promoting hormones, antibiotics and high-grain feeds. The cattle were sent out West to be fed and then shipped all over the world.
“Now, we’re going back to the way my granddaddy raised cattle,” said Harris. “We decided that consumers should be able to eat simple, natural, healthy beef that is raised the old-fashioned way.”
Harris and his family keep 650 “mama cows,” a bigger herd than his grandfather raised, but otherwise reflecting the same philosophy. “We’re back to producing food for a more local community. The cattle are once again being raised on Southern sunshine, unpolluted country air and the native grasses that grow in the fertile coastal soil of southwest Georgia.”
While his wife teaches school and one daughter, Jenni,18, is away at college, his 22-year-old daughter, Jessica, also a schoolteacher, keeps the books and manages the office at the farm. Jodi, age 15, is the family cowgirl, who loves working with the horses and cattle. His grandmother, Eloise, 85, still lives on the farm and makes lunch for the crew every day.
Fortunately for Harris, his cattle’s clean-living lifestyle is increasingly popular with consumers, too. His White Oak Pastures Natural Ground Beef already has a following, with distribution in supermarkets in Atlanta and natural foods stores throughout the Southeastern U.S. from Miami to Washington, D.C.
White Oak Pastures sells only high-quality ground beef that is derived from premium cuts — the loin, rib eye and sirloin. Grassfed beef is high in Omega 3 fatty acids and other nutrients.Harris believes he has found a niche among consumers who like the hearty taste, health benefits and sustainable farming practices inherent in raising grass-fed cattle.
“We do the right thing for our animals and for the soil and water on our land. We raise our beef for food safety, for its health benefits and, of course, for flavor,” said Harris.
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Posted: May 19, 2016 by Certified Humane®
Ecoterra Eggs – Santiago, Chile
Ecoterra, a farm in Paine, Santiago, Chile that produces eggs, is the first farm in Chile to join the Certified Humane® program.
Launched in 2011, Ecoterra had a goal of changing industrialized agricultural systems in Chile to systems more in harmony with animals and the environment.
“Our goal is, and always has been, to create harmony between what the earth gives us and the way we produce our eggs, going back to what is natural for the animals and sustainable for the environment and integrating our local communities in the process,” says Founder and President Pablo Andres Albarrán Lama.
Albarráns parents were in banking and industry, so he says he’s “a first-generation farmer who simply loves animals and the environment.” He studied agricultural engineering at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica in Santiago, Chile, before finishing his degree at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. His thesis was on free-range systems and was the foundation for the animal welfare and environmental farm model he would eventually set up under the Ecoterra brand.
After college, Albarrán returned to Chile, leased nine acres of land and 2,000 laying hens, and launched Ecoterra (“Eco” representing “ecology” and “terra” representing “earth”) with the goal of raising “free-range hens as close to nature as possible,” says Albarran. “We recognize animal behaviors and do a lot to make the hens happy. We have perches and scratching areas on pasture and in the barn. Our hens are free from cages and can develop their natural behaviors inside and outside of the henhouse. They are outside on pasture all day where they can dig, flap their wings, dustbathe, sleep, perch, and rest. Their vegetable diet is supplemented with insects that they find in our broad meadow plants.”
Within a few years, Albarrán realized the animal welfare system he set up on his farm was suddenly in high demand in the marketplace. “I could see the market was changing and people were starting to care about farm animals and their humane treatment,” says Albarrán.
But some of the eggs on the market were not meeting the high welfare standards he was implementing on his farm. “They were using words like “cage-free,” but they were not backed by any set of standards,” he said.
Consumers can download the Certified Humane® app, which is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French, to find nearby stores that sell Certified Humane® products. For more information on HFAC and the Certified Humane® label, visit www.certifiedhumane.org.
As the first egg producer in Chile to promote the welfare of laying hens, Albarrán wanted his animal welfare system to mean something to consumers. “With so many supermarket chains and competitors, we were looking for a certification program that explained to the consumer what we were doing for the animals,” said Albarrán. “I saw the Certified Humane label on products in Brazil, Canada and the U.S. and learned about it. I realized through its standards and inspection process that the label would verify for the consumer the animal welfare work that we do every day.”
Ecoterra eggs can be found in more than 500 grocery stores in Chile, including Wal-Mart, as well as restaurants, hotels and via e-commerce.
Under their additional fair trade certification, they also work in alliance with local farms that produce eggs under the same Ecoterra system and same Certified Humane standards to help local farmers make a more sustainable living. “Something a small farmer could not do on their own,” says Albarrán. “We’re helping them become entrepreneurs who can become sustainable environmentally and economically, and we’re helping them implement animal welfare standards on their farms as well.”
For more information on Ecoterra, visit http://ecoterra.cl/en/ .
Consumers can download the Certified Humane® app, which is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French, to find nearby stores that sell Certified Humane® products. For more information on HFAC and the Certified Humane® label, visit www.certifiedhumane.org.
Posted: March 18, 2016 by Certified Humane®
Holy Cow Grass-Fed Beef – Wapato, Washington
Janelle and Roy Moses raise Certified Humane® grass-fed beef on a 128-acre farm in Wapato, Washington. Their family farm, Holy Cow Grass-Fed Beef, has 180 cattle and is operated solely by the couple and “some good neighbors who help us out a few times a year.”
“When I call to my cows, they all turn around and ‘moo’ at me,” says Janelle. “All you have to do is open the gate and they come running into the new pasture. Our vet says we have some really laid back cows.”
Janelle and Roy come from a family of farmers. Janelle’s farm background extends back more than 200 years. Her dad was a row crop farmer, her grandparents raised chickens, and her grandmother milked cows and raised pigs. “My dad used to say ‘dirt runs in our veins,’” she said.
Roy was a North Dakota farm boy whose family raised crops via dryland farming – an agricultural technique that taps into the moisture stored in soil to grow crops, rather than using irrigation or rainfall. Dryland farming was a staple of agriculture for millennia in the American West, before dams, aquifers and irrigation systems.
Even though they came from a family of farmers, Janelle and Roy didn’t start Holy Cow Grass-fed beef until the couple was in their 50s. That’s when they bought the 128-acre farm and decided that farming would be a good retirement plan.
When Janelle told her dad they were going to produce Angus/Limousin grass-fed beef, her dad said, “Holy cow, grass-fed beef?” recalled Janelle. “He was amazed and thrilled I was following in his footsteps and the ‘holy cow’ stuck.”
The couple irrigates their farm with rain water, grows grass from seed, and plants four different types of clover for their cows. “It’s sweet, high in protein and the cows love it,” Janelle says.
The cows can spend the night on the back pasture where there is lots of fresh grass to eat or visit the dry pasture where the Moses’ set out hay and extra food. They collect the waste from the dry pasture area to make fertilizer for their grass crops.
They have 4 high marbling angus bulls and 100 heifers who can roam the entire farm to breed naturally. When the heifers give birth, the calves are tagged pink and blue, depending on their sex. The calves are allowed to remain with their mother until the next calf arrives, which occurs 9 months later. “We try to keep them together as much as possible,” says Janelle. “We help them ween off their mom around 7 months, so she has a break from nursing. But the calf remains with her until the second calf arrives and her focus is on the new calf. Then and only then do we separate them.”
The Moses’ says they chose the Certified Humane Raised and Handled® certification to demonstrate to their customers their commitment to animal welfare. Everything is grown naturally and chemical-free. They plant native grasses, grow grass seed for the cows, and raised grass-fed and grass-finished beef on prime farm land, which they rotate for optimal grazing for the animals.
Most people raise beef on hillsides or grazing land, but they have the kind of fertile crop land soils that makes is ideal for the high quality grass the animals enjoy.
The couple believes “there is a right and wrong way to treat animals,” said Janelle. “It makes sense to keep your animals happy and healthy, free of stress and eating high-quality diets. The Certified Humane® program goes hand-in-hand with our animal welfare policies. Because we are inspected every year, we receive feedback and know we’re doing a good job on raising our animals humanely.”
Certified Humane® Holy Cow Grass Fed beef is available from their website at holycowgrassfed.com for residents in California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho residents.
Check out the Certified Humane “Where to Buy” page at https://certifiedhumane.org/take-action-for-farm-animals/shop/#/map or download the free Certified Humane App, by going to the App store for IPhone or Google Play for androids.
Posted: March 18, 2016 by Certified Humane®
Gryphon Ranch – Globe, Arizona
Gryphon Ranch, a 469-acre cattle ranch in the Pinal mountains of Globe, Arizona, operated by Jim and Carol Ptak, is now part of Humane Farm Animal Care’s Certified Humane program.
The couple got their start in cattle farming in 2011 when their 101-acre hay farm in Washington state had leftover hay from the previous season. “At that point, you only have two choices,” says Carol, “You take it out to the barn and burn it or buy something that eats it. We purchased our first two Scottish Highland steers that year.”
Scottish Highland cattle, a hardy breed of cattle developed in Scotland to thrive in rocky terrains, look like yaks, but graze like goats. The couple only intended to buy just two steers, but a neighbor who raised Scottish Highland cattle failed to secure sufficient feed for his fold one winter. They ended up boarding his cattle for six months. In exchange for the help, the couple received two cow/calf pairs, both cows turned out to be pregnant. The Ptaks went from two to 10 cattle pretty quickly.
As their cattle farm grew, they made a trip to Arizona and realized the milder and less humid climate might be a better fit for their family. They bought a ranch in Globe, Arizona, brought the Gryphon Ranch name and their 19 Scottish Highland Cattle in May 2014. The animals made the trip easily and adapted quickly to their new surroundings.
But the Ptak’s had their own adapting to do. The couple had lived in rural areas before, but never this remote. Their Arizona ranch was two miles off the main road at the end of rocky canyon where nobody passes through. They had to learn to live off the grid. They had solar power, but the existing system had a catastrophic failure shortly after moving in. They had a water heater fail and water lines rupture. Half their home heating system went down in the first month of the first winter and the other half failed before the end of that first winter. They also learned to not leave any open doors during the summer into the house because local animals liked to come in and visit, from tarantulas to rattlesnakes.
“Our first year was a big education for us,” says Carol. “The animals adapted just fine though. They love the hilly terrain.”
Animal welfare is a key component of Gryphon Ranch’s operations. The couple interacts with the cattle twice a day to ensure everyone in the herd is healthy and happy. They even groom and brush the cattle’s long coats.
So when the Ptak’s learned about the Certified Humane Raised and Handled® program, they liked the superior animal welfare standards and felt it would be a good fit for their approach to animal care.
“We’re all about the sustainability and humane treatment of animals,” says Carol. “With all the animal rights groups trying to get rid of farm animals, we believe that one can still eat meat and be humane. We wanted to join the program as a way to distinguish ourselves in the marketplace and show our customers that beef can be raised in a humane manner. Certified Humane is a way of bringing these standards to the industry.”
The Ptak’s allow their cattle to naturally forage, breed and interact over the nearly 1,200 grazing acres. Because of the remote location of the ranch, they have a “closed herd” – animals that never do or will come into contact with other cattle – so they don’t have to vaccinate them. They are raised without antibiotics, corn, and no GMOs.
Because the cattle graze like goats, there is significantly less impact on the ecology around them too. The cattle’s grazing habits remove the flammable underbrush and open up areas for additional grass to grow, which in turn is better for the cattle as well as the local wildlife like deer, javelin and rabbit.
The Ptaks work the ranch on their own, so can maintain a close eye on the animals. “Our home is centrally located on the property so we can hear what’s going on all the time,” says Carol.
Like many Certified Humane farms, Gryphon Ranch encourages customers to visit the ranch and see how their cattle is raised. “We spoil them,” says Carol. “Having good animal welfare means not only happy animals, but also the best product for our customers.”
Their breeding stock is all registered with the American Highland Cattle Association. Because Gryphon Ranch does not send their cattle to a slaughterhouse (instead hiring someone to come to the property to handle this), federal law only allows them to sell direct to the consumer.
Check out the Certified Humane “Where to Buy” page at certifiedhumane.org/shop or download the free Certified Humane App, by going to the App store for IPhone or Google Play for androids.
Posted: March 18, 2016 by Certified Humane®
Le-Fort Organic Crops – Creston, California
Roberto Le-Fort and Dolores Howard operate Le-Fort’s Organic Crops, a Certified Humane® farm, in Creston, California, near the city of San Luis Obispo in the Central Coast region of California.
Their organic farm grows vegetables, fruits and herbs and raises free-range chickens, some of which are heritage breeds, for their eggs.
Raised in Chile on his grandmother’s farm, Roberto received his degree in agricultural technology from Escuela Agricola San Fernando Chile. While working as an agricultural advising consultant for an agricultural extension program and INACAP, a technology institute in Chile, he made the decision to come to the U.S. He arrived in Hawaii, where he picked coffee, and then moved to California where he delivered pizzas until he could afford the down payment for the farm in 1997.
Dolores worked as a professor of English as a Second Language and Spanish at Santa Barbara City College. The couple met in 2011, and Dolores added farmer to her resume. At the time, the farm only had 25 chickens.
Roberto’s degree included courses in animal husbandry and the two wanted to expand their laying hen operation and provide the best and most humane life for chickens on the farm
When they heard about Humane Farm Animal Care’s Certified Humane Raised and Handled® program, they decided to implement the Animal Care Standards on their farm. In order to meet those standards, they applied for and received a small Fund-A-Farmer grant to make the necessary changes.
“We didn’t have to do too much,” said Dolores. “We handle the chickens well. We just needed more nests, more perches, and more shade for them. We got our rulers out and started making the improvements for the chickens.”
In addition, the couple also installed patio misters and planted cottonwood trees on the property to keep the hens cool and provide natural shade.
Le-Fort’s Organic Crops now cares for more than 350 laying hens under Humane Farm Animal Care’s Animal Care Standards. “We’re not doing this to increase egg sales,” said Dolores “We’re doing this to provide the best possible life for our chickens. Interestingly, though, people at the farmer’s markets tell us that they think our care improves the quality and taste of the eggs.”
Dolores and Roberto manage the entire farm themselves with occasional help from family, friends and temporary help. But the biggest helper might be Honey, a lab mix who showed up on their farm as a puppy in 2010.
“Honey thinks the chickens are her babies and really watches over them,” says Dolores. “She protects the chickens, barking and chasing away any predators, like raccoons, that she might hear around the chicken coop at night. She can find a chicken that has strayed away.”
Of course, the chickens don’t just lay eggs; they also help with the vitality of the farm. With the drought in California, the Le-Forts needed a way to nourish the soil for their vegetable and herbs, and the chickens have become “a serious partner in their drought-intensive composting effort,” said Dolores. “Sandy soil loses water quickly. Chicken poop helps us amend the soil to keep everything growing. And with 350 laying hens, we have plenty of that to clean up.”
The couple says the best thing about becoming Certified Humane® is that “we know we are treating our chickens fairly and giving them the best life possible in return for the eggs that they provide for us,” Dolores said. “We got expert advice on how to do what’s best for our animals. That doesn’t replace loving and caring for them, because that can guide you too, but we’re grateful that Certified Humane® has shown us what laying hens need on the farm to be healthy.”
Posted: June 8, 2015 by Certified Humane®
Lone Pine Colony (L.P. Farm Fresh Chicken)
Tony Entz of Lone Pine Colony and L.P. Farm Fresh Chicken in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, first saw the Certified Humane® label on products in Sobeys and Safeway.
“I looked it up on the website when I got home,” he recalled. “I read through the standards and thought, we do that, and we do that, and we do that. That’s when I thought, ‘We need to become Certified Humane®.’ You can care for your animals as much as you like, but if no one knows you are doing it, then it won’t motivate people who care about animals to check out your product.”
Tony lives and works with his dad, Peter, on Lone Pine Colony, a Hutterite colony that originated in 1999.
Hutterites are a communal people dating back to the 1500s, originating in Germany, Russia and the Czech Republic. When they migrated to North America, many headed to Canada in 1918, where generations still live in hundreds of scattered colonies. A small number of families live and work together on these Hutterite colonies, where they raise livestock and produce manufactured goods to sell for the benefit of the community.
”Everyone owns everything and everyone helps each other,” said Tony.
Tony started helping on the farm when he was just 8-years-old. “When I wasn’t in school, it was the highlight of my day to help care for the animals on the farm,” he says.
Today, Tony and his dad, Peter, handle the day-to-day operations of the 8,000-acre farm in the Lone Pine Colony. They manage 4,000 to 9,000 chickens, depending on the time of year.
Between April and October, Lone Pine Colony raises their birds outside, “in fresh air and sunshine,” said Tony. When the cold weather arrives, the birds are moved inside to heated and well-ventilated barns.
“We have to keep the birds nice and dry during the winter,” said Tony. “It’s much more work taking care of them inside compared to outside. So we are happy to let the birds outside again as soon as it warms up in the spring.”
Becoming Certified Humane®
Lone Pine Colony raises chickens without antibiotics or hormones, which meets Certified Humane’s® standards of animal care. They are also fed a homegrown grain with no animal or soy proteins.
Per Certified Humane® standards, Tony says they added recreational enhancements for the birds, like bales of hay, so they can exhibit some natural behaviors.
“I know they like it,” said Tony. “As soon as we put the bales of hay in the yard, several jumped right up on it. It’s just natural for them to sit on something.”
Tony says farming is hard work, but pleasurable work. “It’s always fun, if you like what you do,” he says. “I like working with animals, and I like working with customers and getting feedback on our products. It makes me feel good to hear people like our products.”
Lone Pine Colony produces L.P. Farm Fresh Chicken products, which are available in local stores in Calgary, Alberta. They ship some of their products to other Canadian Provinces.
To find a store near you that sells Certified Humane® products, visit our Where to Shop page or download Certified Humane’s®free mobile App.
Posted: May 20, 2015 by Certified Humane®
Firefly Farms
Founded by the Tillman-Brown Family in June of 2011, Firefly Farms is a 135-acre farm in North Stonington, Connecticut. The family is committed to raising heritage chickens, pigs and cattle in a natural and humane environment.
Firefly Farms has grown from an original herd of five piglets to a diverse number of hogs – Mulefoots, a Red Wattle, Guinea Hogs, and Tri-Heritage. They have a growing herd of Randall Lineback cattle and a flock of Dorking chickens. Each of their breeds is either critically endangered or threatened according to The Livestock Conservancy. None of their breeds numbers more than 1,000 in the world.
“It may seem to be a conflict that we raise these rare animals for meat, but the reason that they’re endangered is that they lost popularity in favor of other breeds when factory farming became prevalent,” said Allena Tillman-Brown. “To bring them back from endangered, we need to give them renewed purpose and raise them for their original intent, food. This makes every animal we raise precious and critical to the overall survival of the breed.”
Firefly Farm animals are all pasture or forest raised. In addition to their supplemented diets, they are allowed to forage for food and are kept in environments natural to their species.
“Our pigs live in large groups in the woods, foraging, sleeping in piles, and enjoying the very essence of being a pig,” said Allena. “Our piglets stay with their mothers until they are naturally weaned, as do our calves. Our cows have a variety of pastures to suit their needs and the chickens have chicken tractors (movable chicken coops without floors) that are moved twice daily to give them access to fresh grass. Except for protective fences, our animals get to live as their ancestors did.”
Firefly Farms also uses rotational grazing, which keeps the animals moving so no one area is negatively impacted by their presence and the animals always benefit from having fresh grazing land to explore.
“A certified forester who specializes in woodland restoration showed us where to create new pasture and how to improve the overall health of the existing forest,” said Allena. “Our pigs have done a wonderful job removing scrub brush and invasive species so native flora and fauna can return. They love to be turned out on new pasture with all the joys of finding new areas to root and wallow.”
“It seemed like a natural next step to become Certified Humane®,” said Dugan. “Humane Farm Animal Care’s goals and our goals are one and the same.”
As of January 2015, all four family members work for Firefly Farms in various capacities. Van Brown handles the bookkeeping and correspondences, Beth Tillman works with Dugan Tillman-Brown on Firefly Farms; and Allena Tillman-Brown handles marketing and events.
All of them, however, have been boar wranglers, mother hens to various babies, and educators for people interested in learning about how to operate a family farm that keeps the health and well-being of the animals as their number one priority.
“Just because these animals are raised for food, doesn’t mean we do not love them, care for them, and play with them,” said Allena. “We are with them at birth and walk alongside them to the end. Our mission is to make sure each animal has quality of life here.”
To learn more, visit www.fireflyfarmsllc.com.
Posted: May 20, 2015 by Certified Humane®
Hawaii Lowline Cattle Company
Located on a total of 400 acres in Honokaa, Hawaii, the Hawaii Lowline Cattle Company was started by Rick and Haleakala Sakata and Dwayne and Tammie Cypriano in 2005.
The two families run every aspect of the farm themselves, from farm animal care to administrative and marketing duties. They want to advance Hawaii’s food self-sufficiency by building a herd of Lowline Angus cattle on their ranch. According to Sakata, Hawaii Lowline Cattle Company is part of a resurgence in Hawaii of raising and finishing cattle locally and on pasture land. Their farm raises the only registered Lowlines in the state of Hawaii.
Originating in Australia, Lowlines are Angus beef cattle that are only about half the typical “Angus” size – 500 pounds for heifers and 550 pounds for steers. “Two Lowlines can use the pasture space of one of today’s larger breeds, providing more beef per acre of grass and making the land more productive,” said Sakata. “That’s very important on an island with limited pasture space.”
Hawaii Lowline Cattle Company raises cattle in a stress-free environment. The bulls and cows are out on the farm’s grass pastures all year-round, eating a natural diet of grass and forage, thanks to Hawaii’s mild climate. They are never fed on feedlots. The farm also rotates pastures to reduce over grazing and to maintain the quality of grass in each paddock.
“We really love doing this and care about the animals living naturally on the land,” said Sakata. “They are very gentle and so require gentle handling. We don’t need horses to corral them; they pretty much come when we call them.”
As more and more people learn about Certified Grass-Fed Beef, “it became important for us to let consumers know what that means in terms of how the animals are raised,” said Sakata. “Becoming Certified Humane was a natural next step. Their standards align with our beliefs and practices and assures the consumer of our commitment to animal welfare.”
Hawaii Lowline Cattle Company Certified Grassfed Beef is only sold in Hawaii. They also are certified by the American Grassfed Association and by Animal Welfare Approved.
“Our first island born calf was born in 2008,” Sakata says proudly. “A true Hawaiian.”
For more information, visit www.hawaiilowline.com.
Posted: February 18, 2015 by Certified Humane®
Korin (Brazil) Agropecuária
In addition to the Antibiotic free (AF) broilers, the company is the largest Brazilian organic chicken producer, also delivering free-range broilers and eggs.
This progressive production system has a range of meaningful differences. Starting from the most basic handlings related to the farmers and their farms, to the final consumers due to choices motivated by tangible and intangible values.
According to Luiz Carlos Demattê Filho, Korin´s industrial director, one of the most substantial reasons to encourage the animal welfare introduction in production systems of various countries is the worldwide ongoing restrictions to antibiotics use in animal production. Thus, food companies are being guided by consumer preferences to improve production practices due to the strong connection between the non-use of those substances and human well-being issues. The following chart explains this relation:
Another important point that contributed to the prosperity of differentiation initiatives pointed out by Demattê is the “new” consumer profile that has been acquiring a greater awareness of ethics and issues related to food security.
Being a pioneer in alternative poultry production, the company generates and validates new technologies. To reach such status, Korin has a partnership in research and technological development with Mokiti Okada Research Center – (CPMO in Portuguese), an institution associated to Mokiti Okada Foundation in Brazil.
One of the CPMO´s research lines involves research activities related to Environment and Animal Welfare. The partnership outcomes have been contributing greatly to the enhancement of welfare issues and consequently to the improvement of the company production rates. The performed experiments are published in national and international scientific papers. They are framed as a way to promote and incentive other initiatives focused on animal welfare, human health and sustainability of production units.
For information on where to find other Certified Humane® products in your area, visit the “Shop” page of HFAC’s website.
Posted: February 4, 2014 by Certified Humane®
Stiebrs Farms
Stiebrs Farms began as the American dream of Latvian immigrants Jan and Zelma Stiebrs, who purchased 100 hens with the idea of selling fresh eggs in 1953. Now one of the Northwest’s premier cage-free and organic egg producers, the Yelm, Washington-based company distributes its eggs throughout the Northwest.
The business is still family-run by Jan’s and Zelma’s son Jon, his wife Dianna, and their three children, Kiasa, Yany and Ania. Their three grandchildren, Hailey, Abby and Jacob are the fourth generation of Stiebrs to join the growing business.
Jon learned the business as a young boy, when he helped his father sell their first eggs door to door to neighbors and friends. The business gradually expanded into retail outlets in Tacoma, Washington, and was soon earning enough to sustain the family. When Jan and Zelma retired in 1978, Jon and Dianna took over the business.
In September 2006, Stiebrs Farms became the first egg producer in the Washington state to meet the qualifications to use the Certified Humane® label.
“It has always been important to us to provide only the freshest, highest-quality eggs to our customers. The Certified Humane label assures our customers that we care not only about the quality of our eggs, but about the well-being of our hens,” says Kiasa (Stiebrs) Kuykendall. “Our hens live in large community houses where they’re free to perch, dust, nest and socialize proudly. They receive fresh well water and a special blend of vegetarian feed. Our organic hens enjoy grassy outdoor yards.”
Organic feed for the animals is milled onsite at Stiebrs Farms’ certified organic feed mill. The eggs are certified organic by the Washington State Department of Agriculture.
Stiebrs now has 70 employees to help manage the business, gather eggs by hand and care for the animals. The company owns its own processing plant where eggs are sorted and packaged. Stiebrs manages its own marketing, sales and distribution, and has five delivery trucks that make daily rounds throughout Washington and Northern Oregon.
To learn more, visit their website at: Stiebrs Farms
For information on where to find other Certified Humane® products in your area, visit the “Shop” page of HFAC’s website.
Posted: February 4, 2014 by Certified Humane®
White Oak Pastures
By the early part of the 20th century, when James’s son, Will, ran the farm, White Oak Pastures was harvesting cows and pigs every morning, six days a week. The meat was loaded on a mule-drawn wagon and hauled three miles up a dirt road to the town of Bluffton, where it was delivered to four general stores, a hotel and a boarding house.
Will Harris III, the fifth generation of Harisses to run the farm, says, “Our farm was the entity that produced local food for families that lived on the farm and the surrounding communities.” But that changed after World War II, when the Harrises joined the agriculturalindustrial revolution and began raising only calves, using growth-promoting hormones, antibiotics and high-grain feeds. The cattle were sent out West to be fed and then shipped all over the world.
“Now, we’re going back to the way my granddaddy raised cattle,” said Harris. “We decided that consumers should be able to eat simple, natural, healthy beef that is raised the old-fashioned way.”
Harris and his family keep 650 “mama cows,” a bigger herd than his grandfather raised, but otherwise reflecting the same philosophy. “We’re back to producing food for a more local community. The cattle are once again being raised on Southern sunshine, unpolluted country air and the native grasses that grow in the fertile coastal soil of southwest Georgia.”
While his wife teaches school and one daughter, Jenni,18, is away at college, his 22-year-old daughter, Jessica, also a schoolteacher, keeps the books and manages the office at the farm. Jodi, age 15, is the family cowgirl, who loves working with the horses and cattle. His grandmother, Eloise, 85, still lives on the farm and makes lunch for the crew every day.
White Oak Pastures sells only high-quality ground beef that is derived from premium cuts — the loin, rib eye and sirloin. Grassfed beef is high in Omega 3 fatty acids and other nutrients.Harris believes he has found a niche among consumers who like the hearty taste, health benefits and sustainable farming practices inherent in raising grass-fed cattle.
“We do the right thing for our animals and for the soil and water on our land. We raise our beef for food safety, for its health benefits and, of course, for flavor,” said Harris.
To learn more, visit their website at: White Oak Pastures
For information on where to find other Certified Humane® products in your area, visit the “Shop” page of HFAC’s website.