Non-profit farm certifier A Greener World (AGW) recently announced a new label, Certified Regenerative. Following this announcement, the label selected 50 farms to join the pilot phase of a program measuring benefits for soil, water, air, biodiversity, infrastructure, animal welfare and social responsibility. The program aims to provide a whole-farm assurance of sustainability.
Certified Regenerative will be a five-year Regenerative Plan developed with each individual farmer. The goal is for the farmers and experts to assess risk, set goals and track progress toward meaningful milestones. Currently most regenerative claims made by farmers are not verified at all, so the role of AGW is to assess farmers’ compliance with their own plans.
The program will require rigorous, high standards, high animal welfare, early and broad access to regenerative markets, and a holistic, farmer-led approach combined with a pragmatic, science-based approach. Auditing will be done to ensure farmers make meaningful claims, as well as give the farmer an opportunity to demonstrate grass-fed, non-GMO, humane, water-friendly, environmentally sustainable practices – without the use of added hormones, routine antibiotics and toxic chemicals.
“Participating in AGW’s pilot program for regenerative farm certification has been an inspirational experience for me. While we think of ourselves as good stewards of the land, and conscientious environmentalists—we had not yet put into place any specific goals for regenerating our little piece of earth, and targets or timelines for achieving those goals,” said Portia McKnight, Dairy Farmer and Pilot Participant. “The application process is truly inspirational, since it requires that farmers participate in writing our own plans for excelling in environmental stewardship, and regenerating our own farmland.”
Farms were selected based off factors including agricultural experience, regenerative principles, market or educational impact and geographical diversity. AGW will be partnering with farms in Australia, Namibia, South Africa, the UK, the U.S., and Canada over the coming year. This will give the program a wide range of environments, climates, and socioeconomic parameters to be trialed in.
AGW expects to announce its first fully Certified Regenerative farms and products later this year.
For more information, visit: agreenerworld.org