<b>By TIM ALEXANDER<br>
Illinois Correspondent</b></p><p>

DENVER, Colo. — The American Grassfed Assoc. (AGA) said recently its board has voted to state certifying grassfed meat operations under a new industry-backed standard administered by Food Alliance (FA), owner of the most comprehensive agricultural eco-labels in North America.<br>

“We can now begin the process of developing the audit protocols that will allow our members to certify their farms as grassfed,” AGA Beef Director Will Harris said.<br>

The AGA represents more than 300 grassfed livestock producers. FA certifies farms, ranches, food processors and distributors for sustainable agriculture certification, which addresses labor conditions, humane animal care and environmental stewardship.
Certified businesses can use the green FA eco-label on their products to show social and environmental responsibility.<br>

FA Executive Director Scott Exo said his group could state taking applications and undertaking inspections of producers wishing to be AGA-certified as early as May.<br>

AGA’s grassfed marketing claim standard is intended to exceed the requirements for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s grassfed standard announced in October, which allows animals confined to feedlots, given antibiotics and growth hormones to still be labeled “grassfed” as long as they received a forage diet.<br>

The AGA standards are based primarily on four precepts: total forage diet, no confinement, no antibiotics and no added hormones. <br>

The AGA grassfed claim applies to ruminants only – cattle, sheep and eventually goats – not poultry or pork.<br>

Since producers seeking FA certification already are assessed against rigorous animal welfare standards, Exo said those passing certification under the specific AGA grassfed standards will be able to market products with both FA and AGA seals.<br>

Grassfed meat producers have waited for years for the department to develop certification standards and procedures, like the organic certification and seal, to distinguish grassfed animals from conventionally-raised animals. Although the USDA banned the use of antibiotics and growth-hormones in its “naturally raised” marketing claim standard it released in December, it still leaves out the issue of confinement.<br>

Exo said splitting sustainable agriculture practices into separate marketing claims can be especially frustrating for producers.
“The problem with slicing things so thinly is that a producer has to put words all over packaging to get his marketing message across,” he said.<br>

Exo said with both FA and AGA grassfed certification, producers are able to have a host of practices assessed to standards that consumers seek, all in one certification process.<br>

“That is the kind of simplification that the marketplace is looking for,” he said.<br>

Along with producers and other professionals, health-minded consumers can join the AGA. The association provides a network for its members to share information and market products.