As of this month, six months after transitioning to our certified organic feed, we are an official Certified Naturally Grown farm!
When we first started farming we wanted to be certified USDA organic. But the more we farmed, and the more we learned about the requirements (or lack thereof) of the USDA label, the less it appealed to us. So when we discovered the CNG label a few years back, that’s what we set our eye on as the standard we wanted to achieve in our operation.
When we think organic we typically think of animals out in pasture, eating grass and living a happy natural life, right? But did you know that commercial feed lots that corral livestock into small areas can operate under a USDA organic label if the animals are being fed organic feed? And that they can even use the grass-fed & finished label if being fed grass or fodder (or even corn, but that’s a discussion for another day) in that same corral setup?
Labels can be helpful, but it’s also important to know their origins and what they truly mean. And it’s even more important to know your farmer so you know how your food is raised!
Certified Naturally Grown farms go a step above USDA organic in everything we do. Under the CNG label no pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, antibiotics, chemical wormers, or growth hormones are allowed on the property. All livestock must have adequate pasture access and be fed feed or hay that’s free of any artificial inputs.
Eventhough our former NonGMO project verified feed was the cleanest we could source in terms of limited ingredients, it still didn’t allow us to achieve CNG status. Finding an organic feed company that would customize a ration for us without our “big no’s” of soy, gluten, and canola has opened so many doors for our little farm.
While we are still working to improve our pastures to be more self-sufficient in the forage they produce for our livestock, everything else we have done on our operation since the beginning has met or exceeded the values of a CNG farm.
We are proud to be the ONLY farm in the entire state of Alabama that produces eggs, pork, and raw pet milk under the CNG label. We are proud to be a Certified Naturally Grown farm!
