I hope you’ve had a good week and decent weather so far. As we continue our series of conversation-starters on food and farming, stay tuned for more posts you can share with your friends, family and customers (follow along at the social media links all the way down). And thanks as always for your part in offering a source for nutritious, sustainable food and real solutions. Read on for this week’s news and resources.

REMINDER For AGW-Certified Producers: Send Us Your Summer Grilling Specials!
With Victoria Day (Canada), Memorial Day (U.S.)—and summertime grilling season just around the corner, we want to be sure to let folks know where and how to fill their grill with AGW-certified products. Let us know (at info or through your regional coordinator) if you have any upcoming specials, packages or promotional codes for online ordering. We’ll be sharing on social media and look forward to spreading the word.

Chatham Marketplace, Thank You!
Throughout the month of April, the customers at info.

Featured Resource: Help Us Help You
The Certified Animal Welfare Approved by AGW label is one of the most valuable, meaningful labels leading the marketplace today. Wondering how to make the most out of your AGW certification? If you haven’t spoken to your regional coordinator recently, feel free to be in touch. Also, this guide called “Help Us Help You” explains how we can work together to maximize your certification and convey your hard work and management practices to you customers. Don’t miss out!

Featured Resource: Technical Advice Fact Sheet 9 – Castration of Cattle
Curious about how different castration methods can impact welfare and production? This technical paper outlines best practice advice on castration and covers available methods and considerations in Certified Animal Welfare Approved by AGW systems.

Updates From Your Peers
Catch the latest on AGW-certified producers and the program below. This week:

• Blue Bear Farm & Cattle Co., LLC, AGW’s newest certified farm in Georgia, was featured in The Albany Herald and The Thomasville Times-Enterprise.  

• Joia Food Farm, located in IA, was featured in a recent article by Saveur that highlights challenges farms faced during the pandemic and ways they have worked and are continuing to work through them.

• Claremore Daily Progress highlights AGW-certified Shepherd’s Cross Farm in OK and their upcoming summer barn and plant sale.

• The Newsenews.com Lenoir County, NC Farmers Market Update welcomes Grassroots Pork Co.–and their Certified Animal Welfare Approved by AGW, Certified Non-GMO pork, as the market’s first pork vendor.