Photo credit: St. Brigid’s Dairy in Brussels, Ontario

I wanted to take a moment to update you on the feedback we received from our 2022 Producer Survey—one way that we check in with farmers in our network annually—and share the actions we have taken based on the valuable input of the farmers, ranchers, and food producers who participated.

One common theme that emerged from the survey was the need for more consumer education about the state of the food system. Additionally, producers expressed a desire for increased marketing assistance. We took these concerns to heart and have implemented the following steps to address them:

1)     Restructuring our Marketing Team: In order to provide more streamlined services for both prospective and certified producers, we have restructured our Marketing Team. As part of this restructuring, we have hired a full-time Outreach Specialist who is solely focused on recruiting and assisting producers in getting certified. Additionally, we have created a new position, Marketing Services Coordinator, dedicated 100% to supporting certified producers with labeling, marketing, and other needs.

2)     Enhancing Consumer Education: We have ramped up our communications plan with the goal of educating consumers about the role of AGW’s certifications within the food system. Here are three recent examples of our efforts:

• Earth 911 featured the Certified Regenerative by AGW program in “Where to buy regeneratively grown foods.”
• MSN featured the Certified Animal Welfare Approved by AGW program in “5 ways to ensure you get humane meat for grilling season.”
• HealthNews.com showcased the Certified Regenerative by AGW label as a trusted third-party certification to look for in “Regenerative Foods: Nutritional Values and Carbon Reduction.”

3)     Engaging with Content: We have compiled topics of interest and content suggestions from the survey, such as succession planning and grazing, and shared them with our Editorial team. You can look forward to seeing these topics covered in new blog posts, Sustainable Farming magazine articles, webinars, and more.

Improving the state of our food system is a journey we are all on together, and we greatly value your continued engagement and feedback. As we prepare for our 2023 Producer Survey (more to come on this in August), we look forward to hearing from you again and working together to make a positive impact.

All the best,

You can help us reach more farmers by sharing our weekly farmer updates. Just pass this linkalong and thanks for helping us get the word out about farmer resources and AGW-certified businesses.