A Greener World (AGW) is pleased to award Providence Lane Homestead with its Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) certification. Providence Lane Homestead is the only fibre farm in Canada to receive the AWA accreditation.
AWA is one of the nation’s top 5 fastest growing certifications and label claims. It is the only label that guarantees animals are raised outdoors on pasture or range for their entire lives on an independent farm using truly sustainable, high welfare farming practices.
Consumer reports suggest the certification program is the only highly meaningful food label for farm animal welfare, outdoor access and sustainability.
AGW, a non-profit organization, promotes verified farming practices and encourages food choices that deliver positive impacts for the environment, society and animals.
Tara Klager, owner and operator of Providence Lane Homestead, received the award just 8 months after applying.
Klager began the research process in 2018 to find a certification that checks all the boxes regarding the quality of care and the values they wanted to uphold for themselves as well as their animals.
"I wanted to find a process and a certification that I could have faith in," states Klager. "It was going to be more than a rubber stamp, it had to be something meaningful."
The process included phone interviews, a 50-page survey of long-form answers, and acquiring a letter of recommendation from a veterinarian, among other things.
Providence Lane Homestead in Rocky View County is a small-scale regenerative farm specializing in fibre products from alpacas and endangered heritage sheep.
"What I hope people think of when they come out to the farm, and they know that we're Animal Welfare Approved, is that we are doing what we can to ensure that this fundamental resource, and these incredible animals are safeguarded and husbanded, and loved and cared for, and provided for, so that they never have to feel bad, or they never have to worry that the fibre they're using came from an animal who suffered first," explains Klager.