tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842136564899097734.post674800516991654363..comments2023-12-15T02:04:08.213-08:00Comments on meat: Whole foods 5 step(r) animal welfare rating: Would my farm qualify? Bruce Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10995706761794063165noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842136564899097734.post-32814114697108180942017-04-14T12:11:27.454-07:002017-04-14T12:11:27.454-07:00Hi Bruce,
We have Berkshire pigs and were approve...Hi Bruce,<br /><br />We have Berkshire pigs and were approved for the Whole Foods 5 step welfare rating just before Christmas. We're due for another major farm inspection sometime in June.<br />It's not really a bad program, and it is one that is used by Whole Foods; it was not thought up by Whole Foods.<br />Here in Canada we could start selling our pigs to a different big customer other than Whole Foods if we wanted under this 5-step rating, as the certification is all done by an independent third party.<br />Our processor told us the cost per inspection (again, this is for us here in Canada) is $1,000 which is paid by our processor unless our farm fails the inspection. Then we have to pay for the re-inspection.<br />I keep a diary with calendar for each of our pig groups. That covers the "record keeping" they want you to do. Keeps it simple.<br />From looking at your pictures and reading your blog, you should have no trouble qualifying. The only thing we had to add to our farm to get our 5-step rating was toys for all the pigs and we had to castrate our piglets sooner. We were doing 3 weeks and they want 3-10 days.<br />Hope this info helps answer some of your questions about the 5-step welfare program.<br /><br />Best,<br /><br />LisaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842136564899097734.post-63352753326737746532015-08-31T10:26:33.717-07:002015-08-31T10:26:33.717-07:00The proposed standard for sheep bans tail docking ...The proposed standard for sheep bans tail docking for level 5, which means you can only use Northern European Short-Tails and Hair Sheep. Long tailed wool breeds are always docked for a reason. Incognomenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03699332263972335007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842136564899097734.post-3968008158753298492015-08-28T03:45:44.810-07:002015-08-28T03:45:44.810-07:00I've been aware of their rating system for a w...I've been aware of their rating system for a while. I rarely have an opportunity to go into a WF because there aren't any close to where I live. But I try to walk through whenever possible since I retail my meat for premium prices compared to "typical" groceries. I'm amazed at the prices WF gets for completely conventional meat. Just the cachet of being in the WF meat section is enough for them to charge similar prices to what I charge, and that was for Level 1 beef.<br /><br />I've never seen pork rated higher than Level 2 for sale in their cooler - usually its ALL Level 1. Must be that most pig farmers don't want to bother with the system either.<br /><br />I'm certainly not about to try. I feed dairy byproduct. I raise barrows, and think it's pretty risky to grow out boars. People do the boar thing, but I'm not about to risk losing customers from a case of taint.EBrownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02894676347259218501noreply@blogger.com