By Lindsay Suchow
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
^{This story originally appeared in the Register-Star newspaper on Monday, February 14, 2011}

GHENT — Grazin’ Angus Acres Farms has been awarded a $3,500 Good Husbandry Grant from the Animal Welfare Approved program, commemorating the business for their pasture-raised chickens and eggs.

“We were one of (28) farms in the nation to be awarded the grant,” said Dan Gibson, owner of Grazin’ Angus Acres, primarily known for its grass-fed angus beef, chicken and eggs.

Gibson said he’ll use the grant to build at least two or three more EggMobiles from locally harvested lumber, of which Grazin’ Angus Acres already has five. The EggMobiles house the thousands of chickens which roam the grounds of the farm, and since they’re movable, the manure produced by the chickens helps to enrich the soil.

“We actually move them around behind the cattle every day because they’re going to spread the manure piles the cattle leave behind, so spreading the manure actually fertilizes the grass for us,” said Gibson. “Getting grass in the (chicken’s) diet means the yolks in our eggs are bright, orange and delicious.”

Grazin’ Angus prides itself on offering “a much healthier food profile” for which customers are willing to pay a significantly higher premium than food produced from conventional farming methods — $8 for a dozen eggs (and not only are consumers unfazed by this price, but there’s actually a waiting list for Grazin Angus’ eggs this time of year, said Gibson).

The food produced from sustainable farms such as Grazin’ Angus are higher in healthy Omega 3 and beta carotene, Gibson noted; but the real benefit for most consumers, he said, is the AWA seal.

“The consumer knows where it came from, they know it’s humanely raised and processed, because my slaughterhouse has to be AWA (certified) as well,” said Gibson, adding the Eagle Bridge slaughterhouse he utilizes in Eagle Bridge, New York, is small and family-run.

“I get questions all the time, (such as), ‘Are your chickens beaked?’ ‘Have they ever been in cages?’ The answer is always no. Anyone can look up the standards of the AWA on our website to understand the standards we’re held to, and most of all, they can come here anytime and see for themselves.”

And once a visit to the farm is made, Gibson said, “They’re customers for life.”

Gibson also maintains that the absence of chemicals on Grazin’ Angus Acres makes for overall healthier food and provides some comfort for consumers.

“We use no man-made inputs,” said Gibson. “There’s no fertilizer, no herbicides, no pesticides, no hormones. It’s very clean farming, and because we’re rotating our animals and maintaining our grass carefully as we rotate the livestock amongst the pastures, we’re actually building soil, sequestering carbon and producing healthy beef and eggs.”

Gibson worked as an executive in New York City before his own personal concerns about the food business brought him to Columbia County to pursue sustainable farming eight years ago. The area provides him with “like-minded folks who care about things we care about.”

“What we really liked about Columbia County and Ghent in particular is the access to sophisticated marketplaces from Albany to New York City,” said Gibson. “We take much of our stuff to Manhattan in the Greenmarket system,” as well as small local farm stores like the Berry Farm in Chatham; the Hawthorne Valley Farm Store in Ghent; the Honest Weight Food Co-Op in Albany; and the Wild Hive Farm Store in Clinton Corners, Dutchess County. Grazin’ Angus also has its own on-site store.

“(Customers) get to shake the hand that feeds them, which is really important,” said Gibson.

The AWA “audits and certifies farms that raise their animals with the highest welfare standards, outdoors, or on pasture or range,” according to a prepared statement. Twenty-eight Good Husbandry Grants ranging from $600 to $6,000 were awarded to AWA-sanctioned farmers this year.

“The accountability and integrity offered by farms that are certified by Animal Welfare Approved is unmatched in food production,” said AWA Program Director Andrew Gunther in a prepared statement. “We’re glad to be giving funds to Grazin’ Angus Acres Farms as the farm improves the lives of its animals.”

For more information on Grazin’ Angus Acres, visit their website at www.grazinangusacres.com or stop by the farm at 125 Bartel Road in Ghent.