Animal Welfare Grants

 

Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT), a national nonprofit that promotes the safe and humane production of meat, milk, and eggs, recently awarded more than $94,000 in Fund-a-Farmer Grants to 38 independent family farmers located in 19 states across the country. The grants, ranging from $600 to $5,000, were awarded for projects that improve farm animal welfare and build capacity, with farmers increasing the environmental and financial sustainability of their operations.

“Small and mid-sized sustainable farms are essential to meeting consumer demand for humanely-raised food, but often face financial challenges due to high costs associated with economies of scale,” said Larissa McKenna, FACT’s Humane Farming Program Director. “Our organization supports family farmers by funding projects that improve animal welfare and help farmers increase their profit margins.”

 Fund-a-Farmer Grants include:

1) Pasture Improvement Grants for projects that help farms transition to a pasture-based system and expand the animals’ access to well-managed pasture.

(2) Animal Welfare Certification Grants for projects that would help farmers to attain animal welfare certification from Animal Welfare Approved by A Greener World, Certified Humane, or the Global Animal Partnership (GAP)

(3) Capacity Building Grants for high-welfare farmers and ranchers who already hold one of the three certifications above.

As in past years, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals® (ASPCA) is underwriting FACT’s Animal Welfare Certification Grants. Recent Animal Welfare Certification Grant recipients in California include: Shelly’s Farm in Brentwood and Skyelark Ranch in Edgewood.