Start the Process to Get Certified Today and Start Using the AGA Logo and Marketing Materials to Show Your Customers The True Value of Your Products.
What our logo on your label tells your customers:
- Your animals were fed a lifetime diet of 100% forage*
- Your animals were raised on pasture, not in confinement
- Your animals were never treated with added hormones or antibiotics
*For Swine and Poultry, standards allow for supplemental feeding to ensure complete nutrition for monogastrics.
Membership in AGA does not grant certification. No member may claim to be AGA certified or use the AGA logo until after a full and complete on-farm inspection by third-party inspector and approval from AGA.
7 Steps to Become an Approved AGA Producer
Download Documents
Download the Membership and Certification Submission Checklist here to help guide you through the process. Download a copy of the Ruminant, Pastured Pork or Dairy Standards. Please make sure to read them thoroughly and if any questions remain, please email us at standards@americangrassfed.org.
AGA membership
Learn more about membership on our membership page. You can fill out a membership form online or download one and send it in. Please note that we are unable to process any inspection forms without a current membership PRIOR to scheduling and submitting an inspection..
FARM INSPECTION
If you have other certifications, such as organic or state or local programs, we can work with that inspector for ruminant and pastured pork to do the AGA on-farm inspection at the same time, and they will advise you as to the cost (if any) of the bundled inspections. Dairy inspectors must have completed an IOIA course.
Please refer to the following links for our list of AGA-approved inspectors: Click here for Ruminant & Pastured Pork Farm Inspectors or click here for Dairy Farm Inspectors. Additionally, any DVM with a practice that includes the species being inspected may conduct your inspection.
Once you choose a company or person to conduct the inspection, the inspector must contact AGA for a link to the proper online inspection form. If you can’t find an inspector in your area, please email us at standards@americangrassfed.org.
INSPECTION SUBMITTED TO AGA
Once the inspection is completed, the inspector must submit the information via the instructions on the form.
Certification Committee review
Our Certification Committee will review all submitted paperwork. Once they determine that you qualify for Certified AGA Producer status, AGA will send you paperwork to complete the process.
AGA licensing agreement
Sign and return the licensing agreement, that you will be sent, along with payment to AGA. You must send AGA a copy of your label for our files. Upon receipt of the signed documents, label, and payment, AGA will issue your certification. Once you are approved and licensed, you can use the AGA Grassfed logo on your labels and promotional materials.
And remember, if you see that logo being used on products you doubt meet the AGA standards, please tell us! Together, we will maintain the integrity of the AGA brand, the original, oldest and USA-only grassfed certification in the United States.
STAY CURRENT!
Certified producers must pay their yearly dues—member fee and per head fees—as well as have their farm or ranch re-inspected every 12 to 15 months.
FEE STRUCTURES FOR MEMBERSHIP AND CERTIFICATION:
Certified AGA Producer members pay $200 per year for membership dues and a one time $150 licensing fee. In addition, Certified Producer members pay a per head fee, currently $1.00 per head for large ruminants (beef or bison) or per head milked and/or $0.25 for small ruminants (goat and sheep) for every animal harvested for the Certified Grassfed Producer program (any animal harvested that uses the AGA logo). Pastured Pork per head fee is $0.50.
A form will be sent to you with your annual billing and this payment will be made along with your yearly membership. Once you are approved and licensed, you can use the AGA Grassfed logo on your labels and promotional materials.
*Please note: In order to maintain true third-party certification status, AGA will have no financial interest in the arrangements between you and the inspecting agent, nor will we recommend one auditor over another. Your auditor will work with you directly to determine a cost for services.