Atkins Ranch and Savory Institute Partner on Verified Regenerative Sourcing Solution

BOULDER, Colo., Dec. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Atkins Ranch and the Savory Institute announced a new collaboration today to scale up regenerative agriculture and celebrate the positive role that it can have for society. Over the last 30 years, Atkins Ranch has consistently been recognized globally as an industry leader of innovation.

Atkins Ranch has invested to become a Frontier Founder of Savory's Land to Market program to promote and support the regenerative production of raw materials and utilize Savory's pioneering methodology, Ecological Outcome Verification^TM (EOV^TM). EOV measures the indicators of ecosystem functionality in order to ascertain the overall health of the land and grazing systems that support the production of these raw materials. The program takes real world assessment of soil health and sequestered carbon, water infiltration rates, and biodiversity. The resulting science-based empirical data provides livestock farmers with critical information to make better decisions while simultaneously providing brands and retailers with the impact metrics they need to make the best sourcing decisions possible.

Environmentally beneficial farming is called regenerative agriculture, which mimics nature's design at every opportunity and produces outcomes that improve ecosystem health - sequestering atmospheric carbon, reducing greenhouse gases, increasing biodiversity, and restoring watersheds. Raising sheep on a diet of grass, as their digestion system is designed, is inherently better for the animals and ultimately for the consumer health but it still requires good management to lead to net-positive environmental impacts. It is nearly impossible to scale up these positive environmental benefits without measuring progress along the way. That's exactly what EOV does. Producers that show regenerative results are eligible to have their products marketed with the Land to Market seal. Producers that don't achieve positive environmental improvement can pivot their management and can be offered additional resources and technical assistance. Ultimately it allows producers to iterate faster and unleash their own inherent innovation.

Savory and Atkins Ranch are entering into an initial pilot phase immediately, performing baseline measurements on 25 of their producers before the end of the year with plans to baseline their entire group of producers by end of 2020.

The Land to Market program is currently centered around livestock derived products i.e. meat, dairy, wool, leather, and cashmere. In addition to helping Atkins Ranch even further demonstrate their shared values with consumers, there is also an opportunity to improve utilization of the entire carcass, with partners in the Land to Market program hungry for verified regenerative products beyond the meat including leather, organ meats, bones.

"Atkins Ranch is committed to achieving excellence at every level along the supply chain. By utilizing Land to Market's Ecological Outcome Verification and investing in regenerative agriculture we are proud to continue to provide Atkins Ranch lamb consumers with the assurance that they are eating lamb with the highest animal welfare, environmental and wholesomeness assurances possible," said Jim Goodall, Atkins Ranch Executive Director. "We have multi-generational farming ethos centered around guardianship of the land and environment. We want to demonstrate to the world that our lamb producers are committed making the world a better place. Furthermore we want to show that, when properly managed, sheep can play the role mother nature intended and by doing so enhance our ecosystems on which we all depend."

"Collaborating with such a large, well-known producer focused brand is a dream. This is an incredibly valuable partnership for our quickly growing verified regenerative sourcing program, Land to Market," said Chris Kerston, Director of Market Engagement for Savory Institute. "Scaling this program through partnerships like these allows farmers and consumers, the beginning and ending of the chain, to connect over shared value which is such a win for both sides."

About Atkins Ranch
Over the last 30 years, Atkins Ranch has curated a network of over 180 New Zealand-based Lamb producers that raise 100% Grass Fed and finished lamb to the highest of global standards. They were the world's first Global Animal Partnership Pasture Raised (Step 4) animal welfare certified meat sheep program and have been a long standing lamb supplier to Whole Foods Market. 
To learn more, visit www.atkinsranch.com.

About the Savory Institute
The Savory Institute, a U.S. 501(c)(3) charitable organization, facilitates large-scale regeneration of the world's grasslands through Holistic Management. Together with Savory's global network of Hubs, the Savory Institute equips farmers and ranchers around the world with education, training, and implementation support to achieve success within their cultural and ecological contexts. Savory Institute also removes barriers and creates enhanced conditions for large-scale progress by informing policy, engaging the marketplace, and increasing public awareness. Savory's long-term goal is to positively influence the management of 1 billion hectares of grasslands by 2025, thereby contributing to global climate-, water- and food-security. To learn more, visit www.savory.global.

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SOURCE Savory Institute