Lancaster County-based LaBelle Patrimoine’s heritage chickens have been designated as regeneratively raised by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, acknowledging its commitment to sustainable and environmentally friendly poultry farming practices.
LaBelle Patrimoine said regeneratively raised is a farming system where chickens are fed regeneratively grown grain, grown on managed pasture, and farm waste and processing waste are composted and returned to the soil to improve soil health.
This recognition by the USDA underscores LaBelle Patrimoine’s dedication to regenerative agriculture and its positive impact on soil health, water management, pasture biodiversity, and carbon reduction, the company said.
“LaBelle Patrimoine’s standard for environmentally conscious agriculture is not new, it’s what we’ve always done, and this official status is yet another spoke that leads back to the hub of all we and our local Lancaster farmers do every day,” said Mike Charles, founder and CEO, LaBelle Patrimoine.
“As a sixth-generation poultry farmer, we are committed to maintaining the very best tried and true practices while also continuously evolving and improving to make sure we are doing right by the environment, our farmer partners, our flocks, our community, and our customers who rely on us for the very best poultry products in the business,” Charles added.
In addition to LaBelle Patrimoine being certified by Global Animal Partnership’s Better Chicken Project and being part of the Better Chicken Commitment, the brand’s new regeneratively raised status further demonstrates its unwavering dedication to quality and sustainability, the company said.
“LaBelle Patrimoine’s regenerative agriculture practices set a commendable standard for the industry by prioritizing the environmental footprint of their supply chain,” said Brittany Smith, agriculture projects manager, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. “Their holistic approach promotes long-term sustainability and is a north star example of how farms are leaders in environmental stewardship and the regenerative movement. We look forward to collaborating with Mike and his team to implement even more practices that benefit the communities of Lancaster County and the surrounding region of south-central Pennsylvania.”
