Howling Flats Farm – Canaan, CT

Kelley Babbin and family raise Certified Animal Welfare Approved by A Greener World (AGW) beef cattle at Howling Flats Farm in Canaan, Connecticut. The family started Howling Flats Farm in 2010 after purchasing a neighbor’s herd of cattle. The farm is located on 15 acres of river basin land, and although they are in a flood zone (which has unfortunately impacted them twice), they have worked hard at keeping the ravine maintained and built up the grade around the barn. Howling Flats Farm also rents an additional 100 acres of nearby pasture for their cattle.

The herd of Certified Animal Welfare Approved by AGW Angus cattle are kept in seasonally rotating groups for calving and breeding. “We keep our numbers down to make sure our pastures can properly nourish our animals,” says Kelley. “By having fall and spring calving groups our bull is never alone.”

Howling Flats Farm uses rotational grazing practices and sustainable farming techniques, which results in lower environmental impact and a higher quality product. Kelley Babbin says she chose to pursue certification because, “many of the industry’s labels have been watered down and manipulated to be meaningless. We believe that Animal Welfare Approved by AGW certification has real value and provides our customers with proof of our hard work to give our animals the best.”

In the future, the farm hopes to grow into a sustainable business for Kelley’s grandsons to continue. “We plan on adding additional infrastructure-such as fruit and nut trees and converting some open pasture to a silo pasture area. We are adding additional paddocks for rotational grazing of the cows and adding more animals.”

Howling Flat Farm’s Certified Animal Welfare Approved by AGW pasture-raised beef is available direct from the farm. The farm also supplies beef to several local colleges through a collaboration with the Kendall Foundation’s Whole Animals for the Whole Region project. For more information about Howling Flats Farm, visit howlingflatsfarm.com and the farm’s Instagram and Facebook page, or contact Kelley Babbin at Howlingflatsfarm@gmail.com.