Lucky Hook Farm – Moses Lake, WA

Jessi Maurer always wanted to be involved in farming. When she turned 20 and moved to the country, she started buying livestock. More than 30 years later, Jessi and her husband, Dennis, raise 100 Alpine and Saanen dairy goats outdoors on pasture at Lucky Hook Farm in Moses Lake, Washington. Lucky Hook Farm is the first dairy in Washington state to be both Certified Animal Welfare Approved by A Greener World (AGW) and Certified Grassfed by AGW for their pasture-raised dairy goats.

Jessi and Dennis are proud the goats at Lucky Hook Farm are raised on pasture on a grassfed diet without the use of routine antibiotics or other unnecessary inputs. Their dairy operation has always been pasture-based and animal health is central to their business. The goats have continuous access to pastures of clover and mixed grasses during the spring, summer and fall months, and are offered an alfalfa and grass mix from pesticide- and herbicide-free fields on a free choice basis throughout the year.

Jessi and Dennis wanted their dairy herd to be Certified Animal Welfare Approved by AGW in order to have an unbiased third party verify that they’re doing the right thing. Not every consumer can visit the farm to see how Lucky Hook Farm raises its animals, and certification assures their customers the farm’s goats are raised according to the highest welfare and environmental standards. Since becoming Certified Animal Welfare Approved by AGW in 2011, Jessi and Dennis received a lot of positive feedback from customers about their new certification. So, in 2016, they added the Certified Grassfed by AGW food label, an optional, additional accreditation for Certified Animal Welfare Approved by AGW farms and ranches. Certified Grassfed by AGW is the only certification and logo in the U.S. and Canada that guarantees food products come from animals fed a 100 percent grass and forage diet, raised outdoors on pasture or range for their entire lives, and managed according to the highest welfare and environmental standards on an independent farm.

While the economics of farming are tough, Jessi and Dennis are excited about continuing to grow their small business, improving animal welfare practices and farm infrastructure. Certified Grassfed by AGW goat’s milk from Lucky Hook Farm is sold throughout Washington. Visit luckyhookfarm.com for more information or contact Jessi at luckyhookfarm@accima.com and 509-431-7329. You can also follow the farm on Facebook.