Sheep Industry News July 2022

CloverLeaf Selected for Wool Assurance Audits

A SI has selected CloverLeaf Animal Welfare Systems as the official American Wool Assurance auditing firm, a step that was necessary to allow America’s wool producers to achieve Level III – Certified status within the program.

giving you all the information you need about our visit. We will make sure you know exactly what we will be looking for, and we will send you the standard and the actual audit form we will be using,” he said. “We want everyone to have a good understanding of what we do, so that it doesn't feel like an

“We’re confident that CloverLeaf will be a valuable partner in work ing with our wool producers to help them achieve their goals within the American Wool Assurance program,” said ASI Deputy Director Rita Samu elson. “We received bids from several auditing companies, but appreciate that CloverLeaf specializes in animal welfare certification, training, facil ity design and government response support.” CloverLeaf President Jason McAli ster said wool growers will find his company knowledgeable about agri culture in general and eager to work with producers to see that they meet program standards. “What I want producers to know

investigation. We are here to verify the good practices that you do daily. There will be no secrets as everyone will have the opportunity to ask questions and be prepared. “We have clients call us with questions multiple times, and that is perfectly acceptable. We encourage questions. We will set up a time and date to come to visit you well in ad vance to help keep travel costs low. We will conduct the audit as stated with no surprises and discuss our findings in real-time. We will follow up with you via phone or Zoom to discuss cor rective measures, if needed.” The cost of an audit is $500 plus

travel costs – which is a third of the average industry price for audits in the beef, pork and poultry industries accord ing to McAlister. The AWA standards focus on year-round quality care with regard to health and nutrition, effec tive facilities, low-stress transportation and handling, proper castration and tail docking, and safe, humane shearing. With multiple levels of accreditation to match every grower and buyer's needs, wool growers of any size operation can become involved with the AWA program and reap its rewards. Consumers are demanding to know how and where their products were created. With AWA, we can demonstrate how we raise our sheep and benefit from sharing that informa tion. By voluntarily providing assurances to customers, wool growers have the opportunity to gain access into new markets. AWA is a took to help wool growers be competitive in the marketplace while creating a positive public perception of the American sheep industry. To learn more, visit AmericanWoolAssurance.org, or email Info@AmericanWoolAssurance.org.

about us is that we are everyday folks with ag backgrounds and down-to-earth values,” McAlister said. “We are not a corporate auditing firm with hundreds of auditors. I hire and train every CloverLeaf auditor to be respectful of your time, your process and you as a person, and producers are encouraged to call me personally with any questions.” CloverLeaf auditors have completed online training, passed exams and are preparing to complete shadow audits this sum mer as the final step in the AWA training process. Wool growers looking to move from Level II – Process Veri fied to Level III will need to complete an audit. They’ll then need to undergo an evaluation every two years – using one of nearly two dozen trained evaluators from around the United States – and an audit every four years with CloverLeaf. An au dit might seem daunting to those who have never undertaken the process, but McAlister said producers shouldn’t stress over the process. “We will call and visit with you over the phone or on Zoom,

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