Regenified, the leading regenerative agricultural certification and supply chain-solution company, announced that it has awarded Regenified Certification to Star Hill Farm, the home of Maker’s Mark Distillery in Loretto, Ky. Star Hill Farm is the first farm in Kentucky and home to the first distillery in the world to receive recognition from Regenified for proven and evident progress in regenerative agriculture. With this certification, the brand advances on its long-term mission to cultivate bourbon that betters the world, while crafting the most flavorful product possible.
Regenified was founded by a team of regenerative farming and ranching pioneers, experts and innovators to promote regenerative farming practices and combat the decline of soil health due to intensive and unsustainable agricultural practices. The organization verifies and certifies farms and ranches and their products that repair, rebuild, revitalize and restore the function of the ecosystem and regenerate the soil for future generations. Through the Certified Regenified label and their proprietary 6-3-4™ Verification Standard, Regenified helps the supply chain, including farmers and ranchers, understand where their practices and lands are on the regenerative path.
“Regenerative agriculture is leading the way to improve soil health, biodiversity, and ecosystem function while producing high-quality products,” said Salar Shemirani, chief executive officer at Regenified. “Maker’s Mark’s commitment to handcrafting the finest bourbon has always prioritized the quality of their ingredients, dating back to their founding 70 years ago, when regenerative agriculture was the only norm. We are thrilled to recognize Maker’s Mark and its homeplace of Star Hill Farm for their ongoing commitment to these practices that are so vital for the health of our planet.”
Maker’s Mark Distillery sits on more than 1100 contiguous acres of land that make up Star Hill Farm. The brand champions regenerative farming practices throughout its land to enhance the soil, reduce carbon emissions and to maximize the flavor of everything the farm yields, including several hundred acres of regeneratively grown grain varietals. In addition to embracing regenerative farming at Star Hill Farm, Maker’s Mark is sharing these practices with its grain suppliers in hopes that the iconic Kentucky bourbon may one day be made fully by regenerative practices that give more to the land than they take.
“We are incredibly proud to be the first farm in Kentucky and the first distillery in the world to achieve certification from Regenified,” said Rob Samuels, 8th generation whisky maker and grandson of the founders at Maker’s Mark. “Our ambition to act as a force for good in all that we do includes our commitment to being good stewards of the land and our soil at the homeplace of Maker’s Mark. After all, bourbon is nature, distilled. We know a commitment to the quality of our ingredients through regenerative agriculture can lead to a future where whisky is not only more sustainable, but markedly more flavorful as well.”
Maker’s Mark is driven by a responsibility to the places, people and practices to create its handmade and delicious bourbon. Other recent initiatives from the B Corp-certified brand include the establishment of the world’s largest repository of American White Oak trees for research purposes; a first-of-its-kind genome mapping project of the American White Oak species and the establishment of a 33-acre Natural Water Sanctuary on its distillery grounds to preserve and protect the land that filters its water source now and in the future.
