White Oak Pastures
White Oak Pastures, Running Free with Grant Opportunity
Sandra Yerges
Like the variety of pasture-raised animals on their property, history runs free at White Oak Pastures. Although the work completed at this Georgia business is supporting today’s food industry, especially in the eastern United States, the team’s efforts are the agricultural continuation of an over 150-year-old family venture.
One of the members of this heritage-rich family is Jenni Harris. Not only is she the director of marketing at the farm, but she also makes up the fifth generation of this thriving operation. After joining the White Oak Pastures team 14 years ago, she has been responsible for the promotional work of their meat products. Being that there is a broad range of cuts being marketed, including everything from chicken to beef, Jenni’s role is just one of many that make these offerings readily available to the public.
A pasture is not complete without the individuals who care for the herds and flocks of animals. On this farm, however, the cowboys take a more thoughtful approach to the way they manage their livestock. This is due to the business’ focus on regenerative agriculture, a farming practice that emphasizes both the freedom to roam and natural inputs.
“Industrial agriculture really removed livestock from the land by confining them and putting them in barns, crates, and cages,” Jenni explained. “Regenerative agriculture puts those animals back on the land so that they can impact it positively.”
The stark difference between the two practices is not foreign to White Oak Pastures as both have been used at the business. According to Jenni, her father, Will Harris, was the driving force that led the company toward a fully holistic operation. When the shift to regenerative farming was made in the early 2000s, it became clear that this method of operating was something worth advocating for and pursuing.
When asked how she views this practice, Jenni shared, “Regenerative, to us, means restarting the cycles of nature.” Through actively guiding the livestock through fresh grass on the pasture, the cowboys work to achieve this environment-centered goal every day.
Once the livestock have been fed to the proper weight and are ready for slaughter, the responsibility is then transferred to the on-site butchers. Even though they have worked with an additional variety of birds in the past, they currently stick to their production of chicken, sheep, goat, hog, and cow. To accommodate this diverse group of animals, there are two spacious and fully certified buildings at the farm equipped for safe meat preparation.
Fascination for the activities that occur within these structures along with the pastures is the primary reason why visitors from the public participate in the tours hosted by the farm. With convenient dining and hospitality services also available to directly interact with the agricultural environment, these customers can gain the sense of importance of what goes into this field of work, even if they are not full-time farmers themselves.
“I think people truly want to understand more about where their food comes from,” Jenni stated. “They become interested in systems like ours by way of animal welfare, environmental practices, or interest in rural communities.”
Their farm stay may only span a few hours or days, but these captivated audiences can still access the brand wherever they are from. All meats sold at White Oak Pastures are listed for purchase on their website and eligible for home delivery. They can also be found in regional grocery stores for those looking for an accessible pick-up option.
No matter if they are in the pasturing or selling stage, White Oak Pastures have always welcomed extra resources to enhance their daily activities. After being in business for so long, changes like these have been crucial to adjusting to the evolving industry and the new needs that come from it. Over the years, there has been one major source of outside funding that has assisted them in this journey: the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG).
With a strong grant writer backing them up, this farm has received numerous VAPG awards. These funds made a notable contribution to the business’ regenerative switch, primarily with naturally sustaining their pigs and grass-fed cows. In addition, their shipping approach for online orders was greatly influenced by the grant. Because the team finds value in smaller entities in the delivery process, they invested in couriers to minimize the complicated and costly transport of larger services.
Nothing but gratitude flowed from Jenni as she spoke about her time with the grant. For her, it was a way to step out from the old and try something new to build up the farm’s public-facing messages.
“Farmers are historically doers, and so spending time in the office behind a computer screen documenting what you’ve done or what you want to do is not necessarily something that comes easy to farmers,” she illustrated. “But I can say from experience that it’s certainly worth the time that you have to invest to build these.”
Freedom is not just sourced from a long-standing agricultural interest or regenerative practices. The ability to roam without limits can also come from the support of grants like the VAPG. Opening this gate to possibility requires the one key mindset to which White Oak Pastures has always held strong: a consideration of the past, present, and future of both their company and the industry.
