With "Radically Traditional Farming" practices, White Oak Pastures now operates the farm as a living ecosystem.
]]>White Oak Pastures is a regenerative, vertically integrated, zero-waste, family farm, located in Bluffton, GA, fiercely committed to the well-being of its animals and taking care of the land. The Harris family has raised cattle on the farm for five generations.
After World War II, along with much of the world, the farm integrated popular new industrial tools and chemicals, which have since that time proven to be destructive. In 1995, Will Harris III made the conscious decision to return to a production system that is better for the environment, the animals, and the people.
The regenerative practices include managed grazing to reduce carbon, recharge waterways, preserve habitats, and support rural economies.
The farm takes pride in its respect for the well-being of animals, treating them with dignity and care throughout their lives. They have received numerous certifications for ecological and animal welfare practices.
More information about the farm's practices can be found on their website here, as well as high profile news articles.
White Oak Pastures was the subject of a third-party carbon footprint study in 2019 by Quantis, a leading environmental research firm. General Mills commissioned the study to evaluate the potential of regenerative agriculture to sequester carbon. The study confirmed that White Oak Pastures' practices resulted in carbon capture that offset the majority of its production emissions--the study even found that the cattle had a net-negative impact, which is incredibly promising, even given the study's limitations and caveats. (Since that time, having seen the power of regenerative practices, General Mills has made commitments to advancing regenerative agriculture).
]]>Regenerative Agriculture is farming with nature, not against it. It means getting animals out of feedlots and back on the land. It means ditching chemicals and embracing biodiversity. It means resilient farms and a healthy planet.
]]>Regenerative is a movement. It's beyond sustainable, literally. With regenerative practices, we don't simply sustain the earth, we regenerate and improve it, from soil health, carbon sequestration, and animal welfare, to health and nutrition, biodiversity, and more. How?
The key is the focus on the earth. Regenerative farmers build healthy soil with simple concepts like seasonal grazing, biodiversity, and NO harmful chemicals.
Grazing animals rotate through grasslands, as they once did naturally to avoid predators, providing the grazed lands time and fertilizer to regenerate. Plants grow back stronger, pulling carbon into the soil, which becomes richer, holding more water. With better water retention, less runoff, and improved hydrology, farms get a powerful boost of resiliency against floods, droughts, and fires, which also means less dependency on government subsidies and insurance.
No more misguided destruction from industrial practices. No more chemicals, which damage microorganisms that are critical to soil health. Instead, with increased biodiversity, nature takes over: little bugs eat smaller bugs, the ecosystem balances, and there is no need for pesticides.
It’s hard to overstate how powerful this shift back to regeneration is. The carbon sequestration potential alone is eye-opening. But the real power of regeneration is the power to heal the earth using nature, not fighting nature.
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