Top 5 reasons to celebrate our 150th anniversary with us

Join us the weekend of October 15th as we commemorate our 150th anniversary. We’ll make it a real celebration with our largest event yet. Over the years we’ve refined our traditions and skills, and like the wines Will Harris is well known to enjoy, we only get better with age. If you’re on the fence about what to do the weekend of October 15th, check out the top five reasons to spend it in Bluffton.

1. Grand re-opening of the White Oak Pastures General Store
We’re proud that now that we’ve put the artisanal labor back in agriculture, our little town can again support its own store. We’re putting the finishing touches on our restoration of Bluffton’s 175-year-old general store and we can’t wait to show it to you. Join us for a ribbon cutting ceremony and enjoy the expanded selection of products available, including ice cream.

2. Exclusive livestream of the Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium
The Southern Foodways Alliance does amazing work preserving and promoting the diverse food culture of the American South. Their annual symposium is held in Oxford, Mississippi and tickets sell out quickly, but this year we are excited to be able to offer an exclusive live-stream of the event right here in Bluffton.

3. Local farm-to-table food
Lunch and supper will be available for our guests at the White Oak Pastures food truck, and you won’t want to miss Chef Reid’s surprise 150th anniversary signature burger. After a night of celebrating a century-and-a-half on our family farm, we hope you will join us for Sunday brunch in our on-farm Pavilion.

4. Music! Drinking! Dancing!
That wine we mentioned? There will be plenty of it. We’ll have a cash bar to wash down your fine meal with beer and wine, and we’ll welcome the locally famous Bo Henry Band from Albany, GA for a night of dancing in the streets of downtown Bluffton.

5. Be part of the rural revival
We’ve breathed life into our farm village that had slipped almost into oblivion. Take a ride around Bluffton by horse-drawn farm wagon or bicycle, get to know the people who produce your food, and celebrate the regenerative agriculture movement that is putting Bluffton back on the map!

Click here for full event details. We look forward to seeing you on October 15th.

Land, livestock, and the pursuit of a new logo

 

Selling premium, value-added meat and poultry to consumers requires a good amount of marketing, which is not something that comes naturally to us here at White Oak Pastures. Fonts, color schemes, photos and logo designs weren’t handed down from previous generations like land stewardship and livestock husbandry. But, as we’ve done with so many changes during our rapid growth, we adapted to and embraced this new component: logo design.

In the early 2000s, one of our first tasks in building a marketing platform was to pick a name for our website. For a century, what we all know as White Oak Pastures was actually called Tenac Oak Pastures. Will Harris received great advice from a neighbor: “Don’t call your farm something people can’t easily spell. Do you want to spend the rest of your life spelling the word Tenac?” Tenac Oak is the local name for White Oak. But, since Tenac isn’t in most everyone’s normal vocabulary, Will decided that White Oak Pastures would be an equally appropriate name. Our farm is three miles from the Kolomoki Indian Mounds, and Kolomoki translates to “Land of the White Oak.” The rest is history!

The second task was to pick a logo. Back in the early 2000s, the only product we had to market was grassfed beef. Thankfully, our logo didn’t turn out to be a cow, since today we raise 10 species of animals. Instead, we reflected on the true definition of the word brand: “an identifying mark burned on livestock with a branding iron.” For generations, the Harris family branded our cattle with the same “circle-H” that you see in the logo today, which stands for the “H” in Harris. In an effort to reduce infliction of pain on our animals, we stopped branding them more than 30 years ago. But what better way to brand our products than with the same mark that previous generations used to differentiate our live animals from those of our neighbors?

Our old logo, early 2000s to 2016

Back then, we decided to make the Harris “H” the main component of our farm logo. We proudly used that logo during the last busy 10 years of business. Today, in our 150th year, we raise 10 different species of animals, market all of these to passionate customers, grow vegetables, tan hides, compost, house overnight guests, and many other things, and the “H” family brand still communicates all of this to the world.

However, over the last 10 years, we found that we were constantly explaining the connection between the “circle-H” and the words “White Oak Pastures.” It seemed folks struggled with the correlation, and we couldn’t really blame them. Knowing that we needed some guidance, we hired Egg Branding to help us consolidate our message. After months of discussion, we are excited to reveal our new logo (top of this page), which still proudly includes the “circle-H” while putting more emphasis on the amazing “organism” (as Will calls it) that is White Oak Pastures. What would our brand be without the history of who we are and where we came from? We hope you like our new look, and the hard work and dedication it represents.

Join us October 15th to celebrate 150 years of building the White Oak Pastures brand and culture. Click here for event details.

The secrets of the ancient Kolomoki Mounds

The Kolomoki Mounds site is the largest and oldest tribal mound complex east of the Mississippi. Located just west of White Oak Pastures outside Bluffton, Georgia, these eight mounds were hand-built by some of the earliest inhabitants of the area, the Swift Creek and Weeden Island cultures. Building these mounds was a monumental task, toting dirt one basketful at a time. The largest mound, the size of a football field at the base and 56 ft high, required more than two million basket loads of soil.

These early hunter-gatherers had to have been very prosperous to be able to engage in an extravagant extraneous activity like mound-building, and the reason this was possible is the high productivity of the land.

There’s something special in this little strip of land right through here that’s about 15 miles long and just a few hundred yards wide. We call it the Bluffton Ridge, and it’s the area where the Appalachian Mountains have gone underground and project like a finger under the coastal plains weather pattern.

Generally, the land in the coastal plains is sandy and of poor quality. But in this ridge we’ve got uneroded, incredibly rich mountain soil. We’re also in a highly productive weather pattern, with optimal rainfall and temperatures. It’s the perfect storm of weather and geology, where plants and animals grow and produce really well.

These tiny Appalachian rocks are treasure chests of minerals.

It’s interesting to note that the people of ancient Kolomoki built the mounds right next to this strip of land, but not on it. They knew this soil was special.

From 350-600 A.D., Kolomoki was the largest settlement north of Mexico. These early Native Americans were the first of many prosperous inhabitants who thrived on the rich soil of the Bluffton Ridge.

Andrew Jackson defeated the Creek Nation in 1814, and founded Bluffton in 1815. The Creeks inhabited Southeast Alabama, Southwest Georgia, and North Florida, but Jackson and the early Europeans chopped their way through the jungle with purpose, founding Bluffton before any other city in the region.

Before the industrialization of agriculture drove people away in the mid 1900s, Bluffton was a prosperous city, too. Will Harris’ grandmother attended Bluffton’s Pine Plains Boarding School for Girls, where she learned to paint oil on canvas and studied Emily Post etiquette during the era when girls weren’t commonly taught to even read or write. Bluffton had one of the first concrete swimming pools in the state back in 1920, called The Bluff. And in 1924, a successful initiative called the “Lord’s Acre” was featured in Time magazine, in which farmers in the Baptist Church congregation each donated one acre of production as a tithing. In the era of “40 acres and a mule,” most farms couldn’t afford to donate an acre of production, but because of that highly productive mountain ridge soil, it was possible in Bluffton.

Kolomoki translates to “Land of the White Oaks,” and it is now our turn to care for this little strip of land. At White Oak Pastures, we’ve tapped into the richness of this soil to build one of the 17 accredited Savory Hubs around the world, and we proactively support nature’s food chain using only sun, soil, and rain to grow organic sweet grasses for our animals to eat. Regenerative agriculture is a core value of White Oak Pastures, for the sake of our animals, our environment, our community, and for those who will inhabit this land after we’re gone.

Life on the Farm: Q&A with Will Harris

1. Do you remember your first day “taking over” the farm? Can you describe it for us?
EXCEPT FOR MY 4 YEARS AT COLLEGE, I HAVE LIVED AND WORKED ON THIS FARM ALL OF MY LIFE.  I HAVE NEVER WANTED TO DO ANYTHING EXCEPT RUN THIS FARM.  I MAJORED IN ANIMAL SCIENCE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA IN PREPARATION FOR DOING THIS.

WHEN I GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE, I EXPECTED MY FATHER TO GO AND SIT ON THE PORCH SO THAT I COULD RUN THE FARM.  HE HAD A VERY DIFFERENT IDEA.

HE WAS AN ONLY CHILD, AND I WAS AN ONLY CHILD.  EITHER OF THESE WAS PRETTY UNUSUAL FOR OUR GENERATIONS.  IT WAS UNHEARD OF THE STACK THEM.

WE WERE LIKE TWO BROTHERS, FATHER & SON, BUSINESS PARTNERS, AND BEST FRIENDS.  WE COULD HUNT & FISH TOGETHER, EAT & DRINK TOGETHER, BUT WE COULD NOT WORK TOGETHER.  HE WAS THE ORDAINED KING, AND I HAD OPINIONS THAT I JUST COULD NOT KEEP TO MYSELF.  WE PISSED EACH OTHER OFF.  IT WAS BAD.

HE WAS TOO SMART TO LET US LIVE IN A COMBATIVE SITUATION. HE AVOIDED THIS BY MAKING ME GET AN OFF FARM JOB IMMEDIATELY AFTER GRADUATION.  I BECAME THE REGIONAL MANAGER OF A FARMER COOPERATIVE.  WE RAN COTTON GINS, PEANUT MILLS, FERTILIZER BLENDERS, AND GRAIN ELEVATORS.  IT WAS GREAT EXPERIENCE FOR ME AND I COULD NOT HAVE DONE THE THINGS, IN THE MANAGEMENT OF THIS FARM, THAT I HAVE DONE IF I HAD NOT HAD THIS EXPERIENCE FORCED ON ME.

BUT… I ALWAYS LIVED ON THIS FARM, AND WAS ALWAYS VERY INVOLVED IN WORKING ON THE FARM.  I WORKED 40 HOURS EACH WEEK FOR THE CO-OP, AND OVER 40 HOURS MORE EACH WEEK ON THE FARM.  I ONCE COMPLAINED ABOUT HOW I WORKED ALL OF THE TIME.  DADDY SAID “YOU DON’T WORK BUT HALF OF THE TIME”.  HE MEANT 12 HOURS OF THE DAY, 7 DAYS PER WEEK.  HE SAID THAT IF A MAN WANTS TO “ACCUMULATE SOMETHING” HE NEEDS TO WORK MORE THAN HALF OF THE TIME.

ONE HOT DAY, IN 1995, DADDY DROVE HIS PICK UP TO WHERE I WAS BUILDING A NEW FENCE IN THE PASTURE.  HE SAID “DO YOU WANT THEM DAMN COWS?”.  I SAID “HELL YES I WANT THEM DAMN COWS.  THAT IS WHY I’M BUILDING THIS DAMN FENCE”.  HE SAID “TAKE THEM”, AND HE DROVE OFF.  AND THE TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT WAS DONE.  WE HAD NEVER DISCUSSED ANY SORT OF TRANSFER BEFORE THIS AND, EXCEPT FOR THAT EXCHANGE, WE NEVER DID AFTER EITHER.

I KNOW THAT DADDY GAVE IT UP THAT DAY BECAUSE HE WAS BEGINNING TO FEEL THE FIRST SIGNS OF DEMENTIA.  HE NOR I NEVER ACKNOWLEDGED IT, BUT THAT WAS THE DEAL.  IT SLOWLY KILLED HIM OVER THE NEXT FIVE LONG AND SAD YEARS.

AFTER THAT DISCUSSION ON THAT HOT DAY, HE NEVER TOOK ANY SORT OF ACTIVE ROLE ON THE FARM.  NONE AT ALL.  IT WAS VERY TRAGIC THAT IT HAD TO BE THAT WAY.

2. On January 1, 2014, two of your daughters were officially back on the farm and White Oak Pastures employees. What was that day like for you?
THE BEST DAMN TIME OF MY LIFE.  THE STORY ABOVE WILL GIVE YOU INSIGHT AS TO WHY.

3. I just picked up my first batch of layers today. Although I feel responsible for the current layers in the pasture, I feel more bonded to, or just more responsible for the ones I got today. It’s the first ones I hope to raise from start to finish. How did you feel when you bought/slaughtered/sold your first cow?
YOU ARE EXPERIENCING THE STEWARDSHIP OF THESE CHICKS. STEWARDSHIP OF YOUR OWN LAND AND ANIMALS IS THE CLOSEST THAT PEOPLE CAN EVER COME TO FEELING THE COMPASSION OF GOD FOR HIS SUBJECTS.  MOST PEOPLE NEVER GET THAT.

4. What do you look forward to the most about retirement? Or do farmers every truly retire?
MY RETIREMENT WILL CONSIST OF GRADUALLY HANDING OFF DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, UNTIL I HAVE NONE LEFT.  WHEN THERE ARE NONE LEFT, IF MY HEALTH IS GOOD, I WILL RIDE A HORSE AROUND THE FARM ALL DAY EVERY DAY.

 

If you have any questions for Will, please leave them in the comments section and I’ll do my best to get an answer for you!

Life on the Farm: Words of Wisdom by Will Harris

An article posted in the American Grassfed Association newsletter, that I thought you all may enjoy…

“At this time I feel compelled to talk about the market that we are operating in.  We are in uncharted territory with regard to the prices that our livestock is bringing.  I think that we all need to give some consideration to how we got to this point.  Here’s my take on this:…

Congratulations to all of us.  Today we are producing livestock in the most profitable period of time in anyone’s recollection.  This is great, and we are grateful…but it ain’t always going to be this way.

We must not lose sight of the fact that our current economic success is the result of the nation’s diminished supply of animal protein (primarily beef).  This diminished supply is a result of ruminant herd liquidation, which came about due to many years of unprofitable calf, lamb, and kid production.That is to say that our current year’s profits in the livestock business were bought and paid for by our prior year’s losses.  Mine and yours.

This cyclical supply & demand, profit & loss, is a function of the commodity beef business.  There is no protection from this cycle for producers who raise calves for ultimate sale to multi-national protein companies.  It is a way of life (and death).

AGA members have opted to exit this system.  We endeavor to raise our animals for sale to more sophisticated consumers.  These are consumers who have studied our nation’s meat and poultry production systems.  Many of these more informed consumers have made lifestyle changes regarding what they eat.  These consumers choose to pay a little more to buy meat and poultry that allows them to be raised in a manner that is more sustainable, humane and fair.

AGA members who have exited the commodity system pay a high price to get out.  Production, processing, and marketing meat and poultry from a non-commodity system is much more difficult, riskier and more expensive for the producer.  Producers can easily add value to their products and not be able to extract this added value from the marketplace.  It ain’t easy.  In fact, it is damned hard.  In fact, it is the hardest damned thing that I have ever done in my life.

AGA members who have exited this system face hardship from many fronts:  National livestock organizations vehemently oppose mandatory country-of-origin labeling that helps prevent the importation of “grassfed” beef without the knowledge of consumers.  Multi-national protein companies brilliantly word smith, green wash, and trick label their products to hopelessly confuse consumers.  Government bureaucracies heavy handedly impose regulations that are not applicable to small operations.  This list goes on and on…

These difficulties are part of what makes me proud to be part of the American Grassfed Association.  This grassroots (no pun intended) organization is one of the few places where like-minded producers can unite in an effort to understand the forces that stand in the way of our journey to gain a sustainable, humane, and fair livestock production system.”

Life on the Farm: Interview with Jodi Harris

Last week, you guys had the privilege of getting to know Jenni Harris. Today, I want to introduce to all of you, Jodi Harris Benoit. She’s the fifth generation of the farm, little sister to Jenni, and our Tourism Manager. She graduated from Valdosta State University in 2012, fulfilled her year off the farm with a local trucking company, and thankfully, made her way back home! Although she has only been here since January 2014, she has already learned what it takes to keep this farm running, and willingly wears many different hats. When she isn’t planning workshops for our wonderful friends and customers, making sure the cabins are ready for our guests or taking a stroll on one of our 3 horses, you can typically find her helping her husband, John Benoit, in the pastures. John just happens to be the Livestock Manager. It’s a true family business, I tell ya!

Everyone, meet Jodi…

1. What brought you back to the farm?

My family brought me back to the farm.. I never intended to live anywhere else.

2. What’s it like working with your dad, older sister, husband and sister-in-law?

It’s the best thing in the world to be surrounded by my family everyday. I never dread coming to work. Doing what we love to do together is such a blessing.

3. What’s your biggest accomplishment since starting here a year ago?

Dad was a bit reluctant, but we purchased 4 cabins and renovated the pond house on the farm. This has been my dream since the beginning of White Oak Pastures. My parents lived in the pond house right after they married in 1977. I’m so glad we were able to fix it up and let our friends enjoy such a special and secluded spot on the farm.

4. What are your goals for the next year? Professional and personal?

I would love for us to start renovation on the old Herman Bass Store in Bluffton. We bought it in 2013, but with all the other renovations going on around the farm, we had to add it to a growing list of to-do’s. My long term goal is to outgrow our cabin capacity. I don’t mind begging dad to build a nice lodge one bit! 🙂

5. What’s your favorite meal at The Pavilion?

Beef Tongue Tacos! Don’t knock it ’til you try it!

6. What’s the best…and worst…part of living in Bluffton, GA? The best part – being close to my family and the farm. The worst part – I’ll let you know if I find something that isn’t pleasant.

7. We have 10 different species on the farm. Which is your favorite?

Oh, how I am enjoying our baby goats, but like a true Harris, I’ll always be a beef girl.

8. What do you like to do when you aren’t planning farm events, booking cabins, answering phones or greeting customers?

Riding my horses and spending time with my John Boy!

9. Choose one word to describe White Oak Pastures.

Diverse

10. If you didn’t work at the farm, where would you be?

I hope I never have to find out…

Life on the Farm: Interview with Jenni Harris

Today, I interviewed Jenni Harris, 5th generation of White Oak Pastures. We all know the typical questions asked during an interview about the farm, so I wanted this one to be a little different. If you have any additional questions for her, please feel free to ask in the comments section!

Jenni graduated from Valdosta State University in 2009. She moved to Atlanta and worked at Buckhead Beef for one year, before moving back to the farm. Her dad, better known as Will Harris, gave all three of his daughters the option to work at the farm, but only after working for someone else for at least a year. Jenni fulfilled that duty, and started working as the Marketing Manager at White Oak Pastures immediately after. She has now immersed herself into several different roles at the farm, but her daily job consists of making wholesale customers happy. She spends a lot more time in front of her computer these days, but every now and then you can find her feeding abandoned baby lambs, greeting customers in the farm store, and riding around on the 4-wheeler keeping a check on the cows.

1. Atlanta and Bluffton couldn’t be more opposite. What led you back to the farm? ATLANTA WAS GREAT, AND I WAS ONE OF THE FEW FOLKS FROM RURAL AMERICA TO ENJOY THE CITY, BUT, I ENJOYED IT KNOWING IT WAS TEMPORARY. I KNEW I WANTED TO RAISE CHILDREN WHERE I WAS RAISED, I WANTED THEM TO HAVE THE EDUCATION, PASSION, RESPECT, AND DISCIPLINE THAT I WAS RAISED WITH YEARS AGO.

2. What’s your favorite part about working on the farm? THE PEOPLE. WHETHER IT’S OTHER FOLKS THAT WORK ON THE FARM WITH ME, OR CUSTOMERS THAT WE DEAL WITH WEEKLY, THE PEOPLE IN THE SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY ARE SOME OF THE BEST IN THE WORLD. I WOULD NOT TRADE MY RELATIONSHIPS WITH THIS GROUP FOR ANYTHING.

3. What do you consider your biggest accomplishment since working here? BECOMING ME. AS THE 5TH GENERATION OF WHITE OAK PASTURES, AND WORKING ALONGSIDE MY FATHER, I FOUND IT HARD TO ESTABLISH WHAT I “WAS” OR “WANTED TO BE.” IT SOUNDS SILLY, BUT DECIDING HOW I COULD CONTRIBUTE WAS A DAILY STRUGGLE FOR ME, BUT THROUGH 5 YEARS OF FIGURING OUT WHAT I HATED AND WHAT I LOVED, I FINALLY FOUND “ME.”

4. Future goals? Professionally and personally? I WANT A FAMILY TO SHARE THIS FARM WITH. I WANT TO SHARE THIS FARM WITH NOT ONLY MY CHILDREN, BUT EVERYONE ELSE THAT CONTRIBUTES TO IT. ALL OF THESE PEOPLE ARE WHO I CONSIDER “FAMILY.” GROWING THIS FAMILY WILL CONTINUE TO ADD VALUE TO WHAT IS ALREADY SO STRONG. PROFESSIONALLY- I JUST WANT TO KEEP WALKING THE JOURNEY THAT WHITE OAK PASTURES HAS BEGUN.

5. If you weren’t at the farm, where would you be? THAT’S A HARD QUESTION, BUT PROBABLY IN SOME BORING, STRAIGHT-LACED CORPORATE COMPANY, ANXIOUSLY WAITING ON MY QUARTERLY REVIEW TO PROVE THAT I WAS DOING “ABOVE SATISFACTORY.” INSTEAD, I GET TO LIVE EACH DAY, KNOWING I AM DOING SOMETHING MEANINGFUL.

6. You’re on many different boards and a part of several organizations, how do you have time for it all? I THINK IT’S SAFE TO ASSUME I’M NOT THE BEST BOARD MEMBER IN THE ROOM. I’M ONLY ON BOARDS THAT ARE RELATED TO WHAT WE DO AT WHITE OAK PASTURES. THANKFULLY, THEY ARE ALL FORGIVING BOARDS, WHEN I’M DOUBLE BOOKED OR OUT OF TOWN. HONESTLY, THESE BOARDS ARE A WAY TO LEARN HOW WHITE OAK PASTURES CAN PLAY A BETTER ROLE IN THE BIG PICTURE. YOU KNOW THE SAYING, “I CAN’T SEE THE FORREST BECAUSE OF THE TREES.” THESE BOARDS ARE A WAY TO GET AWAY FROM THE TREES, SO I CAN SEE THE FORREST.

7. We get this question a lot, but do you think WOP will ever have dairy cows? SOMEONE SMART ONCE TOLD ME TO NEVER SAY “NEVER.” ONLY TIME WILL TELL IF THERE IS A PLACE IN THE MARKET FOR WHITE OAK PASTURES DAIRY.

8. What’s your favorite meal at The Pavilion? ALL OF IT, BUT MORE SPECIFICALLY, THE FARMER JOHN BURGER, NAMED FOR MY FAMOUS BROTHER-IN-LAW. THE BURGER CONSISTS OF WHITE OAK PASTURES BEEF, HOME-MADE CHEESE AND BREAD, WHITE OAK PASTURES LETTUCE AND TOMATO (WHEN IT’S IN SEASON, OF COURSE) TOPPED OFF WITH ONE OF OUR PASTURE RAISED EGGS.

9. If someone came to the farm for the first time, knew very little about grassfed and pasture raised animals, what would you recommend for them to purchase? GROUND BEEF IS THE “GATEWAY DRUG” FOR WHITE OAK PASTURES. OUR GROUND BEEF IS ONE OF MY PERSONAL FAVORITES, BUT ALSO SOMETHING THAT’S EASY TO COOK. IF YOU CAN’T COOK OUR GROUND BEEF, THEN YOU SHOULD RECONSIDER PREPARING ANYTHING ELSE THAT HAS BEEN RAISED OUTSIDE EATING GRASS OR BUGS AND GRUBS.

10. What’s your favorite meal to cook at home? I LOVE TO COOK EVERYTHING! RARELY IS IT PERFECT, BUT ALWAYS IS IT INTERESTING. I LIKE DIFFERENT THINGS, LIKE DUCK AND SAUSAGE, BUT MY GIRLFRIEND LIKES CHICKEN AND SPAGHETTI. EVERY MEAL IS A COMPROMISE…

Check in next week to learn a little more about Jenni’s younger sister, Jodi Harris.