Meet Mary, Queen of Brussels (Sprouts)

Photo by Laura Mortelliti

As we kick off the Fall season of our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, we are excited to introduce you to one of our organic garden managers, Mary Bruce! We love the way Mary involves herself in so many different functions at White Oak Pastures: she’s also a leather craftswoman, a biodiesel chemist, and she oversees our pastured rabbit and honeybee programs. She is smart, engaged, and always has great ideas for making improvements on the farm. Meet Mary, and catch up on what she’s up to this Fall!

You began your career here as an intern. What motivated you to work your way up to a manager?
When I began working here I had no idea how many moving parts were in this farm ecosystem. My internship was really dynamic, and there were opportunities at every turn. I was lucky enough to be able to work with so many diverse departments. I soon realized that managers were entrusted with Mr. Will’s blessing to go out and conquer. The ability to orchestrate new projects, implement systems, and feel proud of the work that I was doing made me want to invest in the farm.

We have 10 different species on the farm. Which is your favorite?
The guinea fowl. They are wild, uncontained and sneak into the garden all the time! Those birds are just fun to watch, they look as though they are launching an attack when they travel in herds and let out battle cries as they advance through the open pasture. I have been startled by those feisty birds more than once. In addition to their entertainment value, they are the most succulent and flavorful poultry that I have ever eaten. The complexity of their taste is unmatched in stocks, soups, sauces, grilling, and roasting. If you haven’t yet taken the leap, make sure you invite guinea to your next dinner party!

What is the most satisfying part of your job?
Being able to fully engage in a project. There are so many opportunities to team up with other departments in order to make the system more dynamic. We have been using the rabbits to “mow down” garden crops that we are finished harvesting and fertilize the land that they are grazing. We have also introduced a set of piglets to the garden that act as four legged tractors. They till, eat roots and debris, and break up the compaction. Using animals as tools for change has really altered the way I view farming.

What is your favorite meal to cook at home?
Tacos, burritos, and carnitas with marinated steak, pulled/ground pork, and even Mediterranean style tacos stuffed with our lamb. My favorite farm fresh toppings include: vinegar cabbage slaw, onions, microgreens, radishes, pickled carrots, homemade chipotle garlic aioli (from our pastured eggs). We eat like kings on the farm. We have the freshest produce, and most scrumptious proteins. You cannot go wrong when you have all of this great food at your fingertips.

What has been your proudest moment since working here?
I have been blessed to work on a lot of diverse projects during my time here and each one had its pinnacle.  Whenever something that I have directly had my hands on has been complimented or appreciated it really makes me proud of the work that I do. Two standout moments would be our first retail account for leather goods, and the first successful batch of biodiesel. Most recently, I have been delighted with the experimental hay pile garden. That patch of pasture is teeming with life above and below the surface, with so many plant species, beneficial insects, and even beautiful displays of fungal fruiting bodies. I am really proud of the habitat that is forming, and the things that it is teaching me.

What are you most looking forward to for the Fall season?
I am most looking forward to our annual CSA dinner (stay tuned for details!). This will be our third season hosting a dinner for our members. Last year was uniquely special; the full menu was crafted and prepared by the very same staff that plants, harvests and packs our CSA shares. Our members had the chance to spend time on the farm, see the full the process, and connect with their growers and farmers. This dinner gets to the heart of the CSA philosophy, connecting eaters with their farmers.

There’s still time to sign up for our Fall CSA at a prorated rate! Click here for details.

Q&A with Lisa Brown, White Oak Pastures’ Poultry Plant Manager

We are excited to introduce you to a special member of the White Oak Pastures family, Lisa Brown. Lisa started working with us in 2012, when we were still beginning to learn the poultry business. She started out in the processing side of our on-farm poultry abattoir as a feather plucker, and then took the initiative to learn all aspects of the plant. Four years later, Lisa is our Poultry Plant Manager, leading the day-to-day operations and overseeing our 10 artisan butchers in our abattoir. We are proud to continue learning and growing together with Lisa.

Q: You carry a lot of responsibility, being the one to ensure our birds have a humane, dignified death. What does that mean to you?

A: Animal welfare is very important, so when it comes to processing the birds, we do it in a clean and organized order. We take pride in treating our animals with respect.

Q: What is the most satisfying part of your job?

A: At the end of the shift each day because I know we got the job done.

Q: What was your most embarrassing moment at work?

A: One day at work, I went to the dining Pavilion to get a cup of coffee while I was on my break. As I got my coffee, I began to walk back to my office, when all of a sudden I slid across some gravel rocks and couldn’t stop myself. I fell directly on my behind, but I still was holding onto my cup of coffee!

Q: What is your favorite meal to cook at home?

A: I love the pastured chicken breast and yellow rice. I marinate the chicken breast in some chicken broth. I let it sit overnight and the next day, then I take it out and bake it. I also boil my rice with butter.

Q: What is your favorite hobby outside of work?

A: Fishing with my family.

Q: Choose one word to describe White Oak Pastures.

A: Amazing

Craft revival: Jamie Bush turns animal byproducts into artisan goods

Jamie Bush joined the White Oak Pastures family in 2014. She has a lifelong passion for farming, having grown up raising horses and goats on her family farm in Waycross, GA. She came to White Oak Pastures to learn everything she could about large-scale regenerative farming that offers much more than just good, fair food.

Jamie has a vital role in our effort to tap into ancient traditions that respect animals, the environment, and human health. A few of her responsibilities on the farm include making candles, soap, lip balm, and gardener’s salve from our beef tallow, and making pet treats from parts of livestock that would otherwise go to waste, including poultry feet, heads, and necks; cattle trachea, esophagus, and penises; and the ears and noses of cattle and pigs. These items are part of our line of specialty products, and our commitment across the farm to follow a zero-waste model.

According to the United Nations, 22% of meat in the U.S. food supply chain is wasted. With nine billion animals slaughtered annually, that’s roughly two billion farm animals thrown away every year. A hero of ours, Dr. George Washington Carver, told us, “In Nature there is no waste.” We endeavor to run our farm by this standard, and our commitment to the animal is to utilize all of the parts.

Growing up as a girl, Jamie never thought, “I can’t wait to dehydrate duck heads and chicken feet, and weave bull penises together to make pet treats.” But when our Specialty Products Manager, Amber Reece, made the suggestion, Jamie was excited to give it a try. Jamie appreciates seeing our customers enjoy our tallow products, knowing that what goes on the body is just as important as what goes inside. She also loves watching dogs happily devour our pet treats. For her, it’s a powerful feeling to be part of a system that’s creating a net positive impact on the planet.

Our artisan goods are available for purchase on our website. Please contact amber.reece@whiteoakpastures.com for more information.

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.