White Oak Pastures Entitled To Compensation For Poultry Destruction By Bald Eagle Attacks

In a victory for White Oak Pastures and for small farms in America, The National Appeals Division (NAD) of the Farm Service Administration (FSA) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, determined that the farm is entitled to compensation for the loss and destruction of its poultry due to bald eagle attacks. To date, White Oak Pastures estimates that bald eagles have destroyed nearly 160,000 chickens, resulting in over $2,200,000 in losses. The decision followed years of disputes between the farm and the FSA, the organization responsible for compensating producers and farmers under the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP). The NAD ruling determined that FSA failed to follow its own rules for...

There are numerous aspects of White Oak Pastures that are unique, fascinating, inspirational, educational, beneficial, and productive. Learn how our Garden Crew is literally planting seeds of success.

Our hens are vibrant and active ladies that spend their days comfortably socializing, laying eggs, foraging, grazing, eating, drinking, swallowing grit, roosting, investigating excitement among other hens, and relaxing as desired.

We share our farm-favorite recipes for our pasture-raised, Certified Humane, Certified Non-GMO eggs.

Our General Store is privileged to offer an assortment of unique items brought to us by Nora Mill Granary, another local, multi-generational Georgia small business.

White Oak Pastures is practicing managed grazing and is managing the goals of holistic agriculture. This requires intricate integration of livestock and pasture management. Our role as land stewards is to carefully foster conditions such that our land is regenerated, it’s bioproductivity is increased, and our animals are healthy and profitable. Now we discuss the pasture forage side of managed grazing.

Now let's discuss the livestock side of managed grazing. At White Oak Pastures, we are doing managed grazing in a way that moves animals through the pasture in appropriate stocking densities. "Stocking densities" means the appropriate number of animals per acre. We move them at a certain rate so they are not overgrazing.

White Oak Pastures is working to document our managed grazing from an aerial perspective using drone technology. We have partnered with a drone support company, Skyraiders Aeronautics LLC, to maximize our utilization of our drone and the available software. Our Multimedia Manager, Laura Mortelliti, discusses below the ways we have partnered with Skyraiders.

A central component of our farm’s mission is land regeneration. We methodically practice holistic management to transform land that was previously row-cropped, in the industrial model, into productive, pastured landscapes. This is a lengthy, arduous process that typically requires over half a decade to once again achieve full soil cover. Leveraging multiple species of livestock is the centerpiece of our strategy. Poultry, in particular, have a unique role in this process, and require careful consideration as we graze ruminants.

White Oak Pastures has become a platform for promoting the literal practice of holistic management. We are a working farm, but our scale has allowed us to also be a leading figurehead in the holistic agriculture world.

From our tour to our workshops, from our internships to our employment opportunities, from our Savory Institute involvement to our speaking opportunities, from our blog to our educational videos, every day we act as a hub for holistic management knowledge dissemination.