We industrialized, centralized, and commoditized agriculture [food production].

Over the last 25 years, White Oak Pastures has transitioned from a conventional agricultural model to regenerative agriculture. Adopting new land management practices has been better for our animals and our soil, making our farm more resilient and abundant over time.

I was raised in the heart of the Bible belt, but I was not raised in the Church. On Sundays, we tended to cattle, just like we did the other six days.

I don't ever remember my father attending a Church service. My attendance was limited to the occasional Sunday mornings, when I happened to have...

On our farm, we've spent a lot of time thinking of what animal welfare truly means.

Of course, one of our basic tenets is humane and compassionate animal treatment. In addition to not inflicting pain and suffering on an animal, we understand that good animal welfare also means providing the...

In the 75 years after the end of World War II, we have lived under the assumption that whatever was good for us would be good for our planet. The unintended, unnoticed, and unpleasant consequences of that idea have now become clear and costly. This idea has proved to be a dismal failure. 

We didn’t plan to have an internship program. But as we grew our farm operations in the early 2010s, we started to field more and more questions from people interested in visiting the farm to see what we do. 

We’re known for selling grassfed and pasture-raised meats. But we also offer 100% raw, unpasteurized Wildflower Honey that reflects the true interconnectedness of the ecosystem we’ve built on our farm. 

I was an industrial cattle rancher for 20 years. My upbringing prepared me to operate my farm in an industrialized, commoditized way. My education taught me a reductive, linear farming method.

We recently had a young person visit us on the farm who was eager to learn about what we do. She admitted up front that she had never spent any time on a farm.

Grassfed beef is everywhere, from the grocery store to the restaurant menu. But what does “grassfed” actually mean? 

When Will Harris III inherited White Oak Pastures, the farm totaled about 1,000 acres. As we transitioned toward regenerative agriculture, bit by bit, we started acquiring nearby farmland. Today, our farm owns or manages around 5,000 acres of pasture.

COVID-19 and the events in the spring caused scarcity in the commodity food system, which overwhelmed our on-farm production and fulfillment center. After we were able to restock our inventory, we took some time to carefully evaluate how our farm responded to the overwhelming demand. In response,...