Word of Mouth is how Aurelius Morris heard about an available position at White Oak Pastures. The specific opportunity was in the poultry processing department, a field in which he had prior experience. But even though Aurelius had experience with chickens, he describes White Oak Pastures as “educational”. There is a world of information to learn here at White Oak Pastures. A farm raising animals in the most humane manner while continually acquiring new land to regenerate, all the while adhering to our no-waste tenet has an extensive amount of diverse information that our employees need to know. It sounds as if Aurelius is interested. Proud of earning the title of Employee Of The Month, Aurelius may have received this honor not only for his work performance but perhaps because he...

Our garden at White Oak Pastures is a little messy. We battle weeds from April through November and are always on the hunt for whatever pest of the week is trying to take out our cabbage crop, or tomato crop, or okra crop. In the world of farming and especially organic farming, the question of value sits behind many of the decisions that are made daily. How many carrots will I lose if I don’t weed this patch in the next couple days? Will mounding dirt around the base of those broccoli plants make a more successful broccoli harvest? Will the radishes split if I wait to harvest them until next week? I don’t always know the definitive answer, although sometimes I’m closer to right than others. Yet, if I did always know the right answers that might make the challenging job of an organic...

Indiantown, Florida may be a small town, but this village seven hours south of Bluffton, Georgia is the home of Payson Park, one of the top thoroughbred horse racing facilities in the United States. Frontman Davy Jones, a member of the Monkees band, kept a stable of thoroughbred horses there until his death in 2012. But, most importantly, Kiersten Cartwright, our Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and Food Safety Coordinator and Animal and Poultry Welfare Officer was raised there amongst the 500 head of Brangus cattle her parents owned. This particular breed of cattle was the result of breeding Angus and Brahman cattle to utilize the superior qualities and traits of each. Kiersten helped work these cattle while showing swine, steers, and heifers for eleven years...

 St. Patricks Day. As a young child, the only thing I knew about St. Patrick’s Day was that if I didn’t wear green to school, I was going to get the fire pinched out of me. All. Day. Long. Lesson learned. As I got older, I learned that green was and still is, NOT my color. I can put on a green shirt and my skin will respond in such a way that I could pass as a leprechaun myself. In college, I learned the celebratory act of drinking green beer, and lots of it. Never during these times in my life was food a part of the recognition and celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, nor was St. Patrick himself for that matter. As an adult, I have learned that food is, in fact, a fundamental part of the celebration. While corned beef and cabbage are thought to be an Irish tradition on St. Patrick’s Day...

The 21st Annual Georgia Organics Conference & ExpoOne of the largest of its kind in the Southeast

Employees from White Oak Pastures were proud to attend the 2018 Georgia Organics Conference in Tifton, GA the second weekend in February. Georgia Organics is a non-profit organization that champions organic agriculture and healthy families by empowering farmers to thrive, helping schools engage children in delicious and educational farm-to-school experiences, and making organic and local food accessible to all Georgians. White Oak Pastures has been a committed supporter of Georgia Organics for several years.

To Your Health Sprouted Flour is an organic, sprouted flour company located in Bullock County, Alabama. It was started in founder and president, Peggy Sutton's kitchen in 2005 for a few friends and family members. Peggy had researched the benefits of sprouted grains and the time-honored tradition of how our ancestors would harvest grains that had naturally sprouted in the fields. Whenever she began to explain the benefits of sprouting to family and friends, the response was always, "Can't you just do it for me?" And so she did! And that's how To Your Health began.

When you close your eyes and think of Mardi Gras, what do you envision? Perhaps the glamorous parades splitting the crowded streets as beads, trinkets, and doubloons are tossed from adorned participants on floats. Maybe you see the colors of purple, green and gold which signify justice, faith, and power. Some may view something dark or supernatural with images of voodoo, zombification and Papa Legba. Movies and TV shows such as Tremé, True Detective, and James Bond’s “Live and Let Die” have depicted both the light-hearted and dark sides of Mardi Gras.

When Dana St. Pierre offered his wife, Amy, a home remedy handed down from his German grandmother, Elisabet, I’m quite certain neither anticipated the path on which this would lead them. Amy can attest to the profound improvement in her overall health and energy levels. Because of that, she suggested they make a batch of their tonic for the 2010 Sire City Sanctuary Shindy, a Berkshires-based holiday artisans festival. Not only did Dana and Amy sell out of their tonic, they also had eager people showing up on their doorsteps wanting refills! Dana and Amy have taken an age-old family tonic and tweaked it to soothe the contemporary palate. Partnering with Amy’s brother, Brian, they created a company with the mission to promote an amazingly healthy lifestyle with Fire Cider.

When you think of February, you may think of Valentine’s Day, hearts, flowers, cherubs, and chocolate. But the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute also chose February as American Heart Month, to raise awareness of heart health, and urge Americans to lower their risks for developing heart disease.

White Oak Pastures recognizes the importance of American Heart Month and a healthy heart. After all, here on the farm, we are responsible for One Hundred Thousand Beating Hearts daily.

Employment opportunities in South Georgia can be challenging, but when Bobbie Lee Williams rode by White Oak Pastures, he was intrigued by the men and women driving tractors and by all of the animals. This was enough to entice him to seek employment on the farm. “The people here are friendly and everybody has made me feel welcomed. Everybody gets along with one another and helps each other out.”

Here in North America, we celebrate the rise of the New Year by staying up til midnight in our respective time zones to watch a lit shiny ball or, in one case, a Moon Pie drop from the sky. As the crowds' countdown to “1”, projectiles are shot in the air with the spectacle of colorful booming fireworks bursting against the black canvas of the midnight sky. The much-celebrated fireworks were first developed in Medieval China, which leads us to the topic of the Chinese New Year. February 4th sparks the celebration with reunion dinners with emphasis on creating thoughtful dishes to celebrate ancestors, much akin to how Southern families gather. 2019 celebrates the Year of the Pig with the distinction of the Earthly branch.

It is noted in some myths that the Jade Emperor held a race to an...

“I lost my father when I was eleven years old. All I ever had in my life was my mother, Teresa Huff, so that’s who keeps me going and motivated. She works at a financial company, and my step-dad runs a lawn and tree service. He was raising hogs, so I guess it grew on me.” That may be why Jamaal gravitated towards White Oak Pastures. “I liked to be around animals and wanted to learn techniques to raise them.” Jamaal works in our Poultry Production Department caring for our pasture-raised chickens and says, “White Oak Pastures is family.”