We know that many of our customers and supporters are aware that carbon emissions from industrialized beef production contribute a significant amount to man-made climate change. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has estimated that livestock is responsible for at least 14.5% of greenhouse gases being released worldwide. With numbers like that, conventional wisdom holds that a diet containing meat isn't compatible with climate change activism. 

With our unconventional operation, we weren't convinced that was the full story; but, then again, we're not scientists. Luckily, there are some scientists out there interested in this question as well.

We love hosting workshops at White Oak Pastures, because, well, we love company. You may have been to one of them, like pastured poultry, valued added goods, and pasture remediation. We've done a lot of hyper-focused workshops - but this June, we're trying something different.

This time, you get the whole dang farm.

The Prescribed Grazing Workshop, coming up June 1st, is designed to be a producer-focused, bird's-eye view of our farm and pasture operations. We're taking the managers from all the departments on the farm who have something to do with pasture, and putting them all in one room.

(As you can imagine with a farm with a whole lot of acres and goings on, it's rare to actually have everyone in the same room.)

At White Oak Pastures, we are always looking for ways to better the land, animals, and people. This mission doesn’t stop when it comes to looking for creative ways to serve our devoted, passionate customers. Over the last 150+ years, we’ve been breeding our cattle for their maternal instincts because we understand how important certain genetic qualities truly are. Since we started marketing meat and poultry to the end customer, we’ve also tried to select animals that have adequate marbling and other taste features. At the end of the day, we know that our customers are the ones we must please, which has kept us marching down a path to find the perfect combination breed to give customers exactly what they want: the Porken. A holy union of poultry and swine, the Porken has two claw-like...

With Thanksgiving and Christmas behind us, I begin reflecting on the year that has come and gone. There are always things I wish I had accomplished, but also those projects for which I’m proud to have completed. This valuable reflection allows me the opportunity to set goals (or resolutions) for the New Year. I hope while you all are planning your resolutions, you’ll consider making the commitment to only eat pasture-raised meats and poultry. I’ve put together my Top 5 Reasons below; however, there are even more reasons than any of us could possibly count.

White Oak Pastures is a multifaceted regenerative farm raising ten different species for meat, with cattle and poultry as the largest in number. Only 55% of the cow is made up of cuts that are marketable. Because we are committed to adhering to our no-waste tenet, we were motivated to find ways in which to use the parts of the animals that aren’t consumed. Jacqueline DeWitt, our composting manager, explains the aspects of our composting program:

“In our system, we render fat from the cattle to make soaps and salves, sell trim to processors, tan hides, make pet chews, and feed our guardian dogs. Even after all of these measures are taken to use all parts, there are still 4 million pounds of animal remains each year that we can not process or use. So, we do the next best thing: We...

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.

We are proud of our holistic land management and humane livestock handling practices. These three videos demonstrate the work we do and how it is interconnected.

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.

Will Harris shares how he evolved from the principles of grazing he was taught at the University of Georgia in the 1970’s, to the holistic management platform he so strongly adheres to and endorses today. Planned grazing is one of the integral components of holistic management that helps generate the benefits of regenerative farming. 

“Planned grazing is such a big topic that it’s hard to know where to start, but I’ll just start”, says Will Harris, founder and leader of White Oak Pastures.