Apr 2, 2024
Will Harris's ranch, White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, Georgia, has been in
the Harris family for over 150 years. His ancestors had a
polyculture farm, but when industrial tools came to ranching, his
father, and then Will, went all in––corporate ranching allowed
their family to make a good living. But one day, in a life-changing
moment of clarity, Harris saw that the animals were suffering from
the moment they left his ranch until their brutal deaths, and that
the land itself was suffering from an overuse of chemicals and
extractive grazing practices. He set out then and there to change
the way he ranched, and without even having heard terms like
"regenerative agriculture" and "rotational grazing" started down a
path that made him one of the pioneers of American grassfed beef.
Now a Global Savory Hub, White Oak
Pastures is helping to educate others about restoring land with
livestock.
In his brilliant new book, A Bold Return to Giving a Damn: One
Farm, Six Generations, and the Future of Food (which he
authored with the help of the wonderful writer Amely Greeven), Harris tells the story of converting
from industrial to regenerative practices on his ranch and the many
challenges and adventures opened up by his decision to treat his
animals and land with the respect they deserve. Helping to create a
market for grass-fed beef, getting into supermarket chains and
educating consumers, building a work force, helping to revitalize
his rural town, educating solar entrepreneurs––these are just some
of the topics he covers with an inimitable combination of
simplicity, humor, and deep, land-based intelligence.