Regenerating Rural Economies with Jenni Harris of White Oak Pastures
07/02/24 • 37 min
For those who have followed regenerative agriculture anytime over the last three decades, this week’s guest needs no introduction. Jenni Harris is the Director of Marketing at White Oak Pastures, a six-generation farm in Bluffton, Georgia that transitioned from conventional to regenerative agriculture in 1995 (long before it was cool) and have laid the path for scores of farms to follow suit.
They have even gone so far as to found the Center for Agricultural Resilience, which educates, empowers and equips individuals & organizations on the benefits of resilient agriculture.
It’s a remarkable story and one - as Jenni explains - that other agrarian locales around the country can emulate, while accounting for the unique factors that make up each local environment.
In this episode, we cover:
How Jenni’s search for community led her back to Bluffton and her family farm
The history of Bluffton, and the work they’ve done to restore and revitalize the town
The origin story of White Oak Pastures and how her dad, Will, saw the need to transition to regenerative practices that improved animal welfare, restored local ecosystems, and created a new stream of income for the farm
The difficult financial realities of farming today, and how they’re working to make White Oak Pastures financially sustainable into the future.
The threat to US regenerative farmers posed by “greenwashing” multinational corporations and lax policies for labeling imported foods
What they’re doing to support more US farmers in transitioning to regenerative practices that are tailored to specific localities.
What’s at stake for the world if we don’t transform our food system
And much more...
Learn more about White Oak Pastures here.
Follow them on Twitter and Instagram.
More about Jenni:
Jenni Harris, Will's middle daughter, is a member of the fifth generation of the Harris family to tend cattle at White Oak Pastures. After living on the farm her entire life, Jenni went to Valdosta State University and earned a degree in Business Marketing, graduating in 2009. She remained intimately involved in the family business throughout her studies.
After graduating, Jenni set out to learn the industry. She moved to Atlanta where she interned at Buckhead Beef, a SYSCO company. She put in time in every department, from shipping and receiving to the cut shop, and was later hired to work as a sales associate.
In June of 2010, Jenni returned home to Early County to work for White Oak Pastures full time. As the Director of Marketing, Jenni spends her time focusing on the balance of ecommerce growth and wholesale relationships. Jenni is the proud mother of Jack and Lottie Harris and wife of Director of Specialty Products, Amber Harris.
Agrarian Futures is produced by Alexandre Miller, who also wrote our theme song.
For those who have followed regenerative agriculture anytime over the last three decades, this week’s guest needs no introduction. Jenni Harris is the Director of Marketing at White Oak Pastures, a six-generation farm in Bluffton, Georgia that transitioned from conventional to regenerative agriculture in 1995 (long before it was cool) and have laid the path for scores of farms to follow suit.
They have even gone so far as to found the Center for Agricultural Resilience, which educates, empowers and equips individuals & organizations on the benefits of resilient agriculture.
It’s a remarkable story and one - as Jenni explains - that other agrarian locales around the country can emulate, while accounting for the unique factors that make up each local environment.
In this episode, we cover:
How Jenni’s search for community led her back to Bluffton and her family farm
The history of Bluffton, and the work they’ve done to restore and revitalize the town
The origin story of White Oak Pastures and how her dad, Will, saw the need to transition to regenerative practices that improved animal welfare, restored local ecosystems, and created a new stream of income for the farm
The difficult financial realities of farming today, and how they’re working to make White Oak Pastures financially sustainable into the future.
The threat to US regenerative farmers posed by “greenwashing” multinational corporations and lax policies for labeling imported foods
What they’re doing to support more US farmers in transitioning to regenerative practices that are tailored to specific localities.
What’s at stake for the world if we don’t transform our food system
And much more...
Learn more about White Oak Pastures here.
Follow them on Twitter and Instagram.
More about Jenni:
Jenni Harris, Will's middle daughter, is a member of the fifth generation of the Harris family to tend cattle at White Oak Pastures. After living on the farm her entire life, Jenni went to Valdosta State University and earned a degree in Business Marketing, graduating in 2009. She remained intimately involved in the family business throughout her studies.
After graduating, Jenni set out to learn the industry. She moved to Atlanta where she interned at Buckhead Beef, a SYSCO company. She put in time in every department, from shipping and receiving to the cut shop, and was later hired to work as a sales associate.
In June of 2010, Jenni returned home to Early County to work for White Oak Pastures full time. As the Director of Marketing, Jenni spends her time focusing on the balance of ecommerce growth and wholesale relationships. Jenni is the proud mother of Jack and Lottie Harris and wife of Director of Specialty Products, Amber Harris.
Agrarian Futures is produced by Alexandre Miller, who also wrote our theme song.
Previous Episode
Can You Put a Value on Healthy Soil? With Cole Allen
When it comes to building a robust regenerative agriculture movement, it takes more than just farmers. Cole Allen of Grass Fed Valley is pitching in in his own way by leveraging years of experience in the financial world to help regenerative farmers solve their most pressing business challenges.
We discussed the importance of local context and farming knowledge when advising clients, and dig into what it would take for the financial system at large to begin to properly value the ecological benefits provided by regenerative farming practices.
In this episode, we cover:
How health challenges and a cross country odyssey inspired Cole to quit his job in finance and start working in regenerative agriculture
The importance of the local context of each farmer when making business decisions
The challenger of valuing the ecological benefits of regenerative agriculture in our current financial system
The emergence of new kinds of funders who are prioritizing ecological health
Why their services encompass much more than just fundraising
The opportunity to reconnect people with the land and how that can shift perspectives
And much more...
More about Cole:
Cole Allen is a generalist working across the fields of finance, business development/strategy, real estate, health and nutrition, hospitality, entrepreneurship and regenerative agriculture. He founded Grass Fed Valley (GFV), a company serving Farmers focused on regenerative practices and impact through various business, financial, and marketing/branding services. Cole spent four years traveling the US meeting, connecting, and learning from these Stewards of our Soil. The company’s mission is to "Inspire our children to be Farmers and reignite our passion for the living world". Prior to GFV he worked as a business development/strategy manager at a Fortune 500 real estate company and at an investment bank as an equity research associate. He graduated from the University of Virginia with concentrations in Finance and Accounting, is a current CFA charter holder and certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner.
Agrarian Futures is produced by Alexandre Miller, who also wrote our theme song.
Next Episode
Farming Kelp to Preserve Coastal Communities with Briana Warner
This week we were delighted to be joined by Briana Warner, CEO of Atlantic Sea Farms, a regenerative seaweed farming company based in Biddeford, Maine.
Briana walks us through the wondrous potential of kelp to help secure the economic future of fishermen along the coast of Maine, protect our oceans, decarbonize our supply chains, and introduce a nutritious and affordable food source into the broader American diet.
Her work explores many of our favorite themes on this show - climate change adaptability, rural revitalization, the brass tacks of launching a business in the regenerative food space, nutrition, and long term economic security for the people that grow and harvest our food.
In this episode, we cover:
How her experience with “preventative economic development led her to kelp farming on the coast of Maine.
The rise of the conservation minded lobster industry and how that lays the groundwork for a US grown kelp industry to diversify economic opportunity for fishermen.
The environmental volatility that threatens the long term future of the lobster industry and how our predictive capabilities fail in the face of climate change.
The massive potential industry for a US grown seaweed market.
The challenges of being a first mover in the food industry and how they’re overcoming it.
Why they chose a for-profit model over non-profit
The challenges of finding the right kinds of funders, the lack of funding for female entrepreneurs, and holding firm in the face of outside pressures
And much more...
Learn more about Atlantic Sea Farms.
Follow them on LinkedIn and Instagram.
More about Briana:
Briana Warner is the President and CEO of Atlantic Sea Farms (ASF), the leading commercial kelp aquaculture company in the United States. Following a career working overseas as a diplomat for the U.S. Department of State, she saw an opportunity to help create a more resilient and thriving coast by partnering with fishermen seeking to diversify their income in the face of climate change by growing kelp and building an entirely new market for domestic kelp. The ASF team and partner farmers now account for the majority of the farmed kelp grown in the US and are proving that by putting farmers, planet, and people first, a company can drive a market and can do well while doing good.
Agrarian Futures is produced by Alexandre Miller, who also wrote our theme song.
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