Matter Matters. Learn Why at White Oak Pastures’ Soil Health Workshop August 1

Will Harris knows that what goes into the soil matters. At a farmer meeting in 1946, Will Bell Harris was introduced to and fell in love with chemical nitrogen fertilizer, which was used at White Oak Pastures for the next 50 years. Will Harris shifted gears to take a more holistic approach to managing the 150-year-old family farm, and for the last 15 years, natural practices including composting, cover crops and multi-species rotational grazing have taken over resulting in a 10-fold increase in organic matter in the soil. Dig in on Saturday, August 1 at White Oak Pastures’ Soil Health Workshop and learn more about White Oak Pastures’ natural management process. The day begins with a tour at 10 a.m. followed by lunch in the Pavilion at noon. From 1-3 p.m., Will Harris shares his family’s full-circle journey from local, humane and sustainable food production to centralized, commoditized and industrialized production and back again. Cost is $80 per person; make reservations online. Class size limited to 25.

Nation’s Restaurant News “Power List”

Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN) recently released “The Power List 2015: Reader Picks,” its second annual list of the most powerful people in foodservice -- leaders who are affecting change in the restaurant industry landscape. The source of that list? NRN research and nominations submitted by those in the industry. The peer-nominated Reader Picks list includes many leaders right here on our own Southern turf. Sure, we’ll name drop some list-ees: Steven Chan, founder and CEO of Tin Drum Asiacafé; Shaun Doty, executive chef and co-owner of Bantam + Biddy; chef, cookbook author and Gunshow owner Kevin Gillespie; Tom Gray, chef and owner of Moxie Kitchen + Cocktails in Jacksonville, Florida.; Chris Hadermann and John Piemonte, co-founders and partners at Southern Proper Hospitality Group; White Oak Pastures owner Will Harris; and John C. Metz, executive chef of Marlow’s Tavern and Aqua blue. Congratulations, gentlemen! We can’t wait to see what you’ll have for us next.

Congrats to Will Harris of White Oak Pastures Named 2013 Georgia Farmer of the Year

 

Fourth-generation farmer Will Harris always wanted to be a cattleman, and he stuck with his vision. Now, White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, Ga. is the state's largest organic farm and the only farm in the nation to house both beef and poultry abattoirs on the same property. Not only that, Harris is the Georgia state winner of the 2013 Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award. He joins a lineup of nine finalists, one from each of nine Southeastern states. The overall winner will be announced in October at the Sunbelt Ag Expo farm show in Moultrie, Ga. White Oak Pastures' sustainably farmed, grass-fed beef and pasture-raised poultry are available to purchase online, at Whole Foods Market and at more than 1,000 Publix supermarkets throughout the Southeast.

Will Harris of White Oak Pastures Is Nominated for Real Food Award

 

Our Bluffton, Georgia hero of sustainable farming and humanely raised cattle is on the "Producer" award nominating block for the Real Food Awards. Nominees are farmers or food producers demonstrating exceptional commitment to their community, consumers and the earth through campus and community relationships and selling high-quality real food to institutions. Bingo, that's Will Harris of White Oak Pastures exactly. Read his bio and vote here! 

From Pasture to Plate, Literally: White Oak Pastures Opens Restaurant On the Farm

Bluffton, Ga. is now home to a new restaurant at White Oak Pastures, where sustainable farming is the focus. Grass-fed beef and lamb and free-range pastured poultry plus no waste, energy-efficient methods of farming mean only the cleanest ingredients will go into restaurant dishes.

White Oak Pastures is the largest certified organic farm in Georgia, and the spacious layout of the restaurant is located in the middle of an organic vegetable farm. Pasture to Plate is so close to the food chain action, guests will almost be able to reach out and pick their vegetables while observing the spectacular view from the 90' x 30' open-air building.

After a private opening dinner prepared by celebrity chef Kevin Gillespie for Southern Foodways Alliance guests, the restaurant will serve lunch to the farm's 85 employees. Beginning in August, anyone can stop by for breakfast and lunch, and the restaurant will be able to host up to 100 patrons at a time. Evelyn Taylor, who has managed restaurants most of her life and has prepared lunch for the Harris family for several years, is the chef, and her daily plate (one option) will pull from what is fresh and available on the farm. Owner Will Harris has many chef friends, and you never know when one of them will drop by for a special event. So, is it okay to show up with dirt on your overalls, or is the establishment more geared towards formal attire? You choose. Harris says Pasture to Plate will be exactly halfway between a five-star establishment and nearby Blakely Chicken. Better look that one up. 

Chef Shaun Doty Demos At 2nd Annual High Meadows School Farmers Market This Saturday

Hooray for the return of market season! Roswell friends, get your basket or bag ready for this Saturday… The 2^nd Annual High Meadows School Farmers Market is a one-day festival of local edibles featuring organic and sustainably grown foods from more than 40 local farmers and food vendors, garden and cooking demonstrations, live music and family activities that you won’t want to miss.

This year's festival, sponsored by Whole Foods Market at Merchants Walk shopping center in East Cobb, is slated for Saturday, April 14 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on the grounds of High Meadows School in Roswell. At 11 a.m., Chef Shaun Doty will show the crowd how to make delicious pastured chicken miso soup featuring Heritage Farms chicken donated by Will Harris and White Oak Pastures. Last year, more than 1,000 visitors attended this event, and this year's event promises to be even bigger. Don’t miss it!

Don't Miss a Weekend of Eating at Corks & Forks on August 27 and 28

You are just days away from a weekend you (and your taste buds) won’t soon forget!  It’s time again for Corks & Forks!  This two-day food tasting frenzy will take place August 27-28 as part of the 9^th Annual Grant Park Summer Shade Festival.  Attendees are invited to try a variety of scrumptious samplings from some of Atlanta’s top chefs.  On tap to participate are Atkins Park Tavern, Ormsby's and Spice Market in the W Atlanta-Midtown, plus White Oak Pastures Owner Will Harris will be judging the steak cook-off competition on Saturday!  During this special showdown, three chefs will compete to see who can cook his top-quality grass fed beef the best!  Guests over the age of 21 (picture ID, please) will also be able to sample some of Atlanta’s latest and greatest wines and craft beers.  Tickets are $35 per day or $60 for both days. You can purchase your tickets online through 5 p.m. on Friday, August 26 or at the gate after that.  Corks & Forks will be held under large covered pavilions, rain or shine, so come out and treat yourself to two delightfully delicious days.

Mr. Harris Goes To Washington

Photo by Angie Mosier

White Oak Pastures President Will Harris III is DC-bound this week, and it won't take a cattle prod to bring him back to Bluffton.  Talk to Harris and you'll find out the grass really is greener on his side of the fence.  His cattle love it that way and so do the growing number of grass-fed beef devotees who purchase White Oak Pastures' all-natural, grass-fed beef at quality markets and restaurants in five states.  

Harris will be recognized as Georgia's "2011 Small Business Person of the Year" during the Small Business Administration's National Small Business Week events, May 18 - 20, in Washington, D.C.  The fifth-generation farmer has grown the family farm to become one of the largest producers of organic, grass-fed beef in the nation -- covering more than 2,500 acres.  All farming, cattle raising and processing is done at White Oak Pastures using sustainable methods, modern technology and renewable energy sources.  

In addition to running his farm operation with 44 employees, Harris is president of the Georgia Organics board of directors as well as the beef director of the American Grass-Fed Association.  Congrats to Will and all of White Oak Pastures!

Eat Local, Think Global with the Global Animal Partnership

It’s not “Where’s the beef?” these days; it’s “What’s the beef?”  Consumers are more aware than ever before that “you are what you eat”, and knowing the story behind what we eat is so important.

As most hungry Atlantans know, White Oak Pastures’ Will Harris is widely known in these parts for his delicious and humanely raised grass-fed beef.   Now the farm is taking their commitment to animal welfare standards to a new high with the Global Animal Partnership! 

The GAP is a nonprofit organization that facilitates and encourages continuous improvement in animal agriculture. Independent, third-party certifiers audit farms and rate animal welfare practices and conditions using a tiered system that ranges from Step 1 (no crates, cages or crowding) to Step 5+ (animals spend their entire lives on one farm).  The steps benefit everyone from the animal to you, the consumer.  Visit them online to learn more about these steps.

Will Harris is heading to Atlanta this week to chat with customers at area Whole Foods about the Global Animal Partnership – head over, say hello to Will and learn more!

Thursday:
Briarcliff Whole Foods location from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Friday:
Harry’s Farmer’s Market Alpharetta from 11 to 2 p.m.
Buckhead Whole Foods location from 3-6 p.m.

Saturday:
Whole Foods Market Johns Creek store from 11-2 p.m.

Sunday:
Whole Foods Ponce de Leon from 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

White Oak Pastures' Beef Wins 2008 Flavor of Georgia Contest

You can chew the fat on what makes flavorful beef until the cows come home, but in the end, it's all about what's inside that counts. In the case of Harris Family Heritage Beef, raised by Georgian Will Harris of White Oak Pastures, the prize-winning flavor comes from a herd that chomps on grass. Unadulterated green grass. No grains, hormones or feed I can't pronounce or spell. The 2008 Flavor of Georgia Grand Prize Winner Will Harris will be at Harry's Farmers Market in Alpharetta this Saturday May 24 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. giving shoppers a taste of the award winning beef. If you can't make it Saturday stop by Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Whole Foods Market on Ponce. Be sure to pick up some beef to take home for the Memorial Day grilling on Monday.

Harry's Farmers Market in Alpharetta is located at 1180 Upper Hembree Road; 770-664-6300. Whole Foods Market located at 650 Ponce de Leon Avenue, NE; 404-853-1681.