CANTON — Waste Not Permaculture, Local Living Venture and the Canton Methodist Green Team are presenting a screening of the movie 100,000 Beating Hearts, about a regenerative farm, White Oak Pastures in Bluffton Georgia, as part of its ongoing Regenerative Agriculture film series on Saturday Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Canton United Methodist Church, 41 Court St.
Also screened will be an interview with Will Harris, owner of the farm and Neil Degrasse Tyson, famed astrophysicist .
Will is the fourth generation of Harris’ to operate the farm.
Will converted the farm to a regenerative farm in the early 2000s after operating it conventionally for many years.
In the early 2000s, White Oak Pastures employed three people.
It now employs over 170 and has a weekly payroll of over $100,000.
It has become the largest employer in three rural counties in SW Georgia. and the largest landowner in nearby Bluffton Georgia.
Bluffton, a once thriving small town in the 1950s had become abandoned in the 2000s when Harris began buying properties and rehabilitating them. It now features a general store, restaurant and several other businesses.
The expansion of White Oak Pastures began when Harris stopped shipping his calves to feed lots in the Midwest and started shipping grass fed beef directly to both Whole Foods and Publix Supermarkets. The tremendous growth in demand led him to build his own abattoir at a cost of over $2 million. Since then he has expanded his operation to include sheep, goats and pigs to better manage the pastures.
You can find out more about White Oak Pastures at https://whiteoakpastures.com .
At the conclusion of the screening, a representative of White Oak Pastures will be available via a video link to answer any questions you may have about the farm.
Can this regenerative model of farming be replicated in the North Country? To better understand White Oak Pastures, Waste Not Permaculture is sponsoring a tour of the farm on Oct. 18-20th.
The tour will include airfare to Atlanta, transportation to Bluffton, two nights of lodging at White Oak Pastures, a tour of the farm and a chance to meet staff members including Will Harris. The cost is $650. Please contact us at greg@wastenotperma.org if interested.
This event is free but small donations are appreciated. Light refreshments and a discussion of the film and tour of White Oak Pastures will follow the screening.
For questions about the event, reach out to Greg Todd at (718) 496-5139 or greg@wastenotperma.org or Carol Smith at smith.caroline62@gmail.com.
If you would like to get notifications for future events or to get on Waste Not Permaculture mailing list, please email greg@wasenotperma.org.
Find out more about Waste Not Permaculture at https://www.wastenotperma.org/.