Will Harris, owner of White Oak Pastures, talks about regenerative farming and how sustainable agriculture can be both profitable and fulfilling. He's turned his Georgia ranch into a model for carbon-negative beef production while rebuilding soil health.
Welcome to the High Income Business Writing Podcast, helping you propel your writing business to a whole new level. And now, here's your host, Ed Gandia.
Hey there. Welcome to another episode of the High Income Business Writing Podcast, the number one podcast for business writers and copywriters who want to earn more and less time doing work they love for better clients. With over 1 million downloads from listeners just like you across 101 countries, this episode is much shorter than usual. Rather than my typical 45 minute format. Today I'm sharing a quick tip with you. This is part of the Audio Insights I publish for my private coaching clients every weekday and I thought you'd find it helpful. So here we go. Hope you enjoy it.
Will Harris is the fourth generation owner.
Of White Oak Pastures, which is a.
Family owned farm in South Georgia that raises and butchers animals raised in a regenerative manner using humane animal management practices. This 3,200acre farm is located in one of the poorest counties in the United states. And yet Mr. Harris has been one of the biggest innovators in the country when it comes to regenerative agriculture and operating in a vertically integrated zero waste farm. So much so that people come from all over the world to Little Bluffton, Georgia, where the farm is located, to learn what the Harris family is doing.
And how they do it.
It's quite a remarkable, beautiful place. My family and I have been buying.
From White Oak Pastures directly for about.
15 years and have visited the farm.
A number of times. We've even stayed there overnight one time. They actually have kind of their own little Airbnb network, not through Airbnb, but.
They have their own housing and it's really cool. You can stay there, visit and learn.
Learn about what they're doing.
I was listening recently to a podcast.
Interview with Will Harris and I was fascinated to learn more about what they're doing and why they do what they do.
And then he said something toward the.
End of the interview that was so wise I wanted to share it with you.
He said something to the effect of there are a lot of young people.
Who are very involved in the regenerative farming movement and most of them are very unhappy. And I was surprised to hear that.
The podcast host was also surprised by the statement. So he asked Mr. Harris why that was the case and he responded, and I'm paraphrasing here, most of these young people wake up every day trying to.
Change the world and because of that.
They'Re constantly disappointed by the progress they're making.
So they get frustrated and they burn out. I, on the other hand, wake up every morning trying to save white oak pastures. That's why I'm happy, and that's why I'm optimistic.
I found this idea to be so.
Wise and so profound.
Too many of us, and I know I've been super guilty of this myself.
Try way too hard to change and.
Improve things that are, frankly, outside our control.
When we fail, we try harder, but.
That doesn't work, so we get even more disappointed.
So the cycle goes all the way to burnout.
Mr. Harris knows that if he wakes up every morning 100% committed to making.
His farm the best it can be.
And ensuring that his 180 employees are happy and taken care of, he will produce better food and continue to improve.
The quality of his land.
That alone will have a ripple effect that includes a cleaner environment, healthier topsoil, a stronger economy in his part of the state, happier families, healthier people, and an example others can follow and travel down to Bluffton, Georgia to learn about and apply to their own farms. Now, I'm not suggesting you shouldn't fight.
For a cause you truly believe in.
And I'm not saying you should give.
Up hope for things outside of your control.
Quite the opposite. I'm suggesting that very often the way to victory is indirect. The best path is not always straight, it's oblique. And achieving success is more about being much more strategic than about applying brute force. It's about playing chess, not checkers. To put it more simply, it's about.
Working smarter, not harder.
Well, that's it for today. I hope you enjoyed the episode. And just a quick reminder to grab your free copy of my latest book, Burn More and Less.
