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Will Harris
Farmer
- Discipline
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i. Biography
Bluffton, Georgia, is the working ground for White Oak Pastures, a farm tied to one family line since 1866, when Will Harris’s great-grandfather first tilled the land. The current practice is read through that continuity: fourth-generation ownership, inherited acreage, and a set of agricultural decisions made under the pressure of keeping land productive without treating it as an extractive input.
The Trajectory
Agricultural training for Will Harris was formalized in 1976 at the University of Georgia School of Agriculture. That education placed farming inside the disciplines of production, land management, and animal agriculture, giving later decisions at White Oak Pastures a technical base rather than a purely nostalgic one. Organic and grassfed agriculture require institutional work as well as field work. Harris served as Past President of the board of directors at Georgia Organics, a role connected to organic farming initiatives in the state. He also serves as the Beef Director of the American Grassfed Association, where the work centers on the standards and direction of grassfed beef production beyond a single farm.
The Practice Today
Regenerative agriculture at White Oak Pastures is practiced as a farm model built around land stewardship, sustainable agriculture, and animal welfare. As owner, Will Harris is the operator associated with that system in Bluffton, Georgia, where the farm functions as both a production site and a public example of how agricultural value can be measured through soil, livestock, and long-term land use.
Recognition
Business recognition for agricultural work came in 2011, when Will Harris was named Businessperson of the Year for Georgia. The award places the farm’s economic role alongside its agricultural one, recognizing White Oak Pastures not only as a farming operation but as a business shaped by regenerative and grassfed production.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Will
Where did Will Harris train or study?
Will Harris trained at University of Georgia School of Agriculture.
What recognition has Will Harris received?
Businessperson of the Year for Georgia (2011).
