This episode comes from a live farm tour at White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, Georgia, led by sixth-generation farmer Will Harris.
Rather than a studio conversation, this is a boots-on-the-ground walkthrough of the land itself where Will explains how White Oak transitioned from conventional row-crop and industrial cattle production into a diverse, closed-loop ecosystem built around grass-fed cattle, wildlife, and restored soils.
As birds move in behind grazing cattle and insects cycle nutrients back into the ground, Will breaks down how regenerative systems actually function in real time. He contrasts nature’s long cycles of recovery with the short-term thinking of pesticides, monoculture, and industrial extraction, explaining why many ecological harms linger decades after the chemicals are gone.
Throughout the tour, Will offers clear, unsentimental insight into carbon cycles, dung beetles, grazing management, and why lifecycle assessments are the only honest way to evaluate agriculture’s impact. He also reflects on land stewardship across generations and the responsibility farmers carry when decisions echo far beyond their own lifetimes.
