Last fall, my husband Jake and I had the opportunity to visit White Oak Pastures, which is a regenerative farm located in Bluffton, Georgia. The owner of White Oak Pastures, Will Harris, is a true pioneer in the regenerative farming space.
The goal with regenerative farming is restoring the cycles of nature that industrial farming has broken. To learn more about this, I'd recommend listening to Will Harris episode on the Joe Rogan Podcast or visiting the White Oak Pastures website.
Our White Oak Pastures Farm-Stay Experience
White Oak Pastures meats have been an important part of my healing journey (from chronic illness), and we wanted to visit the farm to learn more about where our food was coming from. They really embrace the idea of "food as medicine", which we love.
We stayed two nights in a lovely forest cabin on the farm. When we arrived, we checked in at the General Store. There they have a farm-to-table restaurant and shop. This was much bigger than I expected, and was very quaint!
The general store had a large freezer section with all of their meats for sale, a tallow product section (with non-toxic lotions, beauty products, candles, etc), and a leather goods section.
Their restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner—and we ate every meal there during our stay. At the time, I was on the carnivore diet, and they were very accommodating for this. I ate lots of eggs, bacon, burgers, and steak! Everything was delicious, and it was so refreshing to eat out somewhere you can trust all the ingredients are high quality and farm-fresh. Honestly, it was worth the trip just for the bacon.
Near the general store, they have several farm animals including goats, ducks, pigs, and cattle. They rotate their animals often, and it was interesting to see that in action while we were there. All the animals looked very healthy in their environment.
Not long after we arrived, we ran into Luis, the beekeeper at White Oak. He was very friendly took us on a tour of where they keep the raw honey. He explained to us the basics about beekeeping and his passion for what he does. We even got to taste test some of their honey and pollen.
We really enjoyed that and learned how the taste of honey can vary depending on the time of year, type of bees, and amount of pollen in it. White Oak honey is some of the best tasting honey we've ever had, and has actually won several awards in the state of Georgia.
Next we received a tour of the tallow rendering area and leather workshop, which is just across the street from the general store. It almost felt like I was stepping back in time when we went in there. The workshop was filled with beautiful leather wallets and accessories.
Behind the workshop area was a kitchen where they render the tallow and dehydrate their pet snacks. It was really cool to take a look behind the scenes of their production process for their products.
During our stay, we were able to meet Will Harris, the owner, and his daughters Jodi and Jenni. They were all so friendly and welcoming. We often saw Will having a meal at the general store or driving around the farm in his jeep.
We went on a horseback tour, which I'd highly recommend. The horses were very gentle and easy to ride. During the tour we saw heritage pigs, goats, and some cattle from a distance. It was beautiful!
Before we left, we went on the walking tour with Jenni. She showed us around the town and educated us about the farm. We learned more about their processing and zero waste practices. Their passion for regenerating the land is very apparent!
Overall, visiting the farm was a wonderful experience and something I won't ever forget. My appreciation for White Oak Pastures definitely increased, and it inspired me to continue learning about regenerative farming and sharing about its importance.
Our Cabin At White Oak Pastures
White Oak has several fully furnished cabins available for rent on the farm. We stayed in one of their "pine forest" cabins, and everything was beautifully decorated and so clean. They even left us some farm-fresh eggs in the fridge and tallow soap in the shower! It was very cozy, comfortable, and quiet. They don't have WiFi at their cabins, so it makes for a great opportunity to disconnect and relax.
When we pulled into road where our cabin was, we had to open and close the gate, as cattle rotate through the area. The sign on the gate said "keep this damn gate closed", which I thought was hilarious. There are several signs like that on the farm that show off their humor and sass.
This charming wooded cabin far exceeded our expectations! We wouldn't hesitate to go back or recommend it to others.
Things to do in Bluffton, GA
Bluffton is a very small town with a population of just over 200 people—most of which are employees of White Oak. The town is very charming, and because of the farm has actually become a destination in of itself.
In many ways it really feels like you're going back in time being in Bluffton. Its refreshing and peaceful to be away from the "noise" of the world.
While we were there, we visited Kolomoki Mound State Park. We enjoyed that, but the highlight of the trip was definitely getting to experience being on the farm.
White Oak offers walking tours of the farm, horseback rides, and workshops. We found it very relaxing just to spend time at the cabin and sort of "unplug" from the outside world.
If you're looking to learn more about regenerative farming and have a low-key, quiet getaway on a farm, visiting White Oak Pastures is an excellent option!
White Oak has generously offered my community 15% off their farm store through this link & with the code RIBEYERACH. Their shop has pasture-raised meats, organs, beef tallow skincare, leather goods, and more. Personally I source the majority of my grass-fed beef from White Oak Pastures—you can't go wrong with anything from their shop!
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