We had the good fortune of connecting with Shaun Terry and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shaun, how does your business help the community?
Humanity is on the precipice of ecological disaster, due in large part to industrial agricultural practices. Grateful Pastures Farm is part of a new generation of regenerative agriculture, intent on healing the damage done to our planet in the last hundred years by industrialists posturing as agriculturalists.

These industrialists focus on efficiencies of scale and specialization, using chemistry as their primary tool. Industrial agriculture is extractive. Industrial agriculture is akin to mining. Soil life and nutrients are depleted with each cycle of tillage, chemical application, and harvest. Over time the soil becomes too worn out to be productive.

By contrast, regenerative farms such as Grateful Pastures focus on nature’s inherent efficiencies of scope through nutrient-cycling, using biology as our primary tool. Regenerative agriculture is akin to recycling. Soil life and nutrients increase with each cycle of rotational grazing, composting, and harvest.

The UN estimates that the planet only has about 60 years worth of top-soil left if current extractive practices continue. Agriculture as a whole on this planet must become net-regenerative instead of net-extractive if we are going to continue to feed humanity indefinitely into the future. Grateful Pastures is founded on the notion that we better get to work solving this problem right here, right now.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
We grow and sell pasture-raised organic chicken and turkeys. We are the only certified organic pastured poultry farm in Georgia. Shaun and Sabrina Terry started Grateful Pastures Farm out of a love for nature and animals, in 2015. In the last 7 years we have overcome countless challenges and severe setbacks. Farming is a highly variable risky business. Equipment constantly breaks and nature is oblivious to, and thus seemingly ambivalent about, our intentions and struggles. Through all of the challenges we have learned that staying true to one’s principles is paramount to success. Also, it is important to identify bottlenecks in your business and invest appropriately to overcome them.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I don’t live in the city, but I do know some places that serve great food! We would have to hit up The Deer and The Dove and Wrecking Bar. We would also check out some cool farms in driving distance: Row by Rowe Farm, Crystal Organic, and Little Fox to name a few.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to dedicate this shoutout to the Atlanta-area farmer’s market community. Farmer’s markets in our city are some of the best in the country.

Farmers, food and beverage vendors, customers, market staff, and volunteers all come together every Saturday morning, full of cheer and purpose. The smells of good food and great moods are in the air. Freedom Farmers Market, Morningside Farmers Market, Peachtree Rd Farmers Market, you make it the whole endeavor to farm with purpose possible!

Website: www.gratefulpastures.com

Instagram: @gratefulpastures

Facebook: gratefulpasturesfarm

Image Credits
Kayden Richardson, Tsunami Photography

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