Farm Tours & Field Trips

Farm tours and field trips are offered on both Friday morning AND afternoon. Our Friday Farm Tours are drive-it-yourself and transportation is not provided, unless otherwise noted. Tours are included in your Conference Education Pass and pre-registration is required. Stop for a tour along your way to Tifton or join a carpool from the conference center. Sign up to carpool here. Attendees will be provided with further directions and parking info at a later date.

FRIDAY, Feb. 8

Morning Tours:

Deep Grass Graziers, Fitzgerald, Ga.
29.2 miles from conference center
Deep Grass Graziers is a cow-calf to finish, grass fed beef operation, that also specializes in raising replacement heifers and bulls for the forage finishing marketplace. We have about 350 cow-calf pairs and market around 30 bulls and 100 bred heifers annually. We develop and finish animals under center pivot irrigation, practice regenerative and adaptive grazing, and line breed our cattle for consistent improvement in our herd.

Koinonia Farm, Americus, Ga.
74.6 miles from conference center
A Georgia Historical Site, Koinonia (pronounced “coy-no-KNEE-uh”) Farm is both a working farm and a place of hospitality. Folks of all backgrounds and faiths have been visiting Koinonia Farm from all over the world since our founding in 1942. It’s a peaceful place to rest, a community that’s committed to peace and social justice, and a working farm with animals, gardens, orchards, walking trails, a store and a museum. It’s also the birthplace of Clarence Jordan’s writings, Habitat for Humanity, the Fuller Center for Housing, Jubilee Partners and many other organizations and causes. Through the ongoing commitment to living an intentional common life, we seek to Feed the Hungry both physically and spiritually. We welcome people from down the street, across the nation, and around the world. Our values lead us to work to grow a variety of food in ways that are better for animals, people, plants, and the earth.

Become a Farm to School Champion: Tift County Schools, Tifton, Ga.
A bus will be leaving the front of the conference center at 8:30 a.m. for field trip participants.
Visit a school farm, a processing and canning facility, the slaughterhouse, and a school cafeteria in a 2017 Outstanding Golden Radish Winner Tift County school.

White Oak Pastures, Bluffton, Ga.
90.6 miles from conference center
White Oak Pastures is a zero-waste, multi-generational farm in Bluffton, GA. The 160 farmers, ranchers, and employees raise ten species of livestock on Certified Organic grasslands and humanely hand butcher on site in two USDA-inspected abattoirs. Along with livestock, White Oak Pastures produces honey, eggs, artisan products, and Certified Organic vegetables. On this visit you will learn about the farm’s regenerative land practices, see the General Store, visit the Hide Barn (where tallow goods, pet chews, and leather good are crafted), tour the abattoir and seeding greenhouse, and walk through the egg-candling room. Lunch is available on the farm.

Afternoon Tours:

Lewis Taylor Farms, Tifton, Ga.
9.2 miles from conference center
Tour the largest conventional produce operation in the state and see first-hand plasticulture, crop rotation, drip irrigation, and packing facilities on a large scale.

Pretoria Fields Collective, Albany, Ga.
42.2 miles from conference center   
Pretoria Fields Collective has grown organic wheat, barley, rye, corn and emmers, as well as a variety of organic berries for use in our beers. In 2018, we transplanted our hop bines and mayhaw tress onto this property from another farm of ours. Our plans for the future include hoop houses for us to hydroponically grow our hops which will produce greater yield through two flowering seasons. After visiting the farm, we will take a short drive (15-20 min) into downtown Albany to visit the brewery/tasting room and sample the final product!

Sweet Grass Dairy, Thomasville, Ga.
57 miles from conference center
White Oak Pastures is a zero-waste, multi-generational farm in Bluffton, GA. The 160 farmers, ranchers, and employees raise ten species of livestock on Certified Organic grasslands and humanely hand butcher on site in two USDA-inspected abattoirs. Along with livestock, White Oak Pastures produces honey, eggs, artisan products, and Certified Organic vegetables. On this visit you will learn about the farm’s regenerative land practices, see the General Store, visit the Hide Barn (where tallow goods, pet chews, and leather good are crafted), tour the abattoir and seeding greenhouse, and walk through the egg-candling room. Lunch is available on the farm.

University of Georgia Tour, Tifton, Ga.
1 mile from conference center
Dr. Perez and Dr. Schmidt from UGA Tifton will share research conducted on two Certified Organic acres, including studies of various planting dates and heat management in high tunnels.