Meet the Farmer: Shane Williams

Soil is the foundation for all life all on earth. It affects the food we eat, the nutrients our natural ecosystems need, the air we breath, and the climate that makes this planet habitable. Pretty powerful, right?
While we would love to solely celebrate the power of our soil, we would be remised if we didn’t speak to the state that our soils are in. Unfortunately, roughly half of America’s soil has disappeared or is depleted. Modern agriculture practices like monocropping, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and excessive tillage have skyrocketed to keep up with demand. This has stripped our soils of nutrients affecting the health of our planet, ecosystems, and us.
While we have a lot to lose from depleting our soils, we have that much more to gain from protecting it including carbon sequestration, drought mitigation, erosion protection, air filtration, water savings, higher yields of more nutritious food, and so much more. If anyone knows the importance of strengthening our soils, it’s farmers like Shane Williams.
The Better Earth team recently had the opportunity to visit some of the farmers growing the fibers that go into our new made in the USA Farmer’s Fiber product line. We sat down with Shane Williams on his 4th generation family farm to chat all things agriculture, soil, sustainability, and how they connect. Let’s ‘dig’ into it.
Meet Shane Williams of Shane Williams Farm, Riceville, TN

Interviewed by Savannah Seydel
Disclaimer: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Tell us about yourself and your farm!
My name is Shane Williams. I’m the 4th generation farmer here. Our farm raises hay, cattle, some timber and switchgrass. It’s a little bit of a life cycle right here on our farm. We raise hay to feed the cattle. We raise beef to make burgers. We grow biomass and fiber to go in food industry. And then we have timber that makes toilet paper [that is manufactured] right down the road at the pulp plant.
And I grew up on this farm. My family originally started farming here in the early 1900s, and we’ve always been livestock and crop farmers. The business model at our farm has changed through the generations as our farm has slowly grown in size and production practices adapted new technology. Today, I’m still looking for ways to evolve our business plan with industry partners who have the same goals as I do which center around sustainability and the consumer. The ground where I planted switchgrass is some land I purchased just a few years ago and this contract income is a great way to cash flow that capital investment and expand the farm.
Tell us more about your family’s history on the land.
As far as how my family got started out, I would say this—like a lot of Appalachian Americans that migrated from the East Coast and in the early 1900s, my family came over from the mountains in North Carolina, and from what I’m told, grew livestock and crops. It was more on a small basis with a lot of sharecroppers, so there were other families that helped my grandfather farm. They all grew giant gardens together. They all fed each of the families together. They never went to the grocery store. I mean, what they raised in the farm, is how they took care of each other, and as time went on, that footprint got a little bigger.

That’s amazing, and it sounds like your family has continued to be so innovative—and for four generations! What role do you feel farmers play in today’s society?
I feel like farmers play such a critical role. I think the business model of farming has changed over the years. My grandfather, my great grandfather—the margins got tight, and it was more about bringing more to the market just so they could survive. And I think today it’s more about being climate sensitive and consumer driven.
What farmers bring [today] is sustainability. We’re here for the ground. We’re here for our livestock. We’re here as part of nature and to bring that out. And I would say it’s my goal to understand what I can do to be more climate sensitive. It’s this thinking that brings innovation onto the farm.
What led y’all to switchgrass? What is the value that switchgrass brings to the land?
We want to be climate sensitive. We want to be consumer-driven, so I had two things that I thought about when I made this change [to grow switchgrass]. One, it’s the partnership and having a [longer-term] contract generate income.
Secondly, with switchgrass itself, I don’t have to have any more capital outlay to grow switchgrass [as a cattle rancher]. I’m harvesting hay this week, but in a month or two I’ll be harvesting switchgrass. The seasonality of that product doesn’t interfere with my current farming operation, so it blends in and gives me a way to expand my footprint [in a way that aligns with] my primary goals.

Absolutely. And could you walk me through what growing switch grass is like?
Well, it all starts with seeds, right? The good thing about switch grass is once we get it in the ground and get established, I don’t have to replant every year [because] it’s a perennial. We use equipment like this [tractor], work the ground up, get ready to plant. The first year is kind of tough because we want that plant to develop a good root base. It takes about a year for that to happen. But while you don’t get a lot of crop [to use commercially], on my farm we utilize that first mass as feed for my livestock. It’s in the second year where we could harvest it for biomass.
As a final question, can you also elaborate on what soil health means to you and how switchgrass supports your efforts to cycle nutrients into the soil?
As a farmer, I was taught by Grandpa to take care of what we grow, and if we take care of it, it’ll take care of us. We want to pick products and plants that are sustainable [like switchgrass]. It works well as a biomass product. It helps me with erosion, and I’m also using it in my livestock operation as a forage base. And when it gets drier, switchgrass has a deeper root base and can sustain even those hard times. [Ultimately,] it’s something I can grow that I feel has a long-term positive effect on the soil, which is very important.


Savannah Seydel
Vice President of Sustainability and Impact
I am excited to spend my time thinking about how Better Earth can reduce our environmental impact and serve as a catalyst for change within our community and industry.
We’re Hiring! Assistant Accounting Manager
Better Earth is a sustainable packaging solutions provider founded to make sustainability accessible. We are looking for someone who understands and embraces our mission and recognizes their unique role in helping us make a big impact, together. We are looking for an...
We’re Hiring! Contract or Freelance Custom Print Coordinator
Better Earth is a sustainable packaging solutions provider founded to make sustainability accessible.The Basics Commitment: Part-time position starting at 20 hours operating within a four-day workweek, opportunity to eventually become full-time based on performance...
Meet the Faces of Farmer’s Fiber
“I was taught by grandpa to take care of what we grow, and if we take care of it–it’ll take care of us.” –Shane Williams, Shane Williams FarmHealthy soil is key to just about all life, and yet, we’re losing the equivalent of two football fields of soil every minute....
Closed Loop College Campuses
Better Earth recently hosted another Compost Conversation Webinar with universities across the country who are closing the loop on their campus by composting. We heard from a campus composter, sustainability and dining faculty, and a zero waste team. Meet the...
Coming Together to Celebrate Atlanta’s Local Food Chain
AgLanta is on a mission to cultivate urban agriculture in the Atlanta community. AgLanta Eats, their annual festival, brings together local farmers, chefs, and other organizations from across Atlanta’s food value chain.At AgLanta Eats you are able to sample a variety...
Better Earth Webinar: Closed Loop College Campuses
Join us & learn more about sustainability on college campuses! Tuesday, October 4 @ 2:00 PM Eastern Better Earth will be hosting another compost conversation with composters, industry leaders, and college & universities from across the country! This webinar...
The Garden Room’s Green Thumb Taking Fine Dining to the Next Level
At Chef Freddy Money’s St. Regis Restaurants, The Garden Room and Atlas, quality is everything and every detail matters.Sustainable sourcing, establishing strong local partnerships, and avoiding single-use plastic are just some of the ways Chef Money lessens his...
Better Earth Acquires Meristem Packaging’s Sustainable Packaging Division
Atlanta, Georgia: Better Earth has acquired Meristem Packaging’s Sustainable Packaging Division, effective September 1, 2022. Better Earth is an Atlanta-based Sustainable Packaging Solutions Provider on a mission to make sustainability accessible, starting with the...
Another Win for Composting Legislation!
What is the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act (RCAA)? In simplest form, why does it matter?The RCAA is a bipartisan bill that allows us to finally understand the full picture on recycling and composting infrastructure (or lack thereof) across our country. ...
Check out our New Packaging Legislation Map
One of the most systematic ways to see real change on plastic pollution is through legislation. Whether it’s a full ban on single-use plastics or an extended producer responsibility (EPR) bill, smart policy reduces pollution immediately and, in the long term, reduces...
What is one of the biggest challenges to composters and scaling the composting industry? Contamination.
Better Earth recently hosted a webinar with composters and packaging industry leaders to discuss how we can collectively address contamination in compost piles. We covered what is contamination, where does contamination come from, what technologies exist to remove...
Better Earth Joins the United Nations Global Compact
Better Earth is pleased to announce that we have joined the United Nations Global Compact initiative — a voluntary leadership platform for the development, implementation and disclosure of responsible business practices.With this announcement, Better Earth is proud to...
How much are we composting in the United States?
Better Earth recently hosted a webinar with 4 composters from the East Coast and leaders in their industry. We covered what they are most excited about going on in the composting industry right now, the state of composting infrastructure in our country, composting...
Blair’s Vegetarian Southern Salad
Southern but make it sustainable! This hearty salad showcases some classics from the south, like cornbread croutons, roasted pecans, and Vidalia onion dressing. It's great for Meatless Mondays or as a side for a southern veggie plate. Make it vegan by swapping...
Product Revamp Alert
At Better Earth, we take responsibility to ensure our BPI certified compostable products meet industry labeling standards to help composters eliminate contamination while meeting our customer's sustainable brand goals. We’ve revamped several product collections—namely...
0 Comments