Meet Barry Bales

USA Regenerative Ag Alliance Director

Barry is the owner/operator of Bales Farms in Mosheim, TN, a 6th generation Century Farm started by his great-great-grandfather in 1882. A professional musician for the last 30 years, he has toured and recorded with artists like Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, and Merle Haggard winning 15 Grammy awards along the way. Barry has written songs with Chris Stapleton (Nobody To Blame) and appeared in the movie "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?". But the seat of a tractor is where he's always gone to find peace and clear his head.  

Barry spent every possible moment as a young boy literally following in his grandfather’s footsteps, learning how to raise animals and care for the land at Bales Farms.  After his son Marshall was born, Barry realized the importance of teaching him the same valuable lessons he had learned in his youth.

As a result, they have significantly increased production over the last ten years, raising beef cattle, pigs, broilers, and layers, all outside on pasture.  The farm boasts a robust direct retail and wholesale business, serving families, restaurants, and grocery stores throughout Northeast Tennessee.

Always learning, experimenting, and adjusting, Bales Farms employs regenerative agricultural methods such as rotational grazing, no-till, and cover crops.  The goal is to raise the healthiest animals possible in the most humane way possible while building better soil and growing better grass.  

 Grass, Fresh Air. Sunshine.