River Cottage Farm
Adolphus, Kentucky
River Cottage Farm
Every practice and every decision on the farm takes into consideration, all life under our stewardship both above and below the ground.
Our farm is located on the Tennessee Kentucky line in Adolphus Kentucky. We raise beef and dairy cattle, hair, wool and dairy sheep, Kiko and Cashmere Goats, chickens, bees, and guardian dogs.
My children and I farmed together since 1996 and then, in 2017, I married my husband and we combined our farms. We farm using regenerative practices and all of our animals are rotated to new pasture/browse 3 to 4 times a week.
FARM STATS
FARM STATS
Adolphus, Kentucky
Location:
800
Acres:
1-50 Goats
Herd Size:
Available Services & Activities:
Airbnb Stay, Pasture Walks, Farmer Training, Mentorship Training, Consultation
On-Farm Stay:
Facebook:
Instagram:
Farm Website:
Meet the Farmers
Debbie Brann
I’ve been a farmer for most of my life now. I’m also a spinner, weaver, and knitter, so I’ve always been drawn to fiber animals. As a farmer and fiber enthusiast, I’d dabbled in goats for weed control and chose Kikos with a cashmere buck to get started. Everything changed when I met Christine at the Nash Yarn fest, and my journey towards Cashmere Goats ramped up immediately.
Farm Interview
Why Cashmere?
As a spinner, weaver, and knitter, my hands have always been in fiber, so when we found ourselves faced with some obnoxious weeds on the farm. Since we don't spray any chemicals on our pastures, we had one choice: Goats! Since my mind always travels to Fiber, but I didn’t know anyone raising Cashmere, so I purchased 22 Kiko does and started searching for a cashmere buck. Thankfully, I found Emily at Weesner's Bittersweet Farm and purchased my first cashmere goat. Now, with the help of everyone at Clean Cashmere, I have a herd of 50 goats.
Biggest Challenge?
The biggest challenge on the farm with goats is learning how to grow the best cashmere possible and understanding when and how to harvest it to produce the finest yarn.
Biggest Successes?
I have realized that goats and sheep have such different needs that they do not do well when raised together. Rotating the goats without the sheep is much better for the goats. Another huge success for our farm is realizing that adding apple cider vinegar to the water is essential to keeping the goats and their kids as healthy as possible.
Do you view farming as more of a business or a lifestyle?
A business
What have been the biggest changes you've implemented on your farm?
Separating the goats and sheep has been the biggest change we've implemented on the farm.
