BOURBON COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — Like bread and butter, farming and Bourbon County go hand in hand.
The county boasts of around 950 farms and a younger average of farmers than the state average.
If you take a scenic drive down Stringtown Road, you’ll find one of those Bourbon County farms thriving with a young family of farmers.
“We both knew that agriculture was going to be an important and pinnacle part of our lives and our family,” said Savannah Robin, co-owner of Robin Ridge Farms.
In 2016, Ben and Savannah Robin purchased a blank slate of land with dreams of growing a farm and a family.
“We started with a small calf herd, raised mommas and babies and sold them with the eventual goal to get directly to the consumer,” said Savannah.
The herd grew, a business abounded, then came the sheep and the flowers. Before they knew it, their empty parcel produced Robin Ridge Farms.
While farming has long seemed like an inherited way of life, the Robins advocate that ag is anyone’s game.
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“Across the nation and Kentucky, the average age of the farmer is continuing to increase, so one of the things we do, and Ben works in the lending side of things, is to help provide farmers access to land, and I work on the education side to try and help bring people to the farm and understand ag,” said Savannah.
Bringing that average age down isn’t only Ben and Savannah, but their kids, each of whom have found a unique way of embracing agriculture.
Lexie makes dryer balls with sheeps’ wool, Finleigh sells benedictine dip, and Andie offers her signature pimento cheese.
“Savannah has the mentality where she sees no limits, and that’s what the girls see every day, so they jump in with the goats and cattle and they’re there wanting to learn, and I just love it,” said Ben.
If there’s something in the water keeping the average age of the farmer down, it’s merely a mindset that farming is for everyone.
“As the consumers become more aware and supportive of the agriculture industry, more people are being drawn to that space and that field, and I think it’s really important and we need to keep empowering people to be a part of that,” said Savannah.
