28
DEC
Goat Farm Branches Out with New Products
RUSSELL COUNTY, VA - All Joe Bates wanted to do when he retired from the Marine Corps about a decade ago was enjoy the quiet life and learn how to make a little goat cheese.
Things didn’t pan out quite that way for Bates and his wife Shannon, who are now running a seven-figure business that’s set to keep expanding at a rapid rate — thanks to the many benefits of goat milk and what Bates says is a simple business philosophy.
“We work hard, we give 110 percent to the job, we don’t cut corners and number one rule, don’t be greedy,” he told News Channel 11 as some of Bates Family Farm’s 250-odd goats went about their business behind him.
Meanwhile, Shannon Bates and several employees packed goat milk-based soaps and lotions into boxes in a 4,000-square-foot production space that’s also located on the 9-acre family farm. That’s about to be replaced by a 40,000-square-foot former retail store in nearby Lebanon that’s been closed for more than a decade.
“We’ve invested all of our money again and we’ve got everything set up to become dairy certified,” Joe Bates said. “We’re going to be doing both a grade A and a grade B dairy where we’ll be selling pasteurized milk and soft cheeses the first year and then we’re hoping to add hard cheeses on in 2025.”
Russell County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) Executive Director Ernie McFaddin had a lot to do with the expansion, through a partnership with the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA) that provided capital to purchase and retrofit the former store.
“Through partnerships with them this has been a great way to take properties that have been underutilized for years and bring them back to life for a project like Joe’s,” McFaddin said, standing in the cavernous space that should be buzzing with employees within days.
“This facility will give them the room to grow three or four times from where they are now and that’s what we hope they do.”
