About

We're Austen + Katie Garrett. We are first generation farmers, and we're raising our children on a small farm in North Texas with Nigerian Dwarf goats for dairy and honeybees for agriculture exemption.

We have been raising and breeding registered Nigerian Dwarf goats since early 2019, and began milk testing (DHIA) in 2021. In 2022 we added in Linear Appraisal through ADGA and really began to “cull (sell) until you cry” to define what we wanted to be breeding for. Our focus is on dairy, with conformation to support a strong dairy animal through a lifetime of lactations. Our goats are registered through both ADGA and AGS, and we are also members of our breed association, ANDDA.

In 2020, we bought 12 acres in Alvord, TX and put a single honeybee hive on it in the spring of 2021. That summer, we found out our land had been under agriculture exemption through the previous ranch owner, but needed to be transferred to our name ASAP, so we added nine more hives a couple of weeks later. We now own and manage over 275 honeybee hives that we lease out to folks who need bees to qualify for agriculture exemption in four counties in the DFW metroplex. In 2024, Katie left her job as a preschool music teacher to do beekeeping full-time.

In winter 2023, we were one of the grant recipients from the For Farmers Movement, and were beyond grateful for the nominations from family and friends. This money allowed us to purchase more insulated hives, which are so important in our hot southern summers, and queen bees for new hive splits in the spring. The For Farmers Movement mission is one we deeply believe in, which is to share farmers’ stories, replace myths with facts, and support them with grants and other resources. You can find out more about them through this link.