We recently connected with Sarah Pratz and have shared our conversation below.

Sarah, appreciate you joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

The risk of farming- is it worth it? That’s the big question, huh? Truthfully when we first started out, me and my boyfriend knew nothing. We were young, and in love, and in 2014 he said… “Let’s get some chickens!” To which we got a dozen chickens. Which then sprouted, “Let’s get ducks! And goats!” And the journey began!
I honestly was so naive to all the things that went into farming. The predators. Sickness. The money you spend on it, and all that you throw at it time and emotion wise.
When we first started did I know I was giving up long vacations forevermore? Absolutely not.
The sacrifice has been so worth it! I can’t imagine my life without these critters now. I constantly tell myself I sit on a fine line of stupid and stubborn. But I still wake up every morning loving these animals and working to make things better for us and them!
They truly are worth all that I give up for them. The amount of joy I get from watching babies being born, strategically breeding to improve something, helping other people learn basic husbandry and meeting some of the best lifelong friends I’ll ever have… yes, it’s been so worth all of the fumbles through these last 12 years.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

When we first stumbled into farming I had no idea what direction we were gonna take. It started as a hobby, some backyard chickens for eggs, a few goats because they were cute. I quickly became the neighborhood “goat girl” and people my boyfriend knew would bring me babies because I milked my goats. Babies? All kinds. Puppies. Kittens. Then it branched into wildlife. I raised everything from dormice to deer. That’s how I coined my farm name. You know you have to be creative to set yourself apart, so I had to make it fun. Raccoon Cove, since my favorite babies to raise were the raccoons and we are in coastal SC.
I started working at a Biolab soon after this where I learned so many crucial things to help my farming along. Working with so many animals I learned about biosecurity and the importance of staying ahead of the issues you may have. Preventive care and supportive care, learning to pull blood and test for disease, running fecals and everything down to suturing was a great take away and things I was able to apply to my own journey in farming.
As time went on we settled on breeding standard Nubians, meat rabbits and a few different breeds of chickens including silkies, satins, bantam Cochins, standard Cochins, and turkens. I help local farms with hoof trimming and other herd maintenance such as disbudding, castrating, herd biosecurity blood draws, shots, tattooing, copper bolusing, worming, delousing and other general needs. These are dirty (and scary) jobs for some people and knowing what you are doing is very important! Especially when yielding a red hot iron on a head or a needle in the jugular of a wiggly goat.
I take pride in helping others, mainly because when I first started I made every single mistake. I learned from my mistakes and strive to help people and animals thrive in our climate. Since Covid, so many people have dove into farming but many are misinformed about what works. Small hoofstock are finicky and once they show signs of sickness, sometimes it can be too late!

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Honestly it took a few years to INVEST in good stock for the farm. I realized fast I had to look at all the categories when adding in an animal. Conformation, milk genetics, disease free, disposition, and most of all hardiness. None of the first four matter if they aren’t resilient! I had a jump on the market because I had a not-so-common breed in the area and I have been lucky to have wonderful clients (and honestly now more friends) return for years because of them loving the animals they get from me.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Oh boy. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t started over from square one multiple times. Most recently, my boyfriend, Christopher, got into a really bad motorcycle accident. A severe brain injury left him in a coma fighting for his life and me not even knowing where to turn. With the support of my family, and farm friends, of to whom I both have endless gratitude, they truly floated me along through his recovery. I sold way down to the bones of the farm. Almost everything I could bare to see go… left. Thankfully a few months later he was better and I was able to ramp back up but goodness… sometimes you really wonder if it’s best to sell out or keep going! Years of breeding and fighting and waiting to see the fruits of your labor. I think I’m just stubborn, but I embrace it.

Contact Info:

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