How it all began

For my husband, David, this journey started over twenty years ago in western Kentucky with a willful bottle calf named Hercules. For me, it started twenty-five years ago while picking pears and pecans from my grandmother’s homestead in rural Arkansas. Over the years we knew that our roots in the farming community was a connection that we wanted to maintain, and especially pass along to our children.  Eight years ago, we settled in Georgetown, Kentucky. While we are now geographically further away from our beginnings, the community we now call home inspired us to start our very own family farm.

We are Shena & David Kirk, founders of Tulip Hayes Farm.  Our farm is a family owned and operated livestock company that specializes in raising American Berkshire Association (ABA) registered Berkshire pigs and pasture-raised pork.  The farm is named after our children Tulip and Hayes, because we lovingly believe that one of the best places to raise a family is on the farm!

Our Berkshire pigs (affectionately referred to as Berks) rotationally graze across 175 acres of shady woodlands, and pastures of bee balm, timothy, and alfalfa. Tulip Hayes Farm is nestled in the heart of Georgetown, Kentucky and features rolling hills, a pond, two creeks, and a clear-water spring. Our sweet farm has a rich history of raising dairy cows and growing tobacco that dates back to the 1800s.

Upon entering the farm, the first sight that catches your eye is an old tobacco barn, followed by a milking barn, corn cribs, and a barn that was built to house dairy cows.  Barns like these can be found on farms across Kentucky. To us, they represent community, family, and labors of love.  Thanks to the Nelson family, we are the second family to own this farm in over 200 years.  We are respectful of its past, and grateful that our family gets to write the next chapter.