About Us

Kesabe Farms was established by Rick and Shiella Morris in the beautiful rolling hills of southwestern Pennsylvania. Over the years we’ve heard our fair share unique pronunciation attempts of the farm name. Kesabe represents the first two letters of Rick and Shiella’s three children’s names: Kelley, Samantha, and Benjamin and is pronounced Keh-Saw-Bee. Kesabe Farms is a spin-off of our 4th generation family homestead. Originally a dairy, the farm has been raising black angus cattle for four decades. While on a work trip to Mexico, Rick became interested in raising meat goats and soon after we learned the hard way that cow fence will absolutely not hold goats. Kelley, Sam, and Ben helped to raise and show registered Boer goats as members of the Greene County 4-H Program from 2002 to 2015. After over a decade of producing high quality market animals, the farm made a shift from Boer goats to Kiko goats, driven by the Kiko’s superior resistance to parasites and overall hardier nature.

In 2016, after much research on alternating cattle and goats on pasture as part of a barberpole worm management strategy, Rick brought home three Scottish Highland Cattle - Selby's Tess (AI,D), SSH Eau Claire, and SSH Elra – and we’ve been in love with the fluffy breed ever since. The herd has since grown through both pasture breeding and careful AI selections. In 2017, Rick surprised Kelley with a beekeeping for beginners lesson and a hive of her own. It was quite a learning curve compared to the four-legged animal husbandry, but she quickly caught on and as of 2022 is up to 8 hives! In 2018, Sam recruited Kelley and Ben to launch a special Christmas operation to acquire Painted Desert Ewes all the way from Selma, Texas as a Christmas gift for Rick after he had mentioned an interest in the breed. Painted Desert sheep have stunning coloration and are a popular breed of hair sheep, requiring no shearing. In 2019, Rick took a liking to a rare breed of pig originally imported to the United States from Hungary, the Mangalitsa. Mangalitsas offer many distinct differences from other breeds traditionally raised for the production of pork. They sport a curly, blonde hairdo and are known for their slower growth and superior cuts of meat. In keeping with tradition, Sam gifted a set of pigs to Rick for his birthday.

In 2020, a moratorium on animals for Christmas or Birthday presents was declared.

In 2021 Kelley dusted off her show ring skills and began attending regional Scottish Highland shows with her beloved bull, Kesabe’s Walking Taco. The following year, leveraging all of the lessons learned and connections with new breeder friends, she expanded her show string to five animals and the crew logged over 5000 miles attending shows across the country, including Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. 

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In 2023, a loophole to the moratorium on animals for Christmas or Birthday presents was exploited and we welcomed two water buffalo to the farm. If we're being completely honest, we were initially unsure if these massive bovine would be a good fit, but we have since fallen in love with their gentle and protective nature. 

What began as a small herd of Boer goats over twenty-five years ago has transformed into an eclectic collection of heritage breeds that we’d love to share with you. Contact us for a farm visit or check out our For Sale animals.

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