Depending on your thoughts on the matter, Southdown Acres — located in Crane Hill, Alabama — could either be a cautionary tale of what can happen after the purchase of a single goat, or a model for how break into (and be successful) within the increasingly crowded agriculture industry. Shannon Vignolo said the vision for what would become Southdown Acres originally began when she and her husband, Josh, purchased the property in 2021. Both had retired from the U.
S. military — Josh from the Navy and Shannon from the Army — and were looking to stretch their legs after living on roughly a one-quarter acre in Florida. “We knew we wanted land.
We were living in a really thickly settled area where we were basically on top of each other,” Shannon said. Their new home came with plenty of pastureland well-equipped for grazing, but the couple had not seriously considered raising animals. That changed after they decided to try their hand at maintaining a small flock of chickens.
Shannon said she quickly realized the reality of “chicken math” which lead to an overabundance of eggs which they decided to sell to neighbors and friends. Eventually, this led to the idea to create a small homestead. The family did have one pet dairy goat, Bonnie, but Shannon said the real inspiration for the business came one day as she was scrolling through TikTok and ran across a video about Babydoll sheep.
“I came across a guy who raised baby doll sheep and they were the cutest things I had.
