Our Story

In October 2020, shortly after getting married, we closed on a 10½-acre farm in Bracey, Virginia, overlooking beautiful Lake Gaston. We left Raleigh, North Carolina, eager for a quieter, simpler and more self-sustaining lifestyle.

We originally set out looking for enough property to have a large garden. Instead, we fell in love with an old horse farm with plenty of pasture, beautiful views and more than enough room for our ideas to grow.

But what does one do with more than 10 acres of pasture besides mow it?

Enter the alpacas.

After seeing a YouTube video about alpacas, we both knew we had found our livestock. We spent nearly two years researching and learning before purchasing our first four boys in 2022. Four alpacas soon became eight…and apparently, eight weren’t enough either.

Today, our alpaca herd is at the heart of Poplar Creek Farm. Each one has a completely different personality—some are outgoing, some are mischievous, some are reserved, and a few are always ready to greet visitors in hopes that treats are involved.

Beyond being incredibly entertaining, our alpacas produce beautiful fiber that we use for yarn and other products available in our Farm Store. We try to make use of every part of their fiber—even the less-than-perfect fiber finds a purpose.

With the help of the veterinary professionals and students at NC State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, our herd receives excellent care while also helping future veterinarians gain hands-on experience working with camelids.

Apparently, alpacas weren’t enough…

Next came our Dexter cattle.

We chose Dexters because this Irish heritage breed is well suited for a small farm. They are smaller than many traditional cattle breeds, generally docile and known for producing excellent-quality beef.

Our small herd is raised right here on the farm, and today our Dexter beef has become another part of the Poplar Creek Farm story. Our Steakhouse Blend Hamburger is available through the Farm Store and gives visitors an opportunity to take a little taste of the farm home with them.

And then, of course, there’s the garden.

In the spring of 2022, we completed a large enclosed raised-bed garden. From the beginning, our goal was to create a system where the different parts of the farm work together.

Our compost piles are filled primarily with alpaca manure—affectionately known around here as alpaca beans—along with composted chicken waste and other organic material. That compost becomes the foundation for our garden beds rather than relying on conventional fertilizers.

The garden feeds us and provides food and treats for some of the animals. The animals provide manure that becomes compost. The compost goes back into the garden.

And the cycle begins again.

It sounds simple.

It isn’t.

But it is incredibly rewarding.

Over the years, Poplar Creek Farm has become much more than we imagined when we first pulled into the driveway in 2020. What began as our personal experiment in country living has grown into a place we now love sharing with others.

Through our farm tours, visitors can meet and hand-feed the alpacas, see our Dexter cattle, explore the garden and learn how the different pieces of our small farm work together. Our Farm Store gives us another opportunity to share what we raise and create here—from alpaca-fiber products to farm-fresh eggs and our locally raised Dexter beef.

We certainly haven’t figured everything out. Farming has a way of making sure you never stop learning.

But that’s part of what we love about it.

Poplar Creek Farm continues to evolve one project, one animal, one garden bed—and usually one unexpected adventure—at a time.

We’re grateful to call this little slice of Virginia home, and we’re even happier that we now get to share it with you.

Come see us. Meet the animals. Learn a little. Laugh a lot. And experience our little slice of heaven at Poplar Creek Farm.

Poplar Creek Farm
Bracey, VA 23919