Our Goats

Where It All Began

Long before Standing Stone Farms became an award-winning cheese making school and supply company, it was a goat farm. A real, muddy, joyful, chaotic, wonderful goat farm — and we wouldn't trade a single moment of it.

In 2006, my husband Glenn and I established Standing Stone Nubians, a boutique dairy goat farm in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, about 30 miles southeast of Nashville. We raised and bred registered Nubian dairy goats — a breed known for their sweet, rich, high-butterfat milk that is absolutely perfect for making cheese, butter, fudge, and ice cream.

The Goats That Started Everything

It was the goats that led me to cheese making. When you have fresh goat milk every morning, you start experimenting. And when you start experimenting with cheese, you fall in love. That love became a school. That school became a business. And that business became Standing Stone Farms as you know it today.

Our Nubians were more than livestock — they were the heart of this farm. They were people-friendly, curious, and full of personality. We bred to maintain and improve our lines, with an emphasis on correct, statuesque, feminine Nubians that excelled in milk quality, quantity, and longevity. We competed at shows across the region, and at our last show — the 2013 Music City Classic — we won Senior Grand Champion and Best of Breed in both rings, along with Junior Grand Champion and Best in Show in both junior rings. It was a perfect day.

Why We Said Goodbye

In 2019, I lost Glenn — my husband of 38 years, my partner in everything, and the man who made this farm possible. He was the backbone of our daily farm life, and after he passed, I made the incredibly difficult decision to sell the farm. In 2021, we moved the business to Murfreesboro, TN. The land, the barn, the routines we had built together — it was simply too hard to continue without him.

Selling the farm meant saying goodbye to the goats, and that was one of the hardest things I've ever done. They were not just animals. They were the foundation of everything Standing Stone Farms became. They gave us milk, they gave us cheese, they gave us a reason to teach — and they gave Glenn and me some of the happiest years of our lives together.

Their Legacy Lives On

We no longer have goats, and we no longer breed or sell them. But their legacy is woven into every cheese making kit we ship, every class we teach, and every student who discovers the magic of turning milk into cheese for the first time.

Glenn would have loved knowing that the goats' story didn't end with the farm — it just moved into kitchens all over the world.

We miss them every day.

— Paula Butler, Standing Stone Farms

Questions? Contact us or learn more about our story.