In Northern Franklin County off Sullivan Lane, there is 100 acres of farmland that has been in the Bondurant family for more than a century. The farmland has been used in a variety of ways, and just in James Bondurant’s time, the farm has been used to raise tobacco, vegetables, pigs, strawberries, pumpkins, horses, and, most recently, Jersey cattle.
“The farm has been in my dad’s family for over 100 years,” James said. “My mom still owns it. She’s 97. She’s in pretty good health, too.”
James was raised on the farm by his parents, Bob and Mary Edna Bondurant, with his two sisters.
“Dad was born in the house,” he said. “I’ve lived here all my life.”
Tobacco was raised on the farm for numerous years and hung in the barn that James now uses to board horses and house Jersey cattle.
There were a few more tobacco barns on the property, but they were destroyed in the early 1990s by a tornado.
“We lost two tobacco farms in one day,” James said. “A tornado hit them. It got five barns in the area.”
Luckily, it missed the house where he was home alone with his four-year-old daughter, Becky, at the time.
“I was home and saw the funnel cloud across the field. I lowered her down through a trap door into the cellar. The house was shaking, and dirt was falling.”
After the storm calmed, James and Becky emerged from the cellar to find that the house was OK, but two of the barns on the property had been destroyed.
“The metal roof of the barn was rolled up,” Teresa, James’ wife, said.
James and Teresa raised their three children, Jim, John, and Becky Brinker, on the farm.
In those early years, when the kids were young, James and Teresa continued to raise tobacco and grew fruits and vegetables. They also grew pumpkins and tried one summer to have a pick-your-own strawberry patch.
“I spent $5,000 planting a five-acre strawberry field,” James said. “It was the most beautiful field of strawberries. I bought a billboard and ads in the newspaper. We were set to make $15,000.”
Shortly before opening the field to the public, a storm blew in and “beat those berries till red juice ran out both ends of the field,” James said.
“I lost the big ones, but the next crop was to ripen, so I advertised again, and it stormed again and beat them up. That was it. I sowed it to grass.”
James then grew 20 acres of sweet corn and began to buy horses.
“When we started, we had ponies and did pony rides,” Teresa said. “We had friends of ours who would come on Sunday, and they helped us, and kids from church would help.”
They started doing pony rides at events and eventually added horses to their herd and began to do riding lessons, trail riding, and hosting horse camps at the farm, which is named Little Bit of Heaven.
“We had riding instructors,” Teresa said.
One of their instructors was Randi Thompson, “an internationally recognized equine industry expert witness and consultant with over 45 years of experience across disciplines, facilities, and instructional programs,” according to www.randithompsonlive.com.
Thompson has presented at the World Equestrian Games, Equine Affaire, Horse World Expo, Certified Horsemanship Association Conferences, US Pony Club National Convention, Horse Lovers Summit, and numerous industry conferences.
“Most of her lessons were based on safety … the right way and wrong way to handle horses,” Teresa said.
The Bondurants had horses on their farm for more than 20 years — some they owned, others they boarded. At its peak, they had more than 80 horses — 46 of those horses belonged to a polo team owned by a Russian billionaire.
“They would take half of them to Florida to play and then switch them out,” James said.
It was in 2014, after Teresa retired from Peaks Mill Elementary School — where she worked in the cafeteria — and suffered a shoulder injury while caring for the horses, that they decided to stop offering trail riding and lessons.
“It was getting harder and harder,” Teresa said. “We never went back after my shoulder surgery. But we had some super wonderful kids and adults who came out. Lots of good memories.”
The Bondurants were also starting to acquire more grandchildren and wanted to have time to spend with them on the farm. Their grandchildren are Drew, Morgan, Noah, Anna and Ella Bondurant.
“Drew loves the farm,” Teresa said. “The other grandkids do too, but Anna and Drew really love the farm. Anna wants to be a large animal vet, and Morgan wants to be a nurse. Drew is an engineer.”
When they decided to stop offering lessons and trail riding, they began to sell their horses. After the Russian billionaire essentially surrendered the polo horses to the Bondurants, they took legal action and sold the horses to polo clubs in Lexington and Louisville.
Today, they still board horses on the farm and have a few of their own, and in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, James decided to bring another animal back to the farm. One he hadn’t had since he was a kid — Jersey cows.
“I went to the grocery store during COVID, and the shelves were bare,” James said. “I planted a really big garden, I bought chickens, pigs, and two Jersey milk cows — Maggie and Buttercup.”
James bought Maggie and Buttercup from a farmer in Ohio, who believed the cows came from an Amish farm.
“We started with those girls, and then I saw Mabel,” James said about the third Jersey cow he purchased.
“I grew up with Jerseys,” he said. “You get addicted.”
James said he paid $900 for Mable, and the farmer even delivered her to James.
“Now, cows like that are $3,500.”
Then he started raising heifers. He would buy them as three-day-old babies, and Maggie, Mable, and Buttercup would raise them.
Eventually, he purchased a bull and began breeding the heifers. He has now built his herd up to 32 heads.
Maggie and Buttercup have been retired. They no longer produce milk. Buttercup is now the “comedy relief” on the farm. Maggie is supposed to be retired, but she unintentionally bred last fall with Elmer.
“She called the bull over near the fence,” James said. “I’m a little concerned because of her age. She is supposed to calf in July.”
Of the 32 cows at the farm, 30 of them are Jersey, while one is a Fleckvie and the other is a Brown Swiss. With the milk, Teresa makes cheese, yogurt, butter, and plans to try to make ice cream soon.
They also offer milk share contracts for those interested in purchasing raw milk. If interested, call James at 502-223-8925.
“People who want to make their own cheese and yogurt, that’s who needs the milk we have,” James said.
The day-to-day care of the cows is mainly done by Teresa and James, but when they are in need of help, their family and neighbors are right there to lend a helping hand.
Two years ago, James’ health took a turn for the worse. After receiving a second opinion from doctors at the University of Kentucky, it was discovered that James was in need of a heart valve replacement.
“I was sick to death,” James said. “I nearly died.”
James was so weak that he couldn’t care for the cows, and Teresa couldn’t do it by herself.
“My mom, sisters, and brothers-in-laws came out here to help with the cows,” he said. “My oldest son who works for the legislature came out here dressed in a suit and tie and helped his mom work. My other son and daughter came out and helped too.”
Teresa said a neighbor lent them their ATV to use to transport James around the farm.
“He also put a fence in, and my grandson and him fixed fences,” Teresa said.
James said their granddaughter, Anna, was at the farm faithfully when he was ill.
“She knew the cows as well as we did,” he said. “Her daddy let the wrong cow in once and she had to correct him.”
When James finally had the valve replaced, he said doctors used a cow valve.
“I have a little bit of kin to cow now,” he said.
Since building the herd to 32 heads, James and Teresa said they are focusing on breeding and selling the bulls.
“I have two guys who will buy every steer I produce,” James said. “Jersey meat is the wagyu of our world. It’s in high demand for people who do farm-to-table.”
Teresa said she tries not to get attached to the bull calves, “but it’s really hard.”
“I would keep them all as bulls and pets, but the bulls would hurt each other,” James said. “Jersey bulls are very dangerous.”
The females, however, you could lie down with, James said. “I have pictures of the grandchildren lying down with Buttercup. Jersey cattle are wonderful.”
James said he has enjoyed all of the farm animals he has raised on his family farm, but the Jersey cattle have been special.
“I like their eyes and their expressions,” he said. “All of my life, dad would say, ‘dumb old cow,’ but they’re not. They have intellect.”
Teresa said they are routine animals, and that they will learn their order for milking and know which stall is their stall.
“They have memories like elephants,” Teresa said.
James said he likes training the cows.
“You have to be patient with them and work through it,” he said.
Teresa said, “Sometimes it’s hard to do because they have a mind of their own.”
As for the future of the farm, James hopes to eventually build an indoor milking parlor that’s heated and air-conditioned.
“I would like to milk my cows in comfort,” James said. “We about froze this winter. We had to dry a new calf off with a blow dryer and put jackets on them.”
But for now, James will continue to grow his herd and sell the bull calves.
“Jersey cattle are worth a lot,” he said. “I should sell every one I got but they’re like family to me. As long as I live, they’ll live here until I die. At some point we’ll have to sell some of them, but I don’t want to sell them to someone who doesn’t know how to milk.”
Teresa agreed that they won’t sell them to just anyone. They’ve always made sure any animal they sell goes to a good home.
James suggests anyone interested in owning Jersey cattle should visit a farm like his and learn the process of caring for the dairy cows. James said he is the only dairy farm in Franklin County that he is aware of.
“Go to a farm like this and let them show you how to milk,” he said. “To milk by hand, you have to know how to work your fingers. I grew up milking. By 12, I could make the bucket wring. It releases oxytocin in the cow and the human as they are milking. You get a relaxed feeling.”
