Weakley County, TN - November 19, 2025 - Elizabeth and Josh Richardson run R&R Farms, located in the Cottage Grove area in Weakley County, TN. The idea for their operation took shape after attending a South Pole cattle festival at Face to Face Farms in Trenton. That experience led them to make a major shift in their herd—from Angus to South Poles.
“They’re better birthers, they graze better, and their temperament is just so much more friendly than the black Angus,” Elizabeth said. “The meat is actually a little better. It’s less fatty, a little leaner.”
R&R Farms operates on acreage that’s part of a larger family-owned farm belonging to Elizabeth’s father. The land has been in the family for over 32 years, and about five years ago, the couple began renting a portion of it to start raising their own cattle. Today, the entire farm spans 530 acres.
They began with beef and currently sell locally, although they haven’t moved into commercial sales yet. Along with cattle, R&R Farms is also home to 144 chickens. They sell both chicken and eggs and recently added a flower farm to their lineup.
To bring their goods to market, they’ve partnered with Blackberry Pond Farms in Martin, TN. Elizabeth says that partnership helps ensure their products meet organic standards. Blackberry Pond oversees things like rotational grazing, organic feed, and the overall health of their chickens and cattle.
“We try to be as mindful as possible about how we treat our animals through the care we give them,” said Elizabeth. “If they get sick, we treat them the best we can with the least harmful products we can. Sometimes, we have to administer antibiotics, but we try to take the more alternative route if possible. We do that in our produce, our chickens and our flowers. We try to keep it as organic as we can so we are not introducing something that could trigger something in someone else if they are eating it, ingesting it or touching it. Our son has allergies so we have tried to be really mindful of that because we know how scary it can be when someone has an allergic reaction to something.”
That approach is part of a larger mission behind everything they do on the farm.
“We would love for people to eat healthier and be better to their own health and body,” Elizabeth shared. “We strive to be ourselves and that includes introducing the best possible foods to our bodies and to the environment around you.”
For Elizabeth, it all comes down to one simple satisfaction:
“I love the satisfaction of being able to look outside and see healthy animals, happy animals, and produce and flowers that are beautiful, leaving the land better than when they found it.”
About The Mill Workspace: The Mill Workspace, a DBA of Northwest Tennessee Entrepreneurship, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)3 entrepreneur center located in Dyersburg, TN and focused on serving entrepreneurs in the nine counties of Northwest Tennessee. They help businesses through one-on-one counseling, workshops, and multi-week programs all designed to help businesses in the region start up and grow.
Programs at The Mill are funded in part by a grant from LaunchTN.
