Panther Branch Farms

The farm began with hay. James started out growing and processing dry hay for local cattle owners, then expanded into fermented baleage, and he and the couple's four boys still manage the hay and forage side of the farm. Renae is a former nurse who stepped away from healthcare after COVID to focus on raising their boys, and in the summer of 2024 the family milked their first cow for their own household. What began as feeding themselves well grew into serving the community around them, and the herdshare followed.

The dairy herd is five cows, most of them Jerseys. They spend their days on pasture, moving regularly to fresh grass under a rotational system the family says supports both animal health and soil quality, and they are fed a non-GMO dairy ration made at a local feed mill alongside hay and baleage grown on the farm. North Carolina prohibits the sale of raw milk, so the milk is shared through a herdshare: a one time fee reserves a place in the herd and a weekly half gallon or gallon, and members collect their share in person. The milk is tested weekly for coliform and aerobic plate counts with routine mastitis screening, and the farm's own member terms state that milk is never produced from an animal with any apparent illness or from any animal treated with antibiotics. Raw butter, raw yogurt, eggs, jams and jellies come as add-ons. The herdshare runs January through October, with collection on the farm near Benson six days a week and a Monday evening pickup at Holland's Church in Raleigh.