After being raised on a Robertson County farm, Tom Head fulfilled a life-long dream in 1983 and bought a farm. In the early years, he grew dark-fired tobacco, corn and soy beans. Eventually, corn and soy beans were deleted and beef cattle were added. In 2003, Tom added Sarah, a city girl, who was able to fulfill one of her life-long dreams of living on a farm.
Today, the farm produces feeder calves, apples and other fruit. They strive to be as efficient as possible and produce a high-quality product whether it’s beef or fruit. Sarah and Tom both appreciate and love the land. They still marvel at watching new life unfold every day on the farm.
Every season brings something wondrous, showing God’s handiwork in different ways. Calves arriving in the spring, the fruit trees blooming and bearing fruit in the summer and the smell of tobacco firing in the barn in early fall. Then the winter months are spent getting ready to do it all again. That’s life on the farm.
Today, Shade Tree Farm has grown to 140 acres. It is home to 48 mama cows and 2 bulls. The original orchard had 90 trees, mostly apple. There are also 50 peach trees and 3 pear trees.
In 2009, Tom planted over 100 more trees as well as blueberries. In 2010, about 300 more trees were added. Another passion is day lilies and you will see them scattered throughout the yard and around the orchard.
