Contributor: Jamie Richardson
Cotton Bean Farms offers opportunities to pet, feed, and cuddle their Mini Nubian and baby milk goats.
Goat play dates are a fun and unique way to get up close and personal with these adorable animals that is perfect for families, animal lovers, and anyone looking for a fun weekend activity [see video].
Owners Jason and Stacey Carlisle established Cotton Bean Farms in 2018 with a passion and love for goats that continues to grow. The goat play dates are a way to share their love for their animals with the community and educate visitors about all things goat related. They also offer a variety of goat farm tours and classes throughout the year.
- Stacey likes to tell people “think Baby Goat Yoga with ONLY the goats and NO yoga!”
What You Can Expect During Your Visit
Goat play dates at Cotton Bean Farms are exactly what they sound like… a chance for visitors to come play and cuddle with both baby and adult goats. The goats are friendly and love attention, so visitors are encouraged to pet, play, and interact with them.
Cotton Bean Farms shares some highlights you may experience during your visit:
- Meet their Mini Nubian, Nigerian Dwarf, and Boers goats.
- Play and cuddle with cute baby goats. They are very curious and will approach you. Once they are comfortable, they may climb in your lap for snuggles and jump out of your arms. The baby goats have even been known to run with or follow human kids to play.
- Depending on the time of year you may see a goat giving birth.
- Depending on the time of year you may get to bottle-feed a baby goat.
- Do you want to milk a goat? We may be able to arrange this.
- Our adult goats are super friendly. They enjoy snuggles and neck scratches.
In addition to a herd of 250 Mini Nubians, Boers, and Nigerian Dwarf goats, they have chickens, two dogs (a Great Pyrenees and Anatolian Shepherd), and two cats (Boo and Moo).
⏰ Playdate and snuggle sessions are 45 minutes, typically on the hour, between 9am and 2pm. Weekends fill up fast and summer hours are mornings only to beat the heat.
💲 General Admission is $15 per person (child or adult). Children under 12 months are free.
📱 Call 704-244-3076 to make an appointment and purchase tickets.
📍 Located at 29631 Herrin Grove Road, Mount Pleasant, NC 28124.
Also available: private (only your family) baby goat playdates, bottle feeding, and goat classes.
FUN FACT: It is rumored that goats eat anything. This is NOT true! They are very picky eaters, just ask Farmer Jason about the monthly hay bill and how much they waste just because they don’t like it.
Cotton Bean Farms also has a selection of farmhouse goat decor, Christmas tree ornaments, key chains, jewelry, and handcrafted goat milk soap in an assortment of colors and fragrances. The soap is made with natural oils and their farm-fresh goat milk!
🧼 Their herd of Mini Nubian milking goats are essential to their soap-making passion. To thank them, each goat milk soap is named after one of their does or bucks. Without their milk goats, they would not be able to make these special soaps.
The Story Behind Cotton Bean Farms
Jason and Stacey often have people ask them why they chose the name Cotton Bean Farms. Jason grew up in Michigan where they grew soybeans, while Stacey, who was from South Carolina, had seen cotton growing around her for as long as she could remember. They would often argue about the crops they saw while driving, with Jason mistaking cotton plants for soybeans.
- When soybean fields eventually bloomed into cotton plants, Stacey would jokingly call them “Cotton Beans.”
After the couple married, they decided to find land to build a house. They found the perfect wooded area on Herrin Grove Road that offered privacy and a place to raise their youngest child without a lot of technology and other distractions.
As a family, they were trying to come up with a name for their new home/farm. One day, as they were driving to their future farm, they passed some “Cotton Beans” and instantly knew that should be the name!
Just the facts
Follow the Farm’s Facebook page for recent pictures and announcements or visit their website.
Note: Cotton Bean Farms is NOT open to the general public, so be sure to schedule an appointment to visit the farm.
Planning to visit? Tell ’em Cabarrus Weekly sent ya!
