Photos by Jim Coarse
Text by Richard L. Gaw

When Britni Doughten Fiscus was a teenager living on Chambers Rock Road in Landenberg, she owned and cared for a pot-bellied pig named Kermit, who lived primarily in her bedroom. 

Outside, there were ducks and chickens and pigs on the family’s property, all of which served as a foundation and an inspiration for the life that she, her husband Nate and their four children live now, just a few miles up the road.

The home the Fiscus family has lived in near Oxford for the past year serves as an oasis of nature’s plentitude, a four-acre panorama of forever vistas that border the property next door where Britni’s father Matt Doughten – also a Landenberg native - lives with his wife. It also serves as the home of Elk Creek Cattle Co., which breeds and sells mini to mid-size Highland cows, a Scottish breed of rustic cattle known for its long horns and its long shaggy coat.

Currently, the farm is home to eight Highlands. Some, like Alice are considered “lifers,” and will remain on the farm, while Elsa, the first calf to be born on the farm, was recently sold, and another calf is expected to be sold soon to local owners. For the calves who are and will ultimately be sold, they have the luxury of spending their first six months in the presence of the entire Fiscus family.

“We work with our calves during their weaning stages, and that’s when we’re bonding and spending time with them,” Britni said. “Ultimately, however, this is a business, and it will be hard on or kids to watch these calves leave, because they live right in our backyard and they get a chance to be with them and feed them and pet them. 

“Nate and I believe that there’s life lessons in this, because it teaches our children about the importance of the next steps.”

Prior to moving to the property in August 2024, the Fiscus family lived in a log cabin in Lincoln University but were drawn to the prospects of introducing their children to the wide-open spaces of country life. An Atglen native, Nate worked on dairy farms around Cochranville, and currently runs his own land surveying business. 

“It was hard to believe that we sold that log cabin in the woods, but this has been the dream and the legacy of how we have always wanted to raise our children,” said Britni, who learned about the business by consulting online educational opportunities that has led to connections and contacts in the industry. “We’re bare feet on the ground and living on a farm. What more can you ask for? When I was giving birth to my youngest child last year, we home birthed her, at the same time my other children were in the nearby woods with my father and his wife drinking sap from trees.”

There are moments in the life of every farmer when the dutiful obligations or responsibility are met with the rare gift of being a benefactor of conducting business in the bounty of natural places. Early in the mornings, before she feeds and grooms the Highlands, Britni sits with her children on the back porch and watches the fog form a coverlet over the farm.  

“It’s a time when I get to get my feet grounded and breathe God’s country and watch the cows for a moment,” she said. “At night, after dinner when it starts to cool down, Nate and I watch our kids playing in the backyard. These are the moments when we get to be present and let our children be children. It makes everything we’re doing worthwhile. 

“This is an opportunity we wanted to make for our children. This is my father’s legacy which will one day be my legacy, and which will someday be our children’s legacy.”

To learn more about Elk Creek Cattle Co., visit it on Facebook or elk_creek_cattle_co on Instagram.