Phillips Family returns to its roots
Story by Paul South
Photos by Richard Rybka
As part of the construction business, Tiffeny Phillips Robertson has put her sweat, heart and mind to some of Alabama’s marquee projects – like the Honda Manufacturing plant in Lincoln and Birmingham’s Protective Stadium.
But her heart has always been here at Red Hill Farms-Phillips Family, the place her parents, Lonnie and Teresa Phillips bought some 50 years ago.
In that half century, the Phillips family, also including little sister, Kayla Phillips Lamb, transformed their spread from a commercial poultry producer for Gold Kist to a spot where folks can find farm-raised beef and chicken, eggs of all sorts, honey from their 45 hives, fresh vegetables and good, old-fashioned hoop cheese in a nod to an old-fashioned country store.
And, perhaps most important – as a venue for birthday parties, corporate retreats, small weddings and as home to a petting zoo – Red Hill Farms-Phillips Family is a place for growing merriment and memories on its 40 acres.
Ducks, chickens and turkeys roam the place, along with dwarf goats, miniature and full-size horses, llamas and alpacas, full-size goats and pigs. A petting zoo opened this year.
James Herriot, the late English veterinarian and author of All Creatures Great and Small, could run a full-time practice here.
Tiffeny and her husband, Chris, became more involved in the farm eight years ago after her mom’s death and a few years later returned from Augusta, Ga., to expand the farm with her father, Lonnie. Now a farm market operates in a red barn that shimmers against green grass. Produce – much of it grown in St. Clair County and in the state – is sold here.
“For the most part, we try to keep at least 75 percent of out produce grown in Alabama if not in St. Clair County,” Robertson says. “We have a lot of amateur and novice farmers. They grow a bunch of crops, and we buy their harvest from them. They get to see their bounty, and we get to sell it to the public through our market.”
Amish meats and cheeses and rolled butter are also on sale in the market. Candies and fried pies are available to satisfy that sweet tooth. And apple cider vinegar and herbal health teas are among the offerings.
Pell City craftspeople and artists are celebrated as well. For example, local veteran David Carden creates beautiful wood bowls from cypress and magnolia wood.
The market opened in 2022.
“We’re just trying to spread the word that buying from a national chain is not always the best thing,” Robertson says. “Buy local. Shop small. Support local businesses.”
Events bring visitors
Red Hill Farms is always up for a celebration. Right now, Red Hill is taking “baby steps” as an event spot.
“We’re doing any kind of party,” Robertson says. “As we grow, we do small weddings, birthday parties. We let people fish in our stocked ponds. We have a petting and feed experience with all our animals.
Red Hill also takes its animals to local schools as part of an educational effort.
“As a farmer’s daughter, I always thought that everyone in the world lived like this,” Robertson says. “That everybody knew the difference between a cow or a heifer, but that is not the truth. There are a lot of people who have lived in concrete jungles – big cities – and they have no idea.”
The parties – visitors bring their own food and beverages – are entertained by the horses, Butch and Sundance, alpacas named Einstein and Waylon, and a llama, a “funny little character” named George.
The alpaca named for the mop-topped science genius is easily recognizable. “His hair is everywhere, like Einstein,” Robertson says.
What you don’t see, but you can feel at Red Hill Farms is love – of the animals, of family, of the land, of country and community. Lonnie Phillips is a Vietnam veteran. Tiffeny’s husband, Chris, served in the War on Terror after 9/11.
“We love that people are enjoying (the farm) so much,” Robertson says. “That’s the biggest kick we get out of it. You know, people ask me all the time why we don’t charge more for our parties. One, we are an operational farm and two, I want people to experience it without having to take out a loan,” she explains.
“We’re not necessarily here to get rich. I just want people to know who we are.”
Other plans are in the works, like a place for kids to learn how to rope, or how to milk a cow or goat, or harvest honey from a hive, “Minus the bees, of course. We’re trying to educate as well as provide,” Robertson says.
There’s a joy in experiencing a simple life, she adds. “Everybody just can’t go to a beach resort for vacation. Everyone doesn’t want to deal with the heat and the traffic at an amusement park. They want something to do outdoors. Everybody needs the sunshine.”
Her childhood house – shaped like a barn – is still home for her dad. Every building on the property is red, eye popping on green grass against a blue sky. She and her sister, Kayla, grew up with their parents on this beautiful plot of land as they watched their father work tirelessly to improve the farm, year after year.
“As a kid, I wondered why we were always buying red stuff.”
A director of construction for a major firm, Robertson never thought she would return to the family business. For her, it’s about honoring and preserving her parents’ legacy of labor and love.
“I wanted to preserve it the way it was until it was my time not to be here anymore. I want our toddlers to grow up and understand what their grandparents worked so hard for, fought for and loved so much.”
The Robertsons have a 24-year-old son, Colten, as well as a 3-year-old daughter, named Brooklyn. Kayla Lamb and her husband, Bradley, have 3-year-old twins, Grady, and Madison.
All the children and grandchildren of Lonnie and Teresa Phillips, love the farm and contribute in different ways.
“Our three toddlers believe they are the tour guides for the pet and feed experience. It truly is the cutest thing ever!”
People often ask why she toils seven days a week to make the farm sustainable.
“This is my legacy, my sister’s legacy, and we would like to maintain it that way, until I no longer have a say.”
For more information on Red Hill Farms visit its Facebook page at Red Hill Farms- Phillips Family, email redhillfarms3@gmail.com, or call 205-352-8803.
