New Yorkers leave rat race to make cheese

Dave Krabbe and Kathryn Spann were tired of their New York lives.

Krabbe, 55, was a carpenter who became a go-to contractor for rich Manhattanites. His last job was building a 17,000-square-foot addition onto a client's ice hockey rink.

Spann, 42, spent 15 years working 80-hour weeks as a lawyer for federal judges, law firms and the New York Attorney General's Office. About that pace, Spann says, "That's a 30-year career."

Three and a half years ago, the couple left New York for Bahama, where they own Prodigal Farm, a goat dairy that they hope passes inspection soon. They want to start selling goat cheese at farmers markets in Hillsborough and Raleigh. Their farm will be open to the public as part of the Eastern Triangle Farm Tour this month.

The farm's name is a reference to Spann's returning to Durham, where she grew up. The couple's 96-acre farm is in the same area where her mother's family has lived for generations. Spann attended Northern High School, then graduated from Duke University and Vanderbilt University's law school. Eventually, she ended up in New York practicing law.

After paying off her student loans, Spann bought a five-family Victorian house on the Hudson River. She balanced her crazy work life by renovating the house, apartment by apartment. She says she found the many renovation projects more fulfilling than winning a case in court.

Six years ago, she met Krabbe, who had spent 25 years becoming a general contractor to the very rich. A photo album filled with photos from his contracting jobs looks like a copy of Architectural Digest.

When they decided they were both burned out professionally, the couple decided to move South and become farmers.

Discovering goats

They have moved into a mobile home on the property until they can renovate the farmhouse. They bought old trucks: a hunter green 1939 Ford for him and a teal blue 1955 Chevy for her. After buying a few goats to devour the overgrown brush on the land, they so liked the animals that they decided to become cheese makers. Spann has been experimenting with goat cheese recipes for chevre, bloomy rind cheeses and more.

And so, they began amassing milking equipment for their dairy. Krabbe has overseen or done most of the work on the construction project.

While the couple hope to get married, they put off a wedding until the dairy is operational.

Spann has been jokingly telling friends: Instead of a diamond, "it's my engagement dairy."