Building Dreams… Together!
Zach Gibbs
Farmer & Entrepreneur & Decentralization Advocate
A lifelong entrepreneur, Zach is the farmer behind Dry Branch Stock Farm. Dry Branch is the culmination of his agricultural experience, a philosophy of decentralization and a passion for local, high-quality food.
A lover of learning and study, he reveres the wisdom of traditional farming techniques.
Leah Gibbs
Shopkeep & Seeker of Lifestyle Tools for Natural Living
Born to shop-keepers, Leah has always been passionate about retail. Her career led her to zig-zag the country, revitalizing major brands, but her favorite memories were on horseback with her grandfather on a farm in New Mexico.
Now she enjoys the best of both worlds: owning her own shop and living the farm life!
Zach grew up on the family farm where he was taught to work early. He enjoyed caring for livestock, especially cattle and horses. A stockman at heart, he stared breaking colts for the public at 15 and loping horses on the track.
The summer between his sophomore and junior year in high school, he attended the Western School of Horseshoeing in Phoenix. Upon graduation, he started his first business as a farrier. He was 16. He used this business, and work cowboying around Arizona on various ranches and rodeoing on the weekends, to put away a nice nest egg at a young age.
In 2001 he became ranch manager of a 50,000 acre operation in Northern Arizona. The M. Diamond Ranch was known for building a quality cowherd across the state. Here he learned to raise high quality beef, the value of genetics and nutrition, and how to feed calves all the way through finishing. While running the ranch, Zach continued his horse training and farrier business and soon he was able to invest in some property in Sedona, AZ.
When he sold the property, he invested his profit into a new business venture, launching Gibbs Western Wear. The store focused on quality goods for real cowboys and horsemen and developed an exclusive line of handmade boots and belts that held up to hard use, but didn’t break the bank.
Even while running his store, Zach continued his horse training business, now focusing on cutting and cowhorses. His successes continued and he pocketed several cowhorse wins including the Arizona Cutting Horse Futurity in 2006.
He sold the store profitably a few years later and held on as life took him through a few turns, after which Zach found himself in business again.
Oddly enough, this time it was an ice cream shop. This is when he fell in love with the food industry, an industry that would help him generate the financial freedom he sought… the freedom to buy and stock his own farm.
Things tended to grow under Zach’s care and the little ice cream shop was no exception. It expanded into a neighborhood café with the addition of cookies, coffee, and unique smoothies. He started catering parties and events, ultimately leading to the launch of Farmboy American Fare, a coast-to-coast catering operation. At that point, Zach sold the café and focused on the larger catering business and incorporating all types of American Cuisine, including smoked meats.
His goal with the Farmboy brand was to eventually raise everything sold on the menu, but he knew it was going to take a few years to accomplish. “I have always had a knack for anything livestock and food related,” says Zach, “it just comes natural.”
Farmboy American Fare grew and eventually catered major events including the Superbowl, NASCAR, the Indy 500 as well as the nation’s largest music festivals.
In the meantime, in 2015, he met the woman who would later become his wife, his business partner, and his muse… a woman who wanted to leave her own big city career and get back to her small town roots, farm life and working directly with her local community.
They were married in 2022 and began the search for the perfect farmland. They searched across the country and fell in love with Kentucky. They settled in the center of the Commonwealth, invested everything they had to buy farm land in Boyle and Mercer counties, to lease a little additional land, and to establish Dry Branch Stock Farm.
Zach could finally build a true farm-to-family business model, bypassing conventional sales channels and opting for quality above all else and (most importantly) selling directly to customers. Today Zach and Leah raise cattle, hogs, chickens, sheep and turkey on Dry Branch and follow a philosophy of decentralizing the food supply and selling directly to local families.
They believe individuals deserve to know what’s in their food, how it’s raised and to be able to ask questions and get answers about their food so they can feel confident that what they eat is healthy, wholesome, and natural.
“Everything that I have done in my career has led me to this,” says Zach, “this has always been my dream.”
Leah was born in New Mexico into a family fully immersed in retail and laser-focused on customer service. She was a small town girl with parents who owned retail stores and she grew up working in the shops alongside them. It wasn’t just the family business, it was Leah’s passion. “I always loved retail,” she says, “it’s a part of who I am!”
She studied Business Administration and Management at the University of New Mexico before moving to Miami, Fl where she began working for Limited Brands. In a short time, she transitioned from small town to big city girl, climbed the corporate ladder and became the youngest director of their company. It was a fascinating life for a young woman. She flew all over the east coast to successfully turn around underperforming stores and even won a national sales contest for creative thinking and execution of a new product launch.
Always a people person and service oriented, Leah focused on creating an experience for customers in each store that went beyond merely shopping. As a result, customers wanted to come back to over and over. “It’s about having the best team,” she says, “and creating the best time for every customer on every visit.” She coordinated a 13-store launch in southern Florida – from the construction phase to opening the doors.
After that, in 2005, Cache recruited her to order and merchandise for a younger demographic. She worked for Cache for three years and when her brother became a licensee for Desert Steel and launched “Creations of the Desert” in Arizona, she transferred with Cache from the Florida market to the Arizona market to help him grow his business. She left Cache in 2008 to focus exclusively on helping Creations grow.
In 2009, while she was at a livestock and rodeo show in Huston Texas for Creations, she was approached by a representative of Bailey Hat Company, who noticed her Stetson. It was her grandfather’s Stetson and her favorite hat of all time. Leah loves hats and has always been a hat person. Interestingly, hats have played an important role at pivotal moments in her life. This was one of those moments.
Her brother’s business was doing well and she accepted an offer to work for Bailey. Ultimately, she managed three different divisions of the company across five states. In 2015 she was promoted to National Sales Director of Baily Hat Company for all of the United States and Canada. That was the same year when another hat – the one worn by Zach Gibbs and made by a hat competitor – started a conversation that would lead to the partnership of her lifetime. She continued as National Sales Director from 2015 until May of 2022.
In 2022, she and the cowboy-hat wearing Zach Gibbs were married. Wrangler (of blue jean fame) was launching a Watch line around the same time. Wrangler had watched Leah turn Bailey around. (At that time Bailey was the top performing division of the parent company, Bollman Hat Company.) Paradox, a fine watch company, made a deal with Wrangler and Leah worked with them for a little over a year before she made the decision to leave corporate America and pursue her own dreams of opening her own shop and creating the experience she wanted her own customers to enjoy.
“I was so anxious to make this move and launch our storefront!” she said, “but the timing had to be just right.” In 2023, she followed her heart back to a small town to partner with Zach in business, in addition to their partnership in life. The small town they choose was Danville Kentucky and she became a farm girl connecting with her experience on her beloved, Stetson-wearing, grandfather’s farm. It was only after making the move that she discovered that her family had history — through that very grandfather — in nearby Somerset! It was fate. She was meant to be here! She and Zach are working to realize their shared dreams together in Central Kentucky.
Today, she’s putting her considerable talent, experience, and energy into helping to promote their farm and other small businesses in a meaningful way. The Dry Branch Farm Market is the result. Their farm market now has a store front in Danville and a shop-in-shop location in Harrodsburg.
She and Zach invite you to shop local, help support the decentralization of our food supply, and to come experience what they have built. You will have the opportunity to learn about other small, unique businesses and enjoy the products Dry Branch Farm and other amazing entrepreneurs have to offer right here in Central Kentucky!