Hill 'n' Dale Farm Expands

John Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale Farm near Lexington has expanded north with the purchase of two parcels of land totaling 317 acres. The new section is located about 3 1/2 miles from Hill 'n' Dale proper, and is next to Summer Wind Farm on Iron Works Road in Scott County.

"It was a cattle farm, so it is fresh land," said Sikura. "It will be a multi-purpose facility with mares and foals as well as yearlings on the property. In six weeks we have put up five miles of fence and are building 106 stalls. The six barns will be built to look like old tobacco barns, giving the farm a sense of history. We want to make it modern, but with respect to what has been there.

"There is a well that supplies water and irrigation throughout the farm. Plus, Cane Run Creek runs through the back of the property."

Sikura said that some 400 cherry trees, which are habitats for tent caterpillars believed to be the cause of mare reproductive loss syndrome, have been bulldozed and burned. Other types of trees, including a 300-year-old Birr Oak with a 15-foot circumference, have been left in place, and will be augmented by cluster plantings of trees native to Kentucky.