Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Hansen.
Hi Chelsea, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
We are Sasse Lake Farms, a.k.a SLF Angus Beef. We are two (cousin) farm families in southern Minnesota raising black angus beef for direct to consumer sales. What does that mean? It means our beef is raised on our family farm, processed locally and then sold directly to families in our community and/or shipped across the nation to your doorstep. My name is Chelsea and I am one of the farm wives that make up this team of farm families and I’d love to share our farm story with you!
It’s been a wild ride getting to this place! By wild I mean fun, challenging, and crazy coupled with a whole lot of hard work. My husband, Joel, and his cousin, Erik, are 5th generation crop farmers. A few years ago when Erik graduated from SDSU and got engaged to his now wife, Jessica, the guys began talking of ways to expand the farm. Since land is difficult to acquire (expensive and highly sought after), they turned their attention to exploring new ways to utilize the land we already owned. This is where cattle entered the conversation.
Imagine, if you will, Joel coming home to his 8.5 month pregnant wife (me) and launching the idea of adding cattle to our farm with “only about 8-10 pregnant cows and one bull.” His exact words. A month later we had 50 pregnant cows and a bull. Yes, you read that right. Fifty. This is the part of the story that I like to say cattle fever took over. It seems to have the same effect as gold fever; there could always be more!
We not only dove into cattle, we dropped hook, line and sinker. Hi ho, Silver! On top of it all, shortly after we brought the cattle home, Co-vid 19 hit. Now we were dealing with an ever changing market in unknown territory. But, something really amazing happened: for the first time in a long time, as food production became a new focus across the nation, people began asking where their food came from and if they could personally connect with their farmers. I think we got a little glimmer of fifty years ago when communities were more connected and people knew their farmers. It was an amazing time for us to connect with people and share our story. Throughout 2020 to present day, we have met so many amazing people and have great conversations about how we raise our beef. Through the modern tools of social media like Instagram, Facebook and a website, we have been able to actually show people how we care for our animals, what they are fed, and who we are as farm families.
It hasn’t been easy, and it’s taken all of our talents and hard work to get here, but we remain fully invested in serving and building our farm community by providing something that is good: high quality food.
Our families are also growing alongside our business! Joel and I have two little farm boys, Asher (5) and Elias (3). Erik and Jesscia recently welcomed Klint (3 months) to their family. It’s an amazing gift to raise our children in this life caring for land, cattle, and people.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Building this business has definitely had its challenges, but nothing worth doing is easy. From the beginning we knew that we wanted to offer people high quality food that is easily accessible, trustworthy and dependable. We also wanted every step of the process to be something we can stand behind. That means not cutting corners while putting the extra time and care into the process. We’ve all had to grow in our individual skills and as a team. Some of us focus more on daily cattle care, some on crops and finances, and some on marketing and customer care. When we combine our unique talents and go the extra mile, we truly have something good to offer others. Like I said before, it’s not easy, but it’s worth it! We all bring something to the table and the more we allow one another to flourish in their individual roles, the stronger we are as a team.
Daily challenges can look anything like the cows getting out (IYKYK), helping a Mama cow give birth, making large financial decisions, and making sure we are communicating our story well. It’s a multi-faceted business that involves people, beef, animals, and land.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
A little background on each of us:
Erik graduated from SDSU with an Ag degree. He manages cattle care, has a keen intuition with animals that keeps the herd healthy and happy, and invests a lot of time in research and development to ensure we are incorporating the best animal care practices.
Jessica graduated from Bethany with her nursing degree. When she’s not working her full-time nursing job, she is helping Erik with cattle care and taking care of their new baby boy, Klint.
Joel graduated from the University of Minnesota with an Ag degree. Joel specializes in crops, forage and soil health. He also manages the accounting for SLF and assists Erik in cattle care.
Chelsea graduated from Mankato State University with a music degree. She brings her love for the arts and people to marketing for SLF, providing customer care, and teaching customers about the cuts of beef and how to cook them. Joel and Chelsea have two farm boys, Asher and Elias.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
If you’d like to watch our farm stories and learn more about us, you can find us on Instagram and Facebook at: slfangusbeef. To sign up for our newsletter, purchase our beef and read more about us, visit our website: www.slfangus.com. Contact us at: slfangus@gmail.com.
We provide beef year round with beef shares (1/8, 1/4, 1/2 and whole) and small bundles (10-25lb boxes). Bundles can be picked up locally or shipped across the US.
During the warm months, you can visit us on our farm to shop our beef or sign up for cattle tours! Shop hours and cattle tour dates are updated on Facebook, our website and emailed through our newsletter. 2022 dates coming soon!
Beef info:
– Black Angus
– Pasture raised, grain finished
– No hormones or additives
– Bred and raised on our family farm
Contact Info:
- Email: slfangus@gmail.com
- Website: www.slfangus.com
- Instagram: slfangusbeef
- Facebook: slfangusbeef
Image Credits
Chelsea Hansen
