In its present day, Chapp Cattles main focus is raising and breeding Hereford/Angus beef cattle. If you go back to the very beginning, way before Chapp Cattle, the farm located in the rurals of Oak Park - Minnesota, was originally purchased by two brothers, Erick and Arvid Dahlstrom back in 1921. On the farm lived the two brothers and their sister Seigrid. The brothers began dairy farming and rais
ing hogs, and their sister Seigrid loved raising her chickens. Neither of the siblings married or had children but their extended families remained close to them. So when it came time, they sold the farm to their nephew Donald Dahlstrom in 1973. Before purchasing the farm in Oak Park from his uncles, Don picked up where his father left off by dairy farming on the original family farm located just a few files away outside of Estes Brook. This is where Don and his wife Harriet raised a family, along with crops, and began dairy farming just like his father before him. Eventually, when milk prices were very low, he sold his dairy herd and started raising beef cattle and began working full time outside of the farm to support the family. After buying the farm from his uncles, Don used the land for crop farming and occasionally housed cattle in the original buildings. The three siblings of course lived out their capable years in the house they called "home". Donald and his wife Harriet had 4 children together. When Don retired from farming, his son Dean followed in his footsteps and once more started up Dahlstrom Dairy on the original Dahlstrom homestead outside of Estes Brook. The land surrounding Erick and Arvids outside of Oak Park, continued to be used for crops and the buildings for housing cattle. Forward to the 1980s when Erick and Arvids became known as "Chapp land". Don and Harriets daughter, Donna, married her husband Carl .. and you guessed it, his last name is "Chapp". The couple moved onto the farm, at first living in the original house that was once home to Erick, Arvid, and Seigrid. They made the farm their home, started their family and put many years, lots of sweat, and of course many updates into the land. After standing for nearly 100 years, both the house and main barn needed replacing, so in time a new home for their family and a new home for the animals was built. While Carl raised beef cattle and occasionally a few pigs for their two young boys, Dean (his brother inlaw) continued to produce crops around the family farm. Carl and Donna's sons (grandsons of Donald and great great nephews to Erick, Arvid, and Seigrid), Alex and Andy, grew up around their home farm, helping out whenever needed. After working full time and running the farm for many years, Carl decided it was time for a well deserved break. So in 2007 he retired from farming and his youngest son, Alex, took over the family farm. At the time starting out small with a few head of cattle from his dads beef herd. Like his dad and many small time farmers, Alex worked full time while farming. Slowly growing into something bigger, in this case adding a small hay field to produce some of its own hay and investing into its first piece of machinery. On the farm was a smaller building, dating back to Erick and Arvids time which was used for pigs, and for Carl and Alex also served its purpose for cattle. In the fall of 2015 Alex decided it was time to add more space for the herd. So after taking down an already dilapidated near century old pig shed, a bigger 3 sided loafing barn was put in its place. Forward to more present days where the Chapps continue. In November 2015, shortly after building the loafing shed, Alex met his wife (then girlfriend) Tiah. And in 2018 they were married and continue to work side by side on the farm. In 2020 the farm expanded, adding machinery along with hogs and chickens; getting back to its original roots from the time of Erick, Arvid, and Seigrid. Present day in 2021, the seasons continue! Spring is here and everything is anxiously awaiting new beginnings! Cows are ready to have their calves and we are waiting for our busy season! It seems like theres never really 4 seasons on the farm in Minnesota. Its winter and summer, and summer is when its not winter :D and when everything gets done, or seems to need to get done.. :D Besides "work work", there's: planting, spreading, calving, weaning, harvesting, vetting, breeding, etc etc. :) and while at times it may get stressful, we wouldnt have it any other way. :D
If you've made it this far, a great big THANK YOU to you! Here at Chapp Cattle, our goal is not only to bring farm to table, but we also want to inspire, educate, and just share the love we have for farming with you! So whatever you've come to our page for, we hope you've left with a smile, an idea, or something new to tell! :D Peace and Love
