Family History
The Slagel family has been raising livestock in central Illinois for generations. The farmstead we currently operate (LouisJohn Slagel, my wife Leslie and our children: Branson, Colton, Amandrea, Declan, Cainan, and Harlan) is only a mile away from the farm where our great-great grandfather settled in 1888. Sam Slagel purchased the original farm on November 1st, 1888, and the Slagel family has raised livestock there ever since. My dad, Dennis, my mom, and one of my younger brothers live and work on a farmstead about five miles from us. My brother Logan, his wife Rachel, and their two children, Bodee and Gloria, live on a farmstead about a mile from us. We all work together to run a small, diversified farm raising hogs, cattle, sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, rabbits, corn, soybeans, hay, and pumpkins. Over the generations, instead of modernizing all aspects of the operation, we concentrated on operating a smaller scale farm which focused more on quality rather than mass production. We control every aspect of our operation from breeding and genetics to the feed rations fed to the livestock. By combining the correct components, we can present you with consistent, high quality, wholesome meat products all the time.
Family Operation
LouisJohn and Leslie Slagel, along with Logan and Rachel Slagel, are the fifth generation of Slagels who make their living farming in central Illinois. Between the two of us, we run the farm and operate the meat processing and sales area of our family operation. We work hand in hand with other members of our family who are involved in the day-to-day operations on the farm. Livestock require a very large time investment and are cared for by a number of family members.
We all work long hours throughout the day to give our animals the best of care. Our farm is operated similar to when our grandparents were farming, which means instead of building large high-tech factory farms, we still raise our livestock the good old-fashioned way which results in wholesome, quality products for your family to enjoy.
Butcher Shop
Following college graduation by LouisJohn, Slagel Family Meats Inc. was started as a way to take our products from the farm to the consumer. Slagel Family Meats is a family owned and operated livestock slaughter plant and processing facility which was opened in October 2007. This addition to our family operation made our meat sales opportunities much greater. Now instead of relying on an outside party to meet our processing needs, we can more efficiently meet the needs of all our customers in a timely manner. Slagel Family Meats is a retail butcher shop which is open six days a week offering our products to the public. The facility also serves as a processing facility to prepare all our meat products which are delivered to restaurants on a weekly basis.
At Slagel Family Meats, we pride ourselves in the quality of our work. Every carcass is broke down by hand into primal cuts which are then carefully cut into the desired steaks, roasts, and chops our customers’ request. A variety of homemade sausages, burgers, and patties are produced here as well.
Our USDA inspected kill floor is used to harvest our livestock in a very safe and humane manner. In addition to processing our own meat products, the facility is used to do custom processing for other local farmers who raise livestock for their own use.
The meat products at Slagel Family Meats are also processed naturally. All the meat products are delivered fresh within a few days of processing or fresh frozen in our blast freezer to ensure the product retains the highest level of quality without using artificial additives or preservatives. Slagel Family Meats is located about five miles from Slagel Family Farm which helps keep our livestock calm and relaxed due to such a short amount of time in transit.
Going Green
At Slagel Family Farm, we also strive to do what is good for the environment. The manure from our livestock is composted and used as all natural fertilizer in near-by fields for raising crops. In addition, while delivering our products to restaurants in Chicago, we pick up used cooking oil which is processed into bio diesel and used to operate our meat delivery truck and some of our farm equipment. Furthermore, our processing facility is one of very few in the state with an EPA licensed composting facility which can be used to compost all the waste product from our slaughter plant and butcher shop.
Slagel Family Farm meat products are a wonderful option for customers looking for a quality, local product which leaves very little carbon footprint behind.
