Rural Women Cultivating a Life They Love: An Interview with Chelsey Erdmann
"... the most rewarding aspect of working with kids is living the magic of this life through their eyes."
This month’s interview is taking us to North Dakota. Chelsey’s Instagram handle is “Oh That’s Chelsey,” and that’s what I think of whenever I see one of her posts come across my page, “Oh, That’s Chelsey!”
She’s the mom of three little kids, who she often brings with her to the field each day. I’ll admit, when I see her doing the daily work of farming with her young kids in tow, I don’t know how she does it. And we talked a bit about that in her interview.
Chelsey grew up in agriculture, her path taking her into corporate farming before coming back to her family farm full-time. Today, she shares their farm story with thousands of people on IG.
Without further ado, here’s my interview with Chelsey.
Chelsey, you grew up in agriculture and are raising the 7th generation on your family farm. Did you always know you wanted to stay in agriculture? Did that change over the years?
I was very fortunate growing up. My parents made it clear to my brothers and me that there would be room for all of us, if we wanted, at the farm. Even though they were clear, I never felt the clarity of what I wanted my future to be. I knew I wanted to be involved in agriculture, but there was never a particular thing I knew I wanted to pursue. With that in mind, I attended NDSU to major in agriculture economics and received my bachelor's degree in 2.5 years. Still, no closer to finding clarity on my future, I worked through the pros and cons of going to work for an ag lending firm or creating a data department with a John Deere dealer group. I chose the latter, and for the next four years, I built and scaled a department at the dealership. It was the most incredible career ladder-climbing experience, where I could sit in incredibly important rooms with remarkably influential people. It cannot be overstated how great that opportunity was for me, and I'm forever grateful for my time spent there and the lessons I'm carrying with me.
After building for a few years, I felt the pull to build upon something that started with my family and continued with my family. While working my job, I also expanded my cow herd at the farm and worked with my family at the farm daily. When my grandparents decided to retire, I was able to transition to farming and ranching full-time, where I've been since the spring of 2018.
It’s easy to make assumptions or have ideas of what we think raising kids will be like—before having kids. But as moms now, we know things change when the babies are born! Did you know you wanted your kids to tag along while you work? Or did that happen naturally over time? What are the hardest and best parts of working with your kids?
Goodness, how different raising kids is from what I expected! Full disclaimer: I didn't have many expectations because I didn't put copious amounts of thought into how it would be. However, I did not account for how much time kids would take. For the first time in my life, I could not keep up with saying yes. Staying up later and getting up earlier no longer afforded me the necessary time buffer to complete the to-do list. Having kids showed me what truly tapped out really meant. As for bringing the kids along to the farm, I didn't have a plan. When my first kid was born, I had the loose idea of bringing him along for the first year and then finding a daycare. Perhaps I had heard it was easier to find a daycare opening after a child is a year old, and I thought I could manage the first year?
Again, not much thought was put into the planning, which is ironic because I'm a planner! It was an incredibly traumatic delivery and grueling recovery, so I didn't return to the farm with my first kid until he was five weeks old. We eased back into it together and kept coming daily without ever consulting with anyone at the farm about the logistics of bringing a baby to work. I literally showed up to work with a baby and never talked to anyone about it.
Calving started, and we woke up for the 4 a.m. feeding with the baby, then took off on our 40-minute drive to the farm to do the early morning check. We made it through the year and realized it was hard but manageable. At the time, the farm had a crew of my parents, grandparents, two brothers, and employees, plus my husband Kyle was here much more during calving. We all worked together as a village to pass the baby around to the safest and most efficient working space. It's truly only this effective because of the incredible village we have—huge shoutout to them!
After finding our rhythm, I appreciated the life we could give these kids. The hands-on learning, the time spent with family, and the ability to come and go on our time versus a daycare, so I kept bringing kids. It's gotten harder now as our child-to-adult ratio has shifted, and we can't have them all in a backpack to tag along on our time, but I'm forever grateful to be doing it the hard way. The jury is still out if everyone else feels the same way!
Hands down, the most rewarding aspect of working with kids is living the magic of this life through their eyes. Watching them truly understand and deeply comprehend everything around them is so special. When my first was newly two and only communicating with minimal words, he was able to help me troubleshoot how to get the skid steer attachment on the skid steer. He had done it many more times with my dad than I had. I vividly remember that moment and realizing how much children are truly absorbing. How much we are giving them by allowing them to be in the thick of it with us.
Time and efficiency are difficult for me to juggle. It's hard to slow down to allow them time to help. It's hard to be part of a family operation and feel like the anchor holding us all back on efficiency. It's hard to mentally keep up with children all day while also needing to be mentally engaged in the work. It's an incredible amount of work to do it this way, yet I keep showing up because it feels right to raise them this way.
I’ve titled this interview series Rural Women Cultivating a Life They Love. How are you cultivating a life you love? How do you find joy in the challenging seasons?
I'm still in the cultivating phase and a ways off from reaping what has been sown in this life. From a 30,000-foot view, this life is rewarding and challenging in the best of ways, and I appreciate it greatly. On a micro level, I'm still figuring out exactly how to make it work efficiently. How to create a rhythm that is sustainable for all of us.
We're currently building a new yard that will bring us eight miles from the farm rather than 35 miles, which I'm hopeful will save us time for a less rushed life. With all of that said, we aren't waiting for the next milestone or the next anything to find joy or be happy. We look for the good every day, the good in every challenge, and the good in each situation.
Perhaps this changes as kids grow and we become more established, but for now, everything is hard, and we're grateful for all of it. We're making the most of our circumstances every inch of the way because, honestly, it feels like we've made survival mode into regular operating mode.
A life in agriculture has shown me that there will always be hard; it's my choice if I treat it as hard or as an opportunity.
What’s something you wish consumers knew about raising food and working in agriculture?
Food comes from families. Families like ours. I wish they knew us. I wish they understood how much we care, how hard we try, and that we do our best with the resources and circumstances we're dealing with. I wish we could all be friends, true friends, so they could know us in order to see the morals and values of our communities. I wish they could see that food comes from so many more families than growers. It's the input suppliers, elevators, brokers, bankers, agronomists, veterinarians, nutritionists, processors, truckers, and more that make this all happen. This agriculture industry is a community. We're a family, all doing this together. We are doing it because we love the life, love the legacy that was started before us, see opportunity, and enjoy the challenge. We're happy to be here doing this.
What would you tell a rural woman just starting out?
I'm cheering for you. Agriculture is a special place, and I'm so glad you're here to be a part of it. We're here because of the women who came before us and started the trail. Now, it's our turn to carry the torch for the next generation of women ready to embrace the opportunity.
Chelsey Erdmann is a 6th generation farmer and rancher working alongside her family in central North Dakota. They raise crops and cattle along with three kids who are immersed in the work with the village daily. Chelsey shares her perspective as a heart project online in an effort to share the specialness of agriculture while also finding community amidst the schedule this life brings.