About Us – Happy Life Ranch is a family owned and operated farm consisting of a family of 5; Melissa and Gus and our children, Frankie, Niko and Angelina and their pets (because kids and pets). We stepped out in faith after years of dreaming of country life and in 2016 left the suburbs and found 6.ó lovely acres of partially wooded land in Beecher IL. We started out with a handful of guinea fowl who were originally intended for tick control but have now become our favorite healthy, non-GMO fed, free range egg source. Next, we dipped our toes into the adventure of raising chickens which Melissa has decided is her favorite “livestock” so far. We chose Freedom Ranger chickens for their steady growth, strong legs and succulent, fabulous tasting meat with more yellow omega 3 fat and less saturated fat than fast growing breeds. They are also great egg layers. Gus, being the super adventurous type, jumped right into raising pigs and has discovered that he loves the pigs and also the sausage making process. We are currently building a bigger, better indoor/outdoor shelter for the pigs (and all of their feed storage) in order to ensure that they are happy, safe and healthy. We have always desired to be closer to nature and to know exactly where our food comes from, how it lived and even how it…became our food. Part of our “country dream” was also to have enough food to share with others on a greater scale and to be able to say that everything we grow is humanely raised and naturally fed and cared for. While we have already made many great friendships and business partners on this journey, we’re always praying for the abundance to do more for our community. Each of the children are active participants in the everyday chores of caring for animals and we hope that they will each grow to love one aspect or another of farming enough to carry on this new tradition we have been gifted with and maybe even create their own business to make the ranch even happier. It was a culture shock for them at first, but they are each finding something that fits their personalities here; Niko just loves hard-outdoor work, Frankie is cool as long as she doesn’t have to pick up anything alive and Angelina likes bonding with, holding and chasing the egg laying chickens who love to visit with people. We try to approach every aspect of life on the farm from a holistic mindset, so we are conscious of what we put into and on our own bodies and what we allow into our animals and the land around them. We never use artificial fertilizers, herbicides/pesticides, antibiotics or GMO feed. We also love to meet new friends and neighbors, or like-minded folks so give us a call with any questions, pop over and say hi on Facebook or you could even come visit some time. You can find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Happyliferanch/ or feel free to give us a call at 630-877-7718 or email us at info@happyliferanch.com
Philosophy of this CSA: Community Supported Agriculture is a relationship beyond a simple exchange of natural raised produce/meat for cash. Please, as a member, be mindful of the following: A) The farmer relies on income from the CSA to run the farm. B) The farmer feeds, loves and tends to the animals for many months before the member sees them in their shares. Each share represents the work and attention to detail of a handful of dedicated people.
Member responsibilities: To receive the freshest produce/meat possible, it is important that the member pick up their share on their appointed date/time. Rescheduling a pick-up will require at least 48 hours prior notice or a 20% restocking fee will be added to the member’s account.
Contents of CSA packages: Happy Life Ranch determines what cuts of meat/in season produce will be in each CSA box based on availability at the time. We will always ensure that the quantity will meet the agreed upon amounts (approx. 10 pounds of meat per CSA box).
Payments: A minimum of 1 share in advance of payments are required at sign up. Payment plan options available upon request. A credit card will be required on file with all payment plans, recurring credit card payments have a $10 fee added, and a minimum of 1 paid share in advance.
Pickups: Members are responsible for showing up at one of the pick-up locations listed in the agreement. Depending on your pick-up location, date will be agreed upon on this form. Once the shares are delivered to the pick-up location, no changes can be made. If you do not pick up your share, it will be donated unless prior arrangements, 48 hours in advance are made.
Options: We cannot accommodate opting out of specific types of cuts. Member’s receive an additional 10% off any extra a la carte items they wish to purchase/add to their CSA box (48 hour notice is recommended).
Refunds and cancellations
In the event of a member deciding to terminate their CSA agreement with Happy Life Ranch, Happy Life Ranch reserves the right to decide whether to refund any pro-rated shares of the member’s fees.
In the event Happy Life Ranch decides to terminate this agreement due to the failure of a member following their responsibilities contained in this agreement, Happy Life Ranch reserves the right to decide whether to refund any pro-rated shares of the member’s fees.
