Jeff and Lory Jensen only started raising beef to fill their table, but a couple of cows led to a couple more, and then to pigs, goats, chickens, and eventually to the Bull Mountain Farmer’s Market, where their meat and eggs are now weekly staples.
When the couple behind Jensen Mini Farm moved to Tualatin from Moses Lake, Washington, with Jeff’s three children in 2018, they didn’t plan to raise livestock, though both grew up with farming.
“We were used to farm fresh,” Jeff said. “Seeing all the stuff in the news (about factory-raised animals), I was on the verge of ‘do I go vegan or do I raise it myself?’ Even good quality meat from the store doesn’t mean the animal was raised ethically or humanly or without or homes or without a bunch of garbage feed.”
Soon after they began raising the meat they wanted to eat – initially just grass-fed mini cows grazed for two years before slaughter – they started selling their surplus to neighbors and colleagues.
“I put a sign out front,” Lory said. “(People) would stop by. They’d fill out a little form, and I’d have meat ready for them to come pick up, mostly coworkers and friends.”
They added Bull Mountain Farmers Market to their repertoire in 2023, then expanded this summer to a second weekly location, Wilsonville’s Yesteryear Market, bringing a full range of beef, pork, and poultry cuts, while continuing to grow farm-direct sales.
Eventually, the couple plans to add code-locked storage freezers to the farmstand shed for easy anytime pick-ups.
Their motto: from pasture to plate reflects the guiding value that every animal deserves a quality life, a pasture to roam, and the time it takes to grow slowly. No bulking up quickly with hormones to put them on the table faster.
The heart of Jensen Mini Farm is just under four acres sloping down from their Southwest Hazelbook Road home through pastures and woods to the Tualatin River. Chickens and a couple of turkeys wander around the yard, easily capable of popping under a fence that keeps the goats, cows and pigs secured in the pastures.
As sales and herd sizes have grown, so have their land needs. They lease two adjacent acres from a neighbor and another 22 in West Linn, where most of the cattle are now kept.
“We just expanded (to West Linn) this year so we can grow our beef herd,” Jeff said. “All the moms and the babies are out there. We bring them back here when they’re about 18 months so we can grain them and finish them, because we believe in adding grain to their diet. It makes them tasty.”
The animals eat a hormone-free, non-GMO diet and are allowed to grow slowly. They outlive most factory-raised livestock as they reach full size. For the cow, that’s about two years, and for the pigs, it’s 12-14 months.
“We have a breed that raises a lot slower than the standard hog,” Jeff said. “Commerical pigs are about 6-8 months, but we are raising a Mangalitsa-Herford cross, so they’re more of a heritage breed.”
The Mangalitsa, a curly-haired pig from Hungary, was trending a few years ago when Chef Gordon Ramsey sought them for his restaurants.
The fervor died down, but the flavor didn’t.
“We have a hard time selling the Mangalitsa piglets because people don’t really know what they are,” Lory said.
Their meat is rich marbled red, higher in Omega-3’s than most fish.
“It’s on par with salmon,” Jeff said. “It’s a phenomenal animal.
Though the Mini Farm has outgrown the Southwest Hazelbrook Road homestead, and product sales have multiplied from about $10,000 three years ago to a projected $60,000 plus for 2024, it remains a part-time endeavor. The couple care for the animals with help from their two teenage boys while maintaining day jobs.
Lory is a Mechanical Engineer at Biamp, a local firm that makes electronics and outfits conference rooms for audio-visual.
The boys, 18-year-old Dakota and 15-year-old Sam, spend about an hour on the morning farm chores. Dakota, who graduated from Tualatin High School last spring, also runs the farm’s egg operation. The chickens are his.
Lory and Jeff take over the daily choirs during summer and holidays when the kids stay with their mother in Washington.
Their goal is to grow the operation big enough to replace Jeff’s income so that he can shift to full-time farming.
At last count, the cattle herd numbered about 40 – 16 cows and their calves in West Linn, plus two bulls and 15 yearlings in Tualatin, where they also house two breeding boars, 21 piglets, chickens, turkeys, goats, a couple of pet rabbits and one very special pet cow named Vader that Lory hand-raised for months after his mother rejected him.
“I (bottle) fed him every day, three times a day, so he thinks I’m his mom,” she said.
They’re looking to expand again this fall to a 65-acre property in Sheridan. The additional location would give them space to grow the cattle herd, and a place for their animals to winter when the lower pastures flood.
“We’re in a flood plain here, so wintering is really, really hard,” Lory said. “That’s our biggest struggle.”
But, no matter where the herd is kept, direct purchase pick-ups will remain at their home on Southwest Hazelbrook Road, where people are welcome to visit.
“People can come see the animals, see where they live,” Jeff said. “We’re not trying to hide anything about our operation. You should be able to come see where your meat is raised.”
Jensen Mini Farm is located at 11235 SW Hazelbrook Rd. in Tualatin. Visit them online at jensenminifarm.com to see a full menu of current offerings, order, and schedule pick-up. You can also visit the Bull Mountain Farmers Market at 14389 SW Pacific Hwy. in Tigard. The Market is open Saturday and Sunday through October, from 9 – 2:00 p.m.
