A pilot by training and a farmer by trade, Chase Larson runs his Kansas operation more like a Fortune 500 company than he does a farm.
“Being able to get outside of what you’re doing every day and hearing other people’s experience is crucial to making a successful company,” says Chase Larson, CEO of Bestifor Farms, which is based in Belleville, Kansas.
The Decision to Make Chase CEO
From regular board meetings to his involvement in peer groups, Chase took over as CEO just over a year ago.
“He was doing a lot of the responsibilities up to that point, as far as negotiations, cropping decisions, and relationships - everything it takes to run a farm. He earned that respect and my feeling the time was right,” says Thayne Larson, Chase’s dad who also now serves as Bestifor board president.
Chase recalls the point his dad decided it was time to fully transition, “He walked in, and actually my mom was there too, and said, ‘You are CEO of all of Bestifor.”
That moment was a surprise in a way, but Chase has always been an integral part of the operation, even buying and brokering loads of hay in college.
“That’s how I really got into it was through logistics and shipping and negotiating when we got into the trucking business,” Larson says.
Today, Bestifor Hay Company and Bestifor Farms are just two of the six businesses that make up the Bestifor family of companies.
“We hired better and better people and provided benefits. We worked off of that model, and we’re still working off that model today. But not only the farm and the hay company, but all the additional companies that we have surrounded that support it,” Thayne says.
Pursuit to Enter Into Pet Food
With 40 employees, 30 of which are full time, each of the Bestifor companies inject values into the overall Bestifor brand, and one of the businesses that’s sprouted within the last decade is a company called Grandpa’s Best.
“We realized we had some really good talent around us being in the hay business for a long time. We said, ‘How hard can it be to start a pet food company?’ And turns out, it’s really hard,” Chase says.
The wild idea to start a pet food company didn’t come from Chase or Thayne. The idea came from Chase’s late wife Celine.
“She came out here and she just got a curious mind,” Thayne says. “She walked the pastures and she was a K-State grad who grew up in California. She said, ‘I wonder what else can eat this grass besides cattle. So, she got seven or eight or 10 different species of grasses, and she sent samples to K-State for research asking what else will eat this? And it came back with rabbits and gerbils.”
They hired a firm to help explain the pet food business, uncovering a $3 billion pet food market worldwide.
“And we said, ‘Well, sure, there’s a piece of that we can find,’” Thayne says.
And they did - a business that’s doubled in sales every year since 2019.
“Chase and Celine, they brought a different side to the operation,” Thayne says. “They showed us there’s more to this than just local and quality for what we’re trying to accomplish as a family. And they have just taken it to another level and put it on steroids. It’s taken off in a whole different direction, and we’re excited about it.”
The Battle Against Cancer
Celine Larson was a light on the farm, in their family and in their community.
“She was someone who was an entrepreneurial spirit,” Larson says. “She enjoyed agriculture.”
In 2017, Celine was diagnosed with cancer. Their four kids were 2, 4, 6 and 8 at the time, and Chase’s focus shifted from farming, to fighting for Celine’s life with treatments in Texas.
“I think the longest stint was like 36 days that we never came back,” Chase says. “My mom took the girls to school every day, got them ready, fed them and took over that role while we were down there fighting cancer.”
On Dec. 9, 2019, a little over two years since she was first diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma, Celine Larson passed away at the age of 35.
“When she passed away, it changed our perspective on what’s important in life,” Chase says. “You rethink what you want to do, what you don’t want to do. But the family support on both sides was unbelievable. And most people think, ‘How do you get through things like that?’ But it these negatives are not negatives.”
Thayne adds, “He hasn’t talked about his faith, but it’s rock solid. He’s just such an inspiration and so dedicated. And that’s part of the balance of his life.”
Water Management Software Built By Farmers
Constantly striving for balance, Chase is also always uncovering new ways to grow. One example is through is latest endeavor, which is an app for real-time water management called VandWater, a company that was built by farmers for farmers.
“We figured out how to write it, got the right coders, hired them and went from concept to that in three months,” Chase says.
Today, VandWater is a fully web-based app, available on any iPhone or Android. It has thousands of wells on the system across three states.
The new ventures are allowing the operation to grow in new ways, all while not losing sight of their roots, which is the farm. Bestifor Farms has managed to double in size over the last 16 years - growing to 12,000 acres today.
Sixth Generation Farm With Sights Set on the Future
And Chase says this sixth-generation farm isn’t finished growing yet.
“We’re very entrepreneurial driven,” Chase says. “We’re not afraid to fail, not to figure out a mistake here or there. You’re not going to grow without constant change and being outside of your borders.”
Chase’s constant hunger to find value, while not losing sight of the fact quality is their legacy here, makes Chase Larson a finalist for 2025 Top Producer of the Year.
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