Life on the farm with Texans corner Steven Nelson: ‘This is my peace’

MONTGOMERY – Walking through the tall grass at his farm alongside his miniature horse, Dusty, Steven Nelson shakes a bag of mineral loudly and repeatedly enough to draw a crowd.

Several dozen sheep soon surround the Texans starting cornerback, making a lot of noise and bringing a smile to his face as he tends to the herd at his livestock farm.

Nelson Farms is a way of life for the veteran NFL player. That involves a passion for nature, the farm lifestyle, the animals, including a few Black Angus cattle who live there, and growing a thriving business that requires an ultra-detailed strategy built around patience, planning and caring.

Watch ‘Life on the Farm with Texans corner Steven Nelson’ Monday at 6:30 p.m. in the KPRC 2+ livestream player below:

Except for when the sheep are making their presence known, the occasional feisty moments for Dusty, his 3-year-old daughter’s favorite pet, and the cows chiming in, it’s quiet.

“This is my peace,” Nelson told KPRC 2 during a tour of his sprawling acreage. “You don’t hear anything, for the most part. When I’m out here, it’s peaceful. I enjoy it. I don’t look at it as work. It’s therapeutic. I enjoy the scenery.

“It’s awesome, man. This is pretty much what I do outside of my day job. It’s been a fun experience. It keeps me busy. This is what I like to do. I’m going to take you guys around and show you my day-to-day.”

There are parallels between football and farming. Neither profession comes easily. Both require a strong work ethic and a foundation of a desire to do something great.

“It’s about patience,” Nelson said. “Things might not go the way you thing at first. The timing might not be suitable. You need a little patience and perseverance when you’re farming. Things do happen. Animals die. They get sick, things like that.

“Sometimes, they can escape. It’s about having perseverance, just like in football when things get tough. It is not a get-rich quick kind of thing, but there’s definitely a market for it. Whenever you’re in the livestock business, people have to eat. It’s about finding that right niche and it can be really good.”

Dusty runs a lap around the cattle, sending them into retreat. He’s a gentle, but active horse. And Nelson’s daughter is his friend.

“My daughter loves it,” Nelson said. “She wants to be out here all the time with me.”

Nelson, 30, isn’t big on saddling up on a horse, though.

“You won’t see me riding around on a horse, I’m not a real horse guy,” Nelson said. “I’m actually afraid of the big horses. They’re a little intimidating. I’ve watched the videos of people being kicked I’ve never been kicked.

“I don’t want it to happen. Not Dusty, Dusty will just nibble on you. He might knock you over. He’s good. Dusty, man, he’s a fan favorite.”

The sheep seem disappointed as Nelson shakes an empty bag. They were hoping for some food and soon realize that’s not happening today.

The noise is deafening as the sheep socialize and communicate their traditional sounds to anyone who will listen to them.

“They’re just hanging out right now,” Nelson said. “The good thing about sheep is they’re herd animals. They all follow. Hey, guys, what’s up? They’re friendly.

“I haven’t named them yet. They’re harmless. They’ll be your friend, if you have food. You see how close they are to us right now.”

Nelson and his wife, Monica, launched Nelson Farms to build a sustainable lifestyle. They want to educate the community about sound farming practices and provide a fun space for educational and recreation family events.

A former Kansas City Chiefs third-round draft pick from Oregon State, Nelson is entering his ninth NFL season. He joined the Texans last year after previous stints with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles. Nelson got the idea to purchase a farm during the height of the pandemic.

It was an idea born out of concerns about whether there was enough food to go around as grocery prices skyrocketed.

“I kind of got my mind working about getting into the livestock business,” Nelson said. “Back during the pandemic, everyone was a little scared and worried about health and things crashing and food being scarce. That was a big motivator for me to get some land and get into the business.”

There was another appeal about farming and the rancher’s life for Nelson. That centered around Nelson getting hooked on watching the popular neo-Western television program: “Yellowstone.”

Nelson has seen every episode of the five-season show created by Taylor Sheridan that stars Kevin Costner and follows the drama along the shared borders of the Yellowstone Ranch, an Indian reservation, Yellowstone National Park and land developers. Nelson has watched the prequel spin-off series, 1883.

“When I have my spare time, I do like watching the show,” Nelson said. “I’ve done a lot of research. I got into it when the pandemic hit. I was very interested. I can attest to the Yellowstone series. That was kind of a motivator for me. I really like the show.”

Besides the animal sanctuary Nelson also owns and supports, the core of the business is raising livestock intended for sale.

Like a football playbook, that involves a strategy. Before he could get involved in the business, Nelson educated himself on everything that went into raising livestock.

A huge key: having enough land with healthy grass and a water source to maintain the sheep’s health.

“There has been two or three years of research before I took that leap of faith to step out on a ledge and get started and not being afraid to follow your dream,” Nelson said. “Once I started, it took me a good month to figure out what I wanted to do with the sheep with the rotational grazing and what I needed as far as infrastructure.

“This electric fence is charged with solar power to keep the sheep in and keep predators out. With smaller livestock, you’re going to have coyotes and you have to have the means to protect your animals.”

That means more than the fence, though. It’s about protecting the animal from parasites. They have to keep them moving around.

“That’s the hardest thing,” Nelson said. “They call it rotational grazing. We move them to a different area. It’s a little tedious work. The sheep, they need some mineral. You don’t have to feed them much. That’s a good thing about having a lot of land and green pasture. You’re just feeding them grass. Health-wise, as long as you have mineral and are moving them strategically to make sure they’re not eating where they defecate, you’ll have a healthy product.

“Why I got into the sheep business is their gestation period is very fast. You’re talking about five months. Instead of having one baby like cattle do every year, they have four every five months. They have wins. You can get about four lambs yield per adult female. That’s really why I got into it. You need a lot of land for cattle, and they eat nonstop.”

The plan for the cattle: breeding.

“We’re going to have some Wagyu beef moving soon in the future,” Nelson said.

Lamb chops, lamb lollipops and ground lamb are extremely popular.

And Nelson Farms has embraced that concept along with the appeal of the quality of their meat.

Nelson recently provided the ground beef for a meal at the Texans cafeteria at NRG Stadium. On Friday, the team’s chefs prepared a meal of lamb shawarma, a popular Middle Eastern dish of meat cut into thin slices.

“They’re going to be making some lamb shawarma and sandwiches,” Nelson said. “They do a great job there at the Texans with all of the food we get. I saw an opportunity to offer what I have here.

“I’m local and people can actually see what they’re getting. You guys are the first ones from Houston that have been out here, appreciate you guys. I wanted you guys to be able to come out here and see it. This is an extension of Nelson Farms, raising grass-fed lamb on the pasture.”

Nelson grew up feeding his family’s chickens. Gardening was another avenue he enjoyed.

Today, he has several chickens to produce eggs. Some of the chickens have become his daughter’s pets.

And farming is a major undertaking.

“I had a general introduction to it,” he said. “It wasn’t totally new. I was going into it on a larger scale. Piggybacking off of that, it’s about having that routine and schedule. I visit here two or three times a week.

“If I can’t make the time, I have someone here to help me. They pretty much know my system. If this isn’t your primary job and you don’t have help, I wouldn’t advise going into it.

Growing up in Georgia, Nelson became accustomed to living off the land. He has applied that as an avid hunter. He’s a bow-and-arrow man, mostly hunting for deer.

“I like to think of it as an art,” Nelson said. “It’s not as easy as what people might think. It takes a lot of patience. There’s a lot of failure. You’ve got to be pinpoint accurate. It’s a challenge, like golf.”

Whether it’s football or farming, Nelson takes everything seriously. It’s about enjoying his life, and living it on his terms with his family.

“This is my ninth year in the NFL, so I have a pretty good idea of what I’m doing,” Nelson said. “I’ve kind of mastered that. This is totally different from what I’m used to doing. It takes a team. It takes learning eveyr day and soaking up as much knowledge as possible so I can run a successful business.

“You’ve got to have a passion for it. You’ve got to like animals. You’ve got to like the great outdoors. Myself, personally, I like animals. I spend more time outside than I do in my house.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com