Our Vision
To create quality, locally raised beef, while engaging in responsible land management practices and maintaining the well-being of our animals.
One of our long-term goals since embarking on our farming adventure has been to one day share our beef with others.
Where We Began
In 2009 the opportunity to move back to the family farm arose and we jumped at it. We began building our cattle herd, since Don (Erin’s Dad) was down to about 20 cows left after reducing his herd over time. Before we moved home, people would ask him why he still had cows around at his age, and he would say, “Erin likes the cows.”
Our dream has been to share our beef with others.
Building our Herd
We purchased our first Speckle Park bull in 2011 and looked forward to our first round of calves in 2012. How quickly more than 10 years can go by! Our first registered purebred Speckle Park cow arrived on the farm in the fall of 2012.
For the past 5 years we have been growing our family, our farm, and our Speckle Park herd.
Why Speckle Park?
The Speckle Park breed was developed in Canada. Feed efficiency is one of their leading traits, which means it takes less resources to raise them. From both a production and sustainability standpoint, this is important to us.
Speckle Park cattle are also known for producing high quality meat. We are proud of the quality of meat we have been raising and are looking forward to sharing it with you.
Work In Progress
Our steady model has been as cow-calf producers, alongside growing crops and hay. We grow and graze within 10 miles of home and raise the majority of our cattle feed ourselves.
We love raising our own food, whether it is our own meat, eggs, or vegetables from the garden. Our favorite meals are when everything on the plate was tended by our own hands.
The Farmers
Today, our operation is run by Erin & Casey Murphy-Thompson, with help from Lorraine Thompson (Erin’s Mom). We have four small girls, who are an active part of our farm life.
While farming can have its own particular heartbreak, we are grateful for the lifestyle it allows us to have: time with our kids and the ability to build our life with our own hands. While we loved the farm before our girls came along, they have added purpose and drive to our endeavors.
From Our Table to Yours
As the cost of beef has risen in the store in the past few years, alongside realizing how fortunate we are to have access to high quality beef, we began the process of turning a dream into a plan of action.
We have cycled through a few different versions of how to make our beef available, but we are ecstatic to now have our freezer trailer set up and approved by AHS in order to provide increased access to our home-grown freezer beef!
Our Name
Erin & Casey Murphy-Thompson and Donald & Lorraine Thompson began a partnership in 2013. This was part of an over-arching succession plan to carry on our family farm to the 4th generation.
Our partnership name was Thompson Farm WP. The WP is for Wild Prairie Speckle Park, our purebred herd name.
Donald passed away in 2019 and we still operate under this partnership name to honour everything he built before us. We are proud of the hard work of all the generations that came before us and recognize that we are the recipients of great privilege to be here and raise our family.
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
Where We Are Going
We are committed to learning and growing. We are seeking out ways to create efficiencies, engage with responsible land management strategies, and provide a healthy life for our animals.
We acknowledge that we are on Treaty 6 Territory, the ancestral and traditional territory of the Cree, Dene, Blackfoot, Saulteaux, Nakota Sioux, as well as the Metis. We respect and acknowledge the long history of the land we exist upon, that reaches back beyond European colonization.