MBC Team Winter 2023 16:9

The People Behind the Plate With the Thompsons

Baleigh Peterson | September 30, 2024

Welcome back to “The People Behind the Plate”, where I talk with beef producers to learn more about their operation, the breed they raise, and even what beef cut is their favorite. I will also dive into facts about the breed each producer raises and what makes it an ideal breed.

For our last feature of the summer, we are visiting with Jake Thompson, who, along with his brother, operates Four Hill Farms by Barnesville, Minnesota. “We run about 3,000 acres of crop land and calve out about 220 cow/calf pairs with a commercial herd and a registered black angus herd,” Jake says. When Jake was much younger, his family started with dairy cattle, but eventually transitioned into a fall-calving beef herd, which has now developed into the registered herd they have today. After getting a handle on developing their registered herd, they started running a bull sale eight years ago and have had a sale each year since. 

The Thompson Family

When Jake talks about the history of their farm he says “My dad and grandpa milked the dairy cattle and ran the dairy operation. When it was time for us to take over the farm, my brother and I appreciated the work my dad did but didn’t see a future with the dairy operation.” He continues, “When my wife and I had our first kid, we made the decision to switch to beef cattle. We either needed to make an investment on robotic milkers for the dairy herd to continue to succeed or we needed to switch to beef. We saw the opportunity to switch and took it.” 


Jake explains that they chose Black Angus as a primary breed in their herd because they are great mothers. They wanted to raise the best product from calving to harvesting and overall, felt that Black Angus would do just that. 


The future of Four Hill Farms is bright! With the kids involved in the operation, there is hopes to continue the herd into the next generation, as well as continuing the bull sale with hopes of it being hosted in Barnesville this year. Four Hill Farms also has a meat business where they sell quarters, halves, and wholes to consumers. Jake sees an opportunity to expand this avenue of the operation in the future if someone in the family wants to. 


In addition to helping on the farm with chores, the bull sale, and record keeping, the kids also show cattle through 4-H and FFA. Jake finds it very cool to have them help out on so many levels and feels it really makes it a family business. The family’s favorite beef dish would have to be t-bone steak or tenderloin on the grill!


Jake says it is important for readers to know that beef producers do the best they can to produce high quality cattle. They take several steps and put in a lot of work because it is much more than getting a good return for our product, it is also about making a good name for our farm and raising quality product that people trust. 


Thanks for all your hard work, Jake and the rest of the Thompson family!


Read more about the Black Angus beef breed below. 

 It is thought that the Black Angus breed (originally the Aberdeen-Angus breed) originated from Scotland. Like many breeds in the early days, the cattle found in northern Scotland were not very uniform in color and had varied markings. Apparently, not much attention was given to improving beef genetics until the latter half of the 18th century. Crossing and recrossing of genetics eventually led to a distinct breed.


Black Angus cattle today are solid black in color, are known for their good mothering abilities, and are overall, one of the most popular breeds in the United States because of their good qualities.  

Resource: https://breeds.okstate.edu/cattle/angus-cattle.html