Victoria Trail Farms

Smoky Lake, Alberta

Brent & Christine Fletcher and Family

Victoria Trail Farms is owned & operated by the Fletcher family: Brent, Christine, and our children Tyler, Breanna, and Colton. Tyler, our oldest son, is 18 and in grade 12, Breanna, our daughter is 15 and in grade 10, and Colton, our youngest son, is 12 and in grade 7. As well as being involved in the farm, our kids are actively involved in various activities including 4-H beef, hockey, many school sports, soccer, baseball, and drama.

Our operation is located about 10 miles south of Smoky Lake Alberta. Some of our land is bordered on the south by the North Saskatchewan River . One of the first mapped trails in Alberta originates 8 miles east of our home place at a settlement called Fort Victoria. This trail is called the Victoria Trail and travels along the North Saskatchewan River all the way to Edmonton about 80 miles to the south west of us.

The main focus of our operation has been perennial forage seed production. Fifteen years ago we began purchasing yearling beef cattle in the spring and grassing them through the summer. Once our grass enters into slow growth, we ship them to a finishing lot and market them when fleshed. We continue to run our own spring grassers, however we now custom graze other producer’s yearlings as well. Running yearling cattle complements our forage seed production as well allows our operation to implement new grazing and stock handling practices. At present we are considering adding a cow/calf program to our operation.

Eleven years ago we joined with five other producers and learned of the HRM principles. These principles are used during the decision making process for our family and our farm. Seven years ago some of this same group began a beef marketing program called "Ranch Pride Beef". This beef is sold to customers with the assurance of no antibiotics, no hormones and no growth enhancers of any type.

One of Victoria Trail Farm's goals is to search for opportunities that reflect the importance of producing superior products. Victoria Trail Farms is eager to share in this new opportunity called "Prairie Heritage Beef Producers."

We are proud to be able to give our retail customer, a promise that the beef they purchase from us will have the same safeness, goodness and quality as the beef we serve ourselves.