04/03/08 Big on Bison

Big On Bison. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. People all over are discovering the taste for bison. It's okay to call it buffalo but it really is becoming more and more accepted in the marketplace as people see how low in fat it is and how good it tastes. What was once on the brink of extinction is now finding a home on the grill. According to Dave Carter, Executive Director of the National Bison Association, the industry has really seen an upturn. CARTER: When you take a look at the increase in customer demand for bison meat - in 2006 that demand went up 21%, last year it went up 17% and so far this year we are 24% ahead of where we were last year so that's telling us we need to get some new folks into the business. According to Carter, getting into the business really is not too labor or financially intensive. CARTER: If you are going to get into the buffalo business you may spend a little extra money building some fence when you get started, You know they do need a little bit of a sturdier fence and maybe a little bit on the handling facilities but once you get those animals in place and you've got good feed out there in the pasture, these are animals that take care of themselves. And I think that's one of the things that the ranchers really love about being in the business is once you understand how to interact with the animal they're just great to be around and they're just very easy to take care of. The National Bison Association is actively looking for new people to get into the business and is there to help. CARTER: The National Bison Association has some resources available. We have a couple of handbooks, one we call our Bison Breeders Handbook that you can purchase online. Our website is bisoncentral.com. We also have an online training course that we call Bison 101. We are also actively putting together a program of mentors. One of the great things about this business is the folks that have been in it love to share their knowledge. They love to share even some of their mistakes. Bison is such a small industry at this point that they do not have access to some of the financial incentives that the USDA offers larger commodities but Carter says the marketplace is actually its own incentive. Good prices for good product. A speaking of product; if you are having trouble finding bison at the grocery store, Carter has a suggestion. CARTER: Again on our website there is a meat sellers list there. You can go on there and click the tab that says where to buy and a map drops down and you can click on your state and it will bring up a list of our members so it's real easy for folks to find a local producer that can supply them with some good bison meat. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.