Bison Producer's Handbook

Bison Producer's Handbook. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. It is hard to believe that only a century or so ago bison were so plentiful that they would make the ground shake as they moved across the prairie. Then they were almost gone. But thanks to conservation efforts, bison numbers are growing rapidly and becoming quite a commodity again. Dave Carter, Executive Director of the National Bison Association says a revised publication on bison production has pulled resources from both the U.S. and Canada. CARTER: Well we have a long history of working closely with our friends in the Canadian Bison Association and in particularly when we think about that over the last 100 or so years we have brought this animal from the point where there about 500 in North America to the point where were getting close to half a million and that's really been a joint effort in both the United States and Canada. Carter says though that the business of bison production is really only about 30 years old. But that due to consumer demand it was important to get the expertise from both sides of the border. The new edition of the Bison Producer's Handbook is loaded with information. CARTER: This is designed to be a useful too for anyone whether or not they are a small scale producer that maybe has 20 animals out there and are looking to direct marketing or a commercial sized producer who maybe is in the cattle or dairy business maybe looking at making a conversion into bison and wants to know what's the opportunities on the commercial scale. I have to stop and comment at this point that I am not into any kind of livestock production at this point but I really found this book very interesting and full of wonderful information including a history of the animal. CARTER: As you mention we do start off with the history of bison because we think that's the one thing that binds us all together is this love for the heritage of the animal and its interaction with this ecosystem but as we branch out from there then we really tried to draw on the expertise of folks that are involved in the various aspects of the business. The book is a fairly exhaustive resource guide covering everything from the history as we mentioned to choosing the right stock, proper feed, handling, fencing and even goes into the post production marketing. CARTER: But at the same time we've also brought in folks that have built a successful business model doing the farmer's market or the internet sales or the agritourism so it's not only a book that provides some good reference but it's also something that I think helps people decide where their place is in this business, where they can fit in best. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.