June is National Bison Month
July is Bison Month. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.
The American public's love for deliciously healthy bison meat has sales sizzling-and bison ranchers scrambling to build herds-as the industry celebrates July as National Bison Month. National Bison Month, celebrated each July, is a time in which American bison producers and marketers promote the delicious taste of bison burgers, steaks and roasts as a summer grilling alternative. According to Dave Carter with the National Bison Association, the growing demand for bison meat reflects the desire among many people to enjoy great tasting food that is part of a healthy lifestyle, and a healthy environment.
CARTER: The great thing today is that folks all around the country in cities and small towns alike have discovered the great taste of bison and the nutritional benefits and the fact that it is a locally produced sustainable food and so we have seen the demand really skyrocket and thats creating the incentive for some folks to build their herds and get some more product into the marketplace.
Producing a great bison herd is not the same as raising cattle or pigs. There is some extra care that needs to go into the animals.
CARTER: These are natural animals. Nature has perfected them over thousands of year; we’re not tinkering with them with growth hormones or the genetic engineering, any of that kind of stuff. We let the animals grow the way nature intended them and that takes a while. Right now the prices that ranchers are receiving for the animals are at an all time high.
Carter says the bison industry has seen some hard times but things are looking up.
CARTER: I think overall right now there is a great feeling of optimism in the bison business. Our industry went through some tough times about 5 or 6 years ago but in the last 3 to 4 years we’ve really caught on fire and are growing very steadily and whats very encouraging Greg is its being driven by consumer demand.
If you have not tried bison steaks or burgers, you are in for a big treat. The Martin’s really do enjoy bison burgers but it can be sometimes hard to come by.
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 its 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 Ag Information Network.
