Bison Industry
Bison Industry
Let's all try something new for your holiday dinner table this year. How about a buffalo steak or burger around Christmas time?
It may not sound very "Christmasy," but Bison is touted as a very healthy source of protein. It is leaner than beef with less saturated fat and cholesterol and has more beneficial fatty acids.
Like most of the other segments within American agriculture, the bison industry was hit hard early this year by COVID-19. Dave Carter with the American Bison Association says many people might not realize just how important the loss of restaurant business was to the industry’s producers.
“So much of our high-value cuts go to the restaurant trade. That’s where almost every ounce of tenderloin, strip loin, and ribeye go. And so, when those restaurants shut down, even though we were selling more product in grocery stores, that was primarily ground product in the grocery stores, so that hit us pretty hard. A lot of our producers rely on farmers’ markets and they’ll sell to their local restaurants, and they got hit very hard. We hunkered down and worked with USDA and were very grateful they provided us with access to the CFAP 2 assistance program, so that’s helping some of our folks get through this.”
More information on the bison industry is available at www.bisoncentral.com.
