Current Status

Bison Break Through in 2012!

The North American bison business entered 2012 in the strongest economic position in its history. Consumer demand for lean, delicious bison meat is continuing to outstrip the available supply of market-ready animals. The resulting high prices processors are paying for those animals has sent a strong signal to ranchers to build their herds across the United States.

Market prices in late 2011 clearly illustrate the burgeoning growth of the buffalo business. The $3.98/lb. average price paid by marketers for a young bull carcass in late 2011 was 65 percent higher than the price paid only three years earlier. Live animal prices at the auctions in late 2011 demonstrated that producers are bullish on the future of our business.

Bison producers remember all too well that strong bison prices in the 1990’s proved to be unsustainable because the industry had not yet connected with consumers about the great qualities of buffalo meat. Those producers recognize that our customers in grocery stores, farmers’ markets and restaurants are now our partners in building a strong, sustainable sector of agriculture.

That is why we are dedicated to “doing it right” as we build herds of bison across the country. For example, we are proud that regulations prohibit the use of artificial growth hormones in bison, and our industry protocols prohibit the use of sub-therapeutic antibiotics (that is, antibiotics used only to increase growth rates). We also know that, because bison are a natural part of the North American ecosystem, bison ranching can be a beneficial to the natural environment.

Today, the National Bison Association is actively reaching out to students, beginning farmers, and existing livestock ranchers to promote what we refer to as The Bison Advantage.  We want to introduce a new generation of producers to the rewards of raising animals that thrive on native grasses, are adapted to the climate extremes and the predators of our ecosystem, Consider these factors:

• No artificial shelter (barns, etc.) needed. Bison prefer to be outside, year round, despite the weather.
• Efficient feed utilization, making them economical foragers which do well on most grasses in the United States.
• Long productive lives.
• Primary requirements: Fresh water and adequate nutrition.
• Calving rarely requires human intervention. Bison by and large calve on their own.
• Superior hardiness results in disease resistance, lower input costs, fewer veterinarian visits.
• Bison thrive in most North American landscapes with no ill effects.
• The bison industry enjoys a free enterprise market without excessive intervention.
• Bison demand has consistently grown in double digits for the past five years.

Recently, we began to promote expansion of the bison business through our online Bison 101 tutorial program, our Junior Judging program at the National Western Stock Show, an educational booth at the National FFA conference, and co-sponsorship of the Bison Advantage-Buffalo Gold Workshop in Colorado. This year, we are implementing an advanced Bison 201 curriculum that will help new producers, and existing ranchers, to expand their expertise.

Our all-new Bison Producers’ Handbook represents a groundbreaking collaborative effort of more than 30 experienced producers from the United States and Canada. These experts have shared their knowledge in an informative, and easy to understand manner.  

Today’s growth represents a remarkable comeback for a species that teetered on the brink of extinction little more than a century ago.  The decimation of the bison herds in the late 1800’s is a bleak chapter in American history. Herds that numbered more than 30 million when the first European explorers set foot on the American continent were nearly wiped out by the 1880’s. At the turn of the 20th century, fewer than 1,000 bison remained in existence.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s most recent Census of Agriculture, conducted in 2007, pegs the U.S. bison on private lands at 200,000 animals. With animals on public lands factored in, the actual size of the U.S. herd is now estimated at about 220,000 bison in the United States.  

In short, 2012 is a great time to be a part of the bison business, where producers, marketers, customers, chefs, nutritionists and environmentalists all agree: America’s original red meat is good for our health, good for our environment, and absolutely delicious.

If you are interested in becoming part of the emerging, exciting bison business, please contact the NBA, or by phone at (303) 292-2833, and we'll get you started.