News Articles
Bison Show and Sale Jan 20-23, 2021
Save the Dates
– 1/20 – 1/23/2021 – National Bison Winter Conference—Denver, CO
– 3/2021 – NBA Gold Trophy Show and Sale—Denver.
The National Bison Association announces that the National Bison Winter Conference
will take place in Denver, Colorado, Jan. 20 to 23, 2021, and at the same time, NBA’s
Gold Trophy Show and Sale (GTSS) will be held.
The conference is hosted at the Denver Renaissance Hotel, Stapleton, which is now
taking reservations. Please save the date and “plan to join us for this exciting, fun and
informative conference.”
The Gold Trophy (GTSS) is considered the premier bison auction in the US. For nearly
40 years, bison producers have brought their best bison stock to Denver’s National
Western Stock Show to show and sell their animals.
“The mission of the Gold Trophy Show and Sale is to create an environment where
producers can compete to establish the value of their bison in the current marketplace,”
according to the NBA news release.
Buffalo from Grand Canyon travel to Quapaw Tribe
Grand Canyon, AZ, Sept. 18, 2019 – National Park Service staff closed the doors on livestock trailers yesterday, securing 31 bison inside to transfer them to the InterTribal Buffalo Council who will take them on the journey to their new herd with the Quapaw tribe in Oklahoma.
The transfer of the bison concluded the Grand Canyon National Park’s pilot program for corralling and relocating bison from the North Rim.
“It’s an historic moment. These are the first bison ever captured and permanently removed from Grand Canyon,” said Grand Canyon National Park Bison Project Manager Miranda Terwilliger.
Yellowstone bison promote plant growth through summer
Biologists from the National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and the Universities of Wyoming and Montana published their findings of a 10-year study about bison migration and grazing in Yellowstone National Park in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The findings show that wild bison shape vegetation cycles and stimulate growth throughout the summer. Scientists discovered, with the help of NASA satellites, that areas grazed intensely by larger groups of bison greened-up earlier, more intensely, and for longer durations each year.
The study also suggests that bison migrate differently than other species because of how they graze. Frequently they returned to the same areas of the park, which kept plants in a growth cycle, providing the most nutritious food for migrating animals. Evidence over the last decade supports that.
Interior Commits to 10-Year Buffalo Plan
Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt today announced the Bison Conservation Initiative (BCI), a new cooperative program that will coordinate conservation strategies and approaches for the wild American Bison over the next 10 years.
The Department of the Interior (DOI) and its partners have been successful in restoring the populations of the American Bison and supporting healthy herds, such as assisting with establishing tribal herds on Indian Reservations.
With unprecedented interest and cooperation among partners—including states, tribes, nations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)—bison conservation is well equipped to move beyond analytical assessments and toward coordinated conservation action.
Two projects to take place this year are introducing new genetics of wild bison from the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge in Colorado to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, and establishing a new tribal herd on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. The first includes an on-going genetics study by the National Parks Service to measure the extent of their integration into a long-existing herd.
Satellites track Bison at Wind Cave
Collars placed on ten bison at Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota are making it easier for researchers, and eventually even the public, to follow them as they roam throughout the park.
The bison recently were fitted with tracking collars as part of Wind Cave National Park’s recent bison capture and processing operation.
“Bison research using these types of collars has never been done here before, and we’re excited about the information we’ll learn,” said Wind Cave Superintendent Vidal Dávila. “We’d like to thank the Black Hills Parks and Forests Association for funding the collars through their Adopt a Bison program.”
Visitor Hurt by Bison at Yellowstone
On the afternoon of May 20, 2020, a female visitor was knocked to the ground and injured by a bison in the Old Faithful Upper Geyser Basin after approaching the animal too closely (inside 25 yards).
It was the first bison injury this year, and happened just two days after Yellowstone National Park reopened in a phased way after the Coronavirus pandemic began.
Park emergency medical providers responded to the incident immediately. The woman was assessed and refused transport to a medical facility. The incident remains under investigation, park officials said in a news release.
The National Park Service personnel remind Park visitors that wildlife in Yellowstone National Park are wild. When an animal is near a trail, boardwalk, parking lot, or in a developed area, they advise giving it space.
White Buffalo—Breeding Rights and pre-booking for White Buffalo Calves
Midwest Buffalo Company and New Beginnings Ranch are pre-selling breeding rights to our White Buffalo Bull “OUTLAW.” We are also taking deposits, in order received and in advance, of Outlaw’s white buffalo calves. If you want a great chance at a white buffalo baby, a spiritual awakening for many and financial booster for your operation for sure, make your reservation now.
To book your buffalo cow for our breeding option with Outlaw—contact us for details.
Water Buffalo in “Bison Clothing”: a Risk You Don’t Need
North American bison producers and marketers have worked diligently during the past two decades to build a strong relationship with their customers based upon the great taste and nutritional benefits of the meat, along with sustainable practices utilized in raising the animals. During the past few years, water buffalo products have entered the U.S. marketplace and been marketed simply as “buffalo.” See our fact sheet on Water Buffalo’s very misleading labeling.
ND Ag Commissioner Conveys Bison Industy CARES Act Request to USDA
National and North Dakota bison leaders today hailed the work of North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring for weighing in with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue with specific policy recommendations to assist commercial and tribal bison producers impacted by the fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak.
“The bison industry will likely experience the lingering effects of the current market situation for another two years. The drop in the carcass price for bison has declined rapidly since the pandemic and producers and plants are struggling,” the Commissioner wrote in a letter sent to Secretary Perdue earlier today
Bison market crashes down on producers
Only a couple of months ago, the price of a bison carcass was close to $5 a pound in Western Canada.
Now, prices on the rail have dropped to $3.50 per lb.
But that number isn’t precise because the packing plants are processing very few animals.
“There’s no liquidity right now,” said Dean Andres, who raises bison near Windthorst, in eastern Saskatchewan. “Any Canadian (bison) producers that are reliant on a Canadian plant or somebody to buy their calves, that market has, I don’t want to say ‘collapsed,’ but that’s probably the most accurate word.”
Author
Francie Berg
Assistant
Ronda Fink